South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Colonel Olin M. Dantzler House, Calhoun County (412 E. Bridge St., St. Matthews)
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Facade Right Oblique Rear Elevation Interior
Central Hall

(Crutchfield House) The Dantzler House is the oldest standing residence in St. Matthews. It is an excellent representative of Southern antebellum summerhouse construction and has been admirably adapted as a permanent residence. This one-story raised cottage with truncated, hipped roof was constructed ca.1850 as a seasonal residence for the Jacob M. Dantzler family of Orangeburg County. As originally built, the house was rectangular with identical side facades. The original cypress shingle roof has been covered with galvanized metal. The house sits seven feet above ground upon brick pilings with lattice framework between the supports. The northern façade has wooden steps leading to a piazza with flat roof supported by six square paneled columns. In 1852 Olin Miller Dantzler, son of Jacob Dantzler, married and moved into this summerhouse as his permanent residence. Though a planter by profession in the Orangeburg district, Olin Dantzler served his state and country both politically and militarily. As a member of the South Carolina Senate in 1858, Dantzler tried to convince his fellow legislators that peaceful compromise was better than a military confrontation between the North and South. He offered several compromise proposals, but eventually joined the Confederate forces, though he was strongly opposed to the war. Several outbuildings, including a barn, several sheds, visitors’ cottage and a pigeon house are included on the acreage. Listed in the National Register March 30, 1973.

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