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

James M. Davis House, Spartanburg County (2743 Old Hwy. 14 S., Pelham)
S1081774206301 S1081774206302 S1081774206303 S1081774206304 S1081774206305
Facade Right Oblique Right Elevation Right Rear
Oblique
Left Elevation
S1081774206306 S1081774206307 S1081774206308 S1081774206309 S1081774206310
Interior
Central Hall
Interior
Northwest
Parlor
Interior
Southwest
Parlor
Interior
Dining Room
Interior
2nd Floor
Stairs
S1081774206311 S1081774206312 S1081774206313    
Enclosed Sleeping
Porch
Stacked Stonewall Landscape

The James M. Davis House is significant at the local level for its association with prominent local merchant and community leader James Marvin Davis. Davis, a Pelham native, built this large modified American Foursquare home ca. 1915, locating it on a shaded hill, across the street from his general store. He operated Davis Mercantile, one of the only general stores to serve the Pelham Mill Village area, from ca. 1905 until his death in 1943. The Davis family home is the last remaining historic resource associated with James M. Davis because the general store was torn down in 2007. The store was originally a two-story building but burned sometime in the late 1920s and was rebuilt with a smaller one-story store in the same location. After Davis died his children kept the store open. The house was not only the center of the Davis family life, but also was important to the community’s social history. Often, teachers who taught at local area schools boarded at the Davis House during the school year. In addition, Lila Davis, a retired registered nurse who had worked for the Greenville Hospital system, served the medical needs of the Pelham community for many years. The house is a two-story, wood-frame, central hall dwelling with a pyramidal roof with wide overhanging eaves, a hipped front-facing dormer, two symmetrically placed internal chimneys, and a one-story, full-width porch that wraps partially around both sides of the house. The house and a landscaped yard including a stacked stone wall contribute to the nomination. There are two noncontributing buildings and one noncontributing structure: a ca. 1950 detached garage, a ca. 1950 wood-frame playhouse, and a ca. 1915 stone well surrounded by a ca. 1950 stone-faced pergola. Listed in the National Register June 7, 2010.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.

Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.


Images provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.