The Brattonsville Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

and

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in York County,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It includes three homes built between 1776 and 1855 by the Brattons (

William Bratton William Joseph Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American businessman and former law enforcement officer who served two non-consecutive tenures as the New York City Police Commissioner (1994–1996 and 2014–2016) and currently one of ...

and

Martha Bratton Martha Bratton (née Robertson, c. 1750 – 1816) was an American woman who supported the Patriot cause during the American Revolutionary War. In 1780, she blew up a cache of gunpowder to prevent it from falling into British hands. Tr ...

), a prominent family of York County. It was named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971.

Contributing properties

The Revolutionary House, built in 1776 by Colonel

(who fought in the Revolutionary War), was originally a one-room log house with a small porch. Later additions were added to the original structure, and clapboard siding was placed over the original logs. Brattonsville Historic District

The Homestead, Brattonsville's second house built about 1830 as the home of Dr. John S. Bratton, was significant as the center of an 8500-acre plantation. This 12-room, -story antebellum mansion is an example of

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

residential architecture. The interior features Adam mantels, exquisite dadoes, and a carved staircase. The Brick House, built in 1855, has a two-story brick façade with end chimneys, a two-tiered portico, stucco-over-brick columns, and a two-story wooden wing at back; it was originally a private boarding school for girls. The district was listed on the

on August 19, 1971. In 1997, the district's boundary was increased to comprise 6760 acres, 24 buildings, 12 structures, and 1 object.

Historic Brattonsville

Historic Brattonsville is the portion of the Brattonsville Historic District that is owned by th
York County Culture and Heritage Commission
and Dr. Rufus Bratton, and operates as an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

. Buildings include

Hightower Hall Hightower Hall (Forrest Hall) is a historic home located near McConnells, York County, South Carolina. Completed in 1856, Hightower Hall is a two-story, weatherboarded frame dwelling in a vernacular interpretation of the Italianate style. The f ...

, The Homestead, and the McConnell House (moved to the site in 1983).

In Popular Culture

The Brattonsville Historic District served as the location for several scenes in the 2000 Revolutionary War epic film '' The Patriot''. Portions of the Homestead House, including its east façade and porch, were used in scenes depicting Charlotte Selton's (played by

Joely Richardson Joely Kim Richardson (born 9 January 1965) is a British actress. She is notable for her roles as Julia McNamara in the FX drama series '' Nip/Tuck'' (2003–2010) and Katherine Parr in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2010). Her credits in ...

) rural plantation. The

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

Encampment, interior scenes of the Howard family's home, and the plantation at Camden were also filmed on site.

Notable residents

J. Rufus Bratton James Rufus Bratton (1821–1897) was a medical doctor, army surgeon, civic leader, and leader in the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina with whom he was guilty of committing numerous crimes. Bratton trained in medicine in Philadelphia in the 1840s ...

, physician and inspiration for the main character in ''

The Clansman ''The Clansman: A Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan'' is a novel published in 1905, the second work in the Ku Klux Klan trilogy by Thomas Dixon Jr. (the others are '' The Leopard's Spots'' and '' The Traitor''). Chronicling the American Ci ...

'' and ''

The Birth of a Nation ''The Birth of a Nation'' is a 1915 American Silent film, silent Epic film, epic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and ...

References

Notes

External links

Homestead House - Historic Brattonsville
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Georgian architecture in South Carolina Buildings and structures in York County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in York County, South Carolina Museums in York County, South Carolina Open-air museums in South Carolina {{YorkCountySC-NRHP-stub