James C. Bodie House — Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina

This home in what is now Batesburg-Leesville was built for James C. Bodie in 1865. At the time, the house sat in Leesville; the two municipalities of Batesburg and Leesville were consolidated in 1993. The James C. Bodie House is the oldest dwelling in the Church Street Historic District, predating the town’s 1875 incorporation by 10 years. The home also predates the advent of the railroad in Leesville in 1869. Leesville developed as a prosperous agricultural community, and the James C. Bodie House is a remnant of a time when area farms flourished.

The James C. Bodie House is listed in the National Register as part of the Church Street Historic District (note that the address of the home is now 533 East Columbia Avenue; some of the street names changed following the consolidation of the two towns):

The Church Street Historic District is significant as a neighborhood that developed in accordance with the birth and initial economic development of the town of Leesville during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The oldest residence in the district, the James C. Bodie House, is a survivor of the era prior to the railroad and the incorporation of the town. The Bodie-Crawford House and the Ezekial Etheredge House are indicative of the emerging prosperity of the community, and of the adaptation of that part of Church Street to medium density residential. The six contributing buildings in the district, five houses and one Gothic Revival church, were constructed between 1865 and ca. 1909. The district retains integrity from this period, with only one building having been built after 1910. Residential architectural styles include the Italianate, Victorian and Queen Anne.

James C. Bodie House Map

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