Bordeaux Hall, also known as the Dr. John Albert Gibert Home, is located in the small Bordeaux community just beyond McCormick. Dr. Gibert was the grandson of Pierre Gibert, an early leader of the French Huguenot colony of New Bordeaux.
Construction on Bordeaux Hall began in 1859 but was interrupted by the Civil War and not completed until 1867. The home was designed and constructed in the classic Greek Revival style by architect William Henry Jones of Atlanta, who also designed Ivy Gates Plantation, Lower Long Cane Presbyterian Church, and several other historic buildings located in McCormick County.
The Dr. John Albert Gibert Home is listed in the National Register, which adds the following information:
The Dr. John Albert Gibert House is significant as an example of an elaborated upcountry I-House. The Gibert house is particularly unusual since it was built immediately after the Civil War at the height of Reconstruction. Construction on this scale was uncommon since most local economies were considerably depressed. Stylistically the house exhibits the Greek Revival influence most common in the antebellum period.
The house is a two-story, frame, weatherboard sheathed, extended I-House embellished with Greek Revival stylistic and decorative elements. These include the full-height portico supported by massive Doric order masonry columns, the central entrance with pilastered door surrounds, sidelights, and transom, and the interior mantels, door and window surrounds. The house contains two interior, rear-wall chimneys that have been stuccoed. There have been several additions to the side and rear elevations as a result of at least two major building campaigns. One contributing one-story frame outbuilding, originally a single dwelling, but which later served as a general store, is present on the property.
Can anyone tell me where to look for the history of the marriage that occurred between the Gibert family and the family descended from the famous statesman John Calhoun?
I know, it was in response to the person that asked if house was in Abbeville!!
House is not in Abbeville!!! It is in Bordeaux, which is in McCormick County. I have owned it since 2012 and all my information has the correct spelling of Gibert!!
Hi Kirby, we clearly state that the house is in Bordeaux, and all of our spellings of Gibert are correct.
Is this a picture of a house in Abbeville? Also, PLEASE take the “L” out of the text in this article. That blasted L has plagued my family ever since they (evidently) forgot to put it in sometime before the recorded history of my family.
Hi Stephen! Thanks for this great comment – it is exciting to hear from a member of the Gibert family. The only instance we could find of the added “l” was in the National Register’s description, and we’ve removed it. All other instances of lack the “l.” Thank you!
Mark Phillips and I restored Bordeaux Hall in 2001. Its correct address is on S.C. Hwy 7. Dr. Gibert began remodeling a planation plain style home before the war. His slaves had made the bricks for the columns but because of the war the construction was haulted until after the war. The current appearance of the home is the result of the remodeling completed in 1867. The bones of the house are (circa 1830) when the place was called “Dry Slope”
Bordeaux Hall is in Bordeaux, SC (hence the name). While it is in McCormick County, it is not in the town of McCormick. Bordeaux Hall is some 8 miles from the town of McCormick.
We have clarified that the Bordeaux community rests outside of McCormick. However, since its postal address is McCormick, we have left that information at the bottom of the page.