• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SC Picture Project

The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

  • FIND A LANDMARK
    • BY CITY
    • BY COUNTY
    • BY CATEGORY
    • BYGONE LANDMARKS
  • ADD IMAGES
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE
  • Black History

Williams-Ball-Copeland House

SC PICTURE PROJECT Leave a Comment

SC Picture Project / Laurens County / Williams-Ball-Copeland House

Downtown Laurens is home to this Italian villa named for two influential South Carolina families. Colonel John Drayton Williams hired noted local architect Dr. John Wells Simpson – who also designed the Laurens County Courthouse – to create the home he would call the Villa in 1859. The Villa was constructed by slaves.

Williams Ball Copeland House

Bill Fitzpatrick of Taylors © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Prior to signing the Ordinance of Secession in 1860, Colonel Williams served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1848 until 1850 and the Southern Rights Convention of 1852. The home was purchased by Colonel Beaufort Watts Ball in 1875. Also a public servant as well as a Confederate veteran of the Civil War, Colonel Ball served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1865 through 1866 and the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1865. He bought and published the local newspaper, the Laurens Advertiser, in the 1880s.

Colonel Ball’s son, William Watts Ball, later owned the house as well as the newspaper and went on to edit other significant South Carolina publications such as The State in Columbia and the News and Courier Charleston. He later authored a book on South Carolina titled, The State That Forgot. Colonel Ball’s daughter, Sarah Ball Copeland, was born in the Villa and lived here until 1954. She edited the Laurens Advertiser alongside her brother. In 1959 the home was bought by preservationist Clyde T. Franks, who restored the Villa. It was used as a residence for several more years before a retirement village was built behind it. Today the home is owned by the Martha Franks Baptist Retirement Community and is used as an event facility.

The Williams-Ball-Copeland House is listed on the National Register, which says the following:

(The Villa) The Williams-Ball-Copeland House is significant for the contributions made by four of its former residents, John Drayton Williams, Beaufort Watts Ball, William Watts Ball, and Sarah Ball Copeland, to the fields of publishing, politics and government, and civic work. The house is an outstanding example of the Italian Villa style of architecture. Built ca. 1859-61 as a winter residence for Colonel John Drayton Williams (1798-1870), the house was one of at least four in the city of Laurens built in this style; it is the only one that remains intact. The contractor for the house was Dr. John Wells Simpson, who employed skilled, slave artisans in its construction. Dr. Simpson also built the Laurens County Courthouse. John Drayton Williams and Beaufort Watts Ball, the first two owners of the house, were active in state government.

Williams served as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, and the Southern Rights Convention of 1852. He was also a member of the Secession Convention and a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. Ball was a member of the South Carolina Constitutional Convention of 1865 and a State Representative. Ball’s children William Watts Ball and Sarah Ball Copeland were editors of their father’s newspaper the Laurens Advertiser. W.W. Ball later served as editor of The State and The News and Courier. Sarah Ball Copeland served as Chairman of the Library Board of Trustees for twenty-seven years. The house is a two-story brick residence that is stuccoed and scored. The house is situated on the crest of a prominent hill in the western section of the city. To the north of the house are two, small, brick outbuildings which date from the same period as the house. One was originally the summer kitchen and the other was a combination smokehouse and food storage house.


Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/customer/www/scpictureproject.org/public_html/wp-content/themes/imagely-free-spirit/single.php on line 55

Plan Your Trip: Williams-Ball-Copeland House

Where is Williams-Ball-Copeland House located?
Address: 544 Ball Drive, Laurens, SC 29360
GPS Coordinates: 34.500397,-82.024743
What else should I see?
First Presbyterian Church of Laurens 0.5 mile
William Dunlap Simpson House 0.6 mile
Charles Duckett House 0.6 mile
First United Methodist 0.7 mile
Show me more like this!
      Williams-Ball-Copeland House Map

      Please Help Us Stay Online

      We’d like thank everyone who generously supports the South Carolina Picture Project. You provide us with the inspiration and financial support we need to keep doing what we do. Every reader’s contribution, larger or small, is valuable. If you have enjoyed this website or found it helpful, please pitch in. Each donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

      Support the SC Picture Project!

      $3,160 of $12,500
      105 Donations
      $ 50.00
      Select Payment Method
      Personal Info

      Credit Card Info
      This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

      Donation Total: $50.00

      You may also like

      You may also like

      No related posts.

      Reader Interactions

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Primary Sidebar

      FIND A LANDMARK

      Why This Site Matters

      Help Keep This Site Online

      We depend on the support of today’s readers to document South Carolina’s landmarks for future readers. Please help us continue this important work by making a donation below.

      $3,160 of $12,500
      105 Donations
      $ 50.00
      Select Payment Method
      Personal Info

      Credit Card Info
      This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

      Donation Total: $50.00

      Recent Posts

      • H.L. Hunley
      • Strand Theater
      • Camden Depot
      • Charleston City Marina
      • Secession Hill

      Footer

      ABOUT US

      We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

      CONTACT US

      We’d love to hear from you! Send us a quick email at share@scpictureproject.org.

      If you are looking for permission to use a photo, please reach out directly to the photographer listed in the image’s credit.

      JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

      The South Carolina Picture Project has two Facebook groups. One is dedicated to SC Historic Landmarks and Iconic Landscapes, and the other is dedicated to SC Nature and Wildlife.

      South Carolina Picture Project © 2022 · All Rights Reserved