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

Cedar Bluff, Union County (S.C. Hwy. 49, Cross Keys vicinity)
S1081774400801 S1081774400802 S1081774400803
Left Oblique Right Elevation Fieldstone Steps

(Byrd Murphy House) Cedar Bluff was constructed by Byrd Murphy, justice of the peace, planter and mill owner. Built ca. 1790, the clapboard house is an early example of an upcountry farmhouse, or I-House, probably of Pennsylvania derivation. Its formerly enclosed staircase and the lack of a central hall indicate a Germanic influence that came to South Carolina from Pennsylvania via Virginia and North Carolina. The small, two-storied clapboard structure has a one-story shed porch supported by square plank columns with intercolumnar balustrade. Shouldered brick gable-end chimneys are supported on fieldstone foundations. The house is constructed of hewn mortise-and-tendon timbers. It originally sat on fieldstone pillars and rough course foundation, which has since been replaced by cement block. A wing containing a kitchen with fireplace, bedroom, and bathroom was added to the rear of the house after 1900 and is partially contained within the earlier shed roof addition. The interior features original mantels. Listed in the National Register June 20, 1974.

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