House

We love our house.

Ever since the early days of our marriage, Cathy and I knew we were "old house people". We're the type who slow down and gawk when driving through the old section of any town we travel through. And its why we are completely delighted with the 96-year old house we live in.

So today, I thought I'd give you a little history of our old house.

Our house was built by Wade Dexter Fowler. Wade was born on July 1, 1863, and grew up in Laurens County. He married Mamie Jones, but she died in 1899. At some point, he remarried, to Nannie Hunter Stewart. In 1911, he bought the plot of land on which our house sits. We assume, although we're not sure, that he built our house sometime shortly afterward.

From the old documents shown in this post, we know that Wade Fowler was the president of the Bank of Simpsonville, and also was president of Simpsonville Realty Co. When the Great Depression came, the Bank of Simpsonville went under. (The other bank in town, Farmer's Bank, was reportedly one of the few banks in the country that did not lose any money, and stayed open). Wade died on May 31, 1931. I always wonder if the stress of losing his bank (and all his clients' money) had anything to do with it!


Wade's second wife, Nannie, lived in the house as a widower until her death in 1949. I believe it was at that point the house went to the Todd family. Clara Mae "Macie" Todd lived in the house for the next 50+ years. Her nephew, Sammy Todd, lived with her in the 1990's. Sammy used to sit out on our front wraparound porch in his pajamas, waving to traffic (not sure why, but that was his thing!).

Macie passed away in Feb 2003 at the age of 87, leaving Sammy as the sole occupant of the house. Sammy had a medical condition which required him to wear an oxygen mask, but he also smoked cigarettes. One day, his cigarette ignited the oxygen line and blew up the tank. This started a fire, which was quickly put out by the Simpsonville Fire Department, whose fire station is about 500 feet from the house! Sammy survived the incident, but died a couple months later in the hospital (not sure if it was due to complications of smoke inhalation or not).

The house was bought by a Todd family member and her husband, who actually lived on Pliney Circle near the house where we raised the boys (and where Brandon and Megan are now!). This couple renovated the house to repair the smoke damage. This renovation included replacing the plumbing, wiring, heating and air conditioning, and windows. Some of the plaster walls were taken out and replaced with drywall, and others were patched. Instead of trying to clean the smoke and soot off the original beadboard ceiling, they put in new drywall ceilings throughout. On one side of the house, some walls were moved and reconfigured to make a master suite: bedroom, walk in closet (room), and master bathroom with attached laundry room. The original trim was re-installed, and the heart pine floors were refinished.

Before the house officially went on the market, we bought it from this couple, and have been continuing the renovations. I have tried to find out more information about Dr. Fowler (as he is sometimes listed in old documents), but it is certainly hard to find. Our neighbor, Frances Barnett, was kind enough to give us an old photograph of Wade and Nannie (and some other ladies) sitting on the back porch of the house. Since Wade died in 1931, I assume this picture was from the 1920s...

In any case, we are thankful that the Lord gives us so much more than we deserve. This is our "dream house", and we don't plan on moving again, unless the Lord has different plans!