Legends surrounding the silent and solitary Rock House run as thick as the woods that hide it. Located deep in the shadows of Rock House Road in rural Greenwood County, the fireproof building was constructed entirely from stone, concrete, glass, and steel. The now-crumbling fortress is accessible only by foot, and no one has ever lived inside its walls.
Although it stands on private property, its mystery and ominous edifice seem to invite intruders. Vandalism and theft have ravaged the home. Its walls are covered in graffiti, and its once graceful interior has been torn apart. The circular iron staircase was stolen years ago, and visitors are now greeted by a gaping hole in the ceiling. Daredevils unwilling to be thwarted reach the second and third floors by climbing the walls. Shredded paneling and shards of tile lie in dust on the floor.
Local lore claims that its builder lost his family in a fire, or that the owner’s wife died inside the home so he could not bear to stay. The real story of Rock House, however, is far more interesting as either of these tales.
Above its door, you will see a carving that reads, “Tolbert 1922.” Indeed, construction began in 1922 (not in the early 1800s as many say) and its builder was a man named Thomas “Tom” Payne Tolbert. The great-grandson of immigrants from County Antrim in Ireland, Tom’s father, John Robert Tolbert, fought in the Civil War and was decorated as a captain for his service. In spite of this, the Tolbert family had long disavowed slavery. According to Tom’s great-great nephew, John Robert Young, when the Tolbert sons, including Tom’s father, were sent to fight for the Confederacy in the Civil War, patriarch John Tolbert told them that “it was their duty to go to war for their country … but they would lose because the cause for which they would be fighting was wrong.”
In fact, John Robert supported the enfranchisement of blacks after Emancipation, and in fact ran for State Superintendent of Eduction on the fated Daniel Chamberlain ticket during Reconstruction – widely considered the most corrupt election in South Carolina’s history. (In an effort to preserve peace, Chamberlain later ceded his governorship to Wade Hampton, III.)
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35803536
All four sons served for the entirety of the effort, and mercifully, all four Tolbert sons returned home. Though slaves had been emancipated, the Tolberts were still indignant over the injustices experienced by their black neighbors, particularly the 1895 state law prohibiting blacks from voting. In 1898 John Tolbert and his son, Thomas, encouraged blacks to cast mock ballots in a congressional election. A riot ensued, and Thomas was badly injured. The Tolberts suffered harassment in the years to come and feared even worse.
In 1904 the Tolbert home burned. Though everyone escaped, this event and other subsequent house fires shaped Thomas Tolbert, who used his family land to build a fireproof home in 1926 – Rock House. A simple man who never married, Tolbert lived in the detached kitchen and used the large house to store family heirlooms. While it may sound as though Tolbert lived his later years in isolation, his obituary describes him as follows:
“To his old friends he revealed a character intensely individualistic and yet quite sympathetic with the welfare and interest of those he knew well.”
The Rock House features eight symmetrical rooms on two floors with two fireplaces between them. It once had a spiral staircase in the center, which is now long gone. It is frequently the subject of vandalism, despite being privately owned by Tolbert descendants. –>
This is the first time that I’ve googled the Rock House Road in quite a few years. I am Matthew Monroe Rigsby’s granddaughter. I’ve always wanted to come up there and see the place, but it sounds like it’s not a monument or a historical building anymore. It’s been deserted. This breaks my heart because I’ve never gone up there to see it. I loved my grandfather. I called him Pop. I was planning to come up there before I’m gone to see the house and give you more information you might want to put on the walls that I found since my mother died in 2018. I can’t believe what I’m reading!
We were always told about the Rock House and that so many of the Tolbert houses burned, that they finally built this one so that it could not be burned like the others! My great grandfather Tolbert lived in the area.
Once you get in there it gets cold.
I have been there in my younger days. I have heard that there is a grave yard in back. I don't know if that is true or not. You know how tales get started.
Been here a time or two – scary place once it gets dark – until the beer kicked in that is. High school memories Larry Southerland
Hey Dillon,
No other buildings remain on the property from what I saw when I photographed the house.
I have been to this house many times but I have just read this article. I never knew that there was a cookhouse. Is it still there and if it is where is it located? Please reply ASAP.
Hi, Dillon. Unfortunately, we have not been there recently to say if it is still there. As for the location, I hope to map on the page helps. Maybe another reader has been there and can answer your question? If you learn more, please share it with us! Good luck!
Actually, the family – which the house belongs to – took the staircase down to avoid it being vandalized. And most people use ladders to climb to the second floor. While this house is neat with its mystery, it’s not that impressive to look at (anymore). I wish I could have seen it in all its glory. And, most likely, it’s not haunted. My dad spent the night in it once with his friends and they saw nothing.
Another thing: Tolbert (the original builder) built it in 1922 because his house had burned down. He built it out of rock so it could be fireproof. He died because of years of drinking eggnog (the alcohol in it killed him) or so I’ve heard.
Is it true that the Rock House was haunted?