• 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

Bishop William Wallace Duncan House

SC PICTURE PROJECT Leave a Comment

SC Picture Project / Spartanburg County / Bishop William Wallace Duncan House

This Queen Anne home in Spartanburg was built in 1886 for William Wallace Duncan upon his appointment as Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Prior to this designation, Wallace Duncan, as he was known, was a professor at Wofford College. The liberal arts college was his own alma mater, and his father, David Duncan, was an original faculty member of the school. Because of his position as a Wofford professor, Wallace Duncan had lived with his family on the college campus. When he was named Bishop, Duncan retired his position at Wofford and built this elegant home next to the school on Church Street.

Bishop Duncan House

Michael Miller of Spartanburg, 2013 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The home was designed by Gottfried L. Norrman, the architect responsible for other notable South Carolina structures such as the Newberry Opera House. The Duncans’ daughter, Caroline Duncan Dupre, inherited the home in 1914, and it then became known to many as the Dupre House. The house remained in the Duncan and Dupre families until Wallace Dupre, Jr., sold the property to Renaissance Park, Inc. in 1998, which built a hotel and conference center in its place.

Bishop William Wallace Duncan House

Ann Helms of Spartanburg, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Arthur Cleveland, owner of the Marriott Hotel at Renaissance Park that now sits on the home’s former lot, agreed to move the house to its current location on Howard Street to spare it from demolition. The agreement included plans to restore the home. However, Cleveland and the hotel fell into financial hardship, and though the home was successfully moved, the hotel owner’s plans to restore it never took place.

William Wallace Duncan House

William H. Myers, III of Seneca, 2015 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

In 2007 the City of Spartanburg acquired the home, and restorations efforts finally began. The city then transferred the home to the Preservation Trust of Spartanburg. The Preservation Trust continued renovating the home until the spring of 2011, when it was sold to the Spartanburg campus of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, which completed the work.

Bishop William Wallace Duncan House, Front Elevation

PegasusRacer28 of Wikimedia Commons, 2013

The Bishop William Wallace Duncan House is listed in the National Register:

The Bishop William Wallace Duncan House, built ca. 1886, exemplifies the Queen Anne style of architecture. Duncan was a bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and was an active leader in the fields of education and religion. The house’s design was produced by Gottfried L. Norrman, a well-known Swedish born, Danish and German trained architect who practiced in Spartanburg and Atlanta. Built upon a brick basement, the two-story building has clapboard and cedar shingle siding laid in staggered butts. Asymmetrical in design, it has a high-pitched roof of many angles which is pierced by six chimneys. Significant architectural details include a decorative mosaic tile front porch landing, five large chimneys, the front one featuring a terra cotta cartouche containing the Duncan family crest, a massive wood shingle-clad cylindrical tower, stained glass and Queen Anne block glass windows, and a host of interior details such as oak paneling, spindle friezes and screens, a massive stone chimneypiece in the central hall, decorative wood mantels with overmantels and a staircase. Listed in the National Register July 12, 1976. The Bishop William Wallace Duncan House was moved from its original location at 249 N. Church St. to its present location on 300 Howard St in November 1999.

Plan Your Trip: Bishop William Wallace Duncan House

Where is Bishop William Wallace Duncan House located?
Address: 300 Howard Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303
GPS Coordinates: 34.954815,-81.938332
Website: http://www.vcom.edu
What else should I see?
Spartanburg Union Station 0.1 mile
Hotel Oregon 0.3 mile
Green Street Baptist Church 0.4 mile
Spartanburg County Courthouse 0.5 mile
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Colleges
  • See other South Carolina Historic Houses
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • Spartanburg Historic Sites
    Bishop William Wallace Duncan 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!

    $ 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

    Walter Scott Montgomery House in Spoartanburg, South CarolinaWalter Scott Montgomery House Default ThumbnailConverse College Carnegie Library Wofford Main HallWofford College Default ThumbnailEvins-Bivings House Default ThumbnailSeay House

    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.

    $ 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

    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.

    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