• 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

Smith’s Tavern

SC PICTURE PROJECT Leave a Comment

SC Picture Project / Spartanburg County / Smith’s Tavern

This historic farmhouse in Roebuck was built in 1795 for Captain William James Smith, who served in the Revolutionary War. From the war until 1850, stagecoach travel was the primary mode of transportation in South Carolina. Because of the length of time required to reach one’s destination when traveling by stagecoach, many homes along popular routes were also used as boarding houses and taverns. As Captain Smith built his home at the intersection of two well-traveled eighteenth century roads – Blackstock Road (now South Carolina Highway 215) and present-day McAbee and Otts Shoals Road – he often boarded guests traveling from Columbia towards the North Carolina mountains. Subsequently, his home was called Smith’s Tavern.

Smith's Tavern

Michael Miller of Spartanburg, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

A one-story kitchen addition was built at some point at the rear of the house. Though the home serves a private residence and has undergone modern upgrades, many original features remain. The hand-carved mantels, much of the hardware and woodwork, and the chimneys have all withstood more than two centuries. The left elevation chimney possesses an intricate pattern of concentric diamonds, as seen below. The chimney is one of a handful of such chimneys remaining in South Carolina.

Smith's Tavern Left Chimney

SC Department of Archives and History, 1974

Smith’s Tavern sits on 4.3 acres of land. The area surrounding the home has been developed into a neighborhood consisting of houses built on large lots. The neighborhood is called Smith’s Tavern Country Estates for the centuries-old house that guards its entrance.

Smith’s Tavern is listed in the National Register:

Smith’s Tavern, a farmhouse built at the end of the Revolution (ca. 1790), served as a coach stop in the Spartanburg District of South Carolina and was probably a meeting place for farmers living in lower Spartanburg County. The house is significant as a reminder of the era between the Revolution and 1850, when the stagecoach was a key means of transportation in the state. Travel was slow, and many stops were made at inns and taverns before the final destination could be reached. Smith’s Tavern, overlooking the intersection of two eighteenth century roads, is located on what was once a primary route from Columbia to Spartanburg and the North Carolina mountains. It is a two-story clapboard “I-House” with a shed-roof porch at the front and a one-story kitchen addition to the rear. The house has two corbelled gable-end chimneys and a large chimney at the rear of the old kitchen addition. The brick courses in one of the gable-end chimneys are laid in a diamond patterned tapestry, offset by glazed headers. The tapestried chimney is one of few remaining in South Carolina.

Plan Your Trip: Smith’s Tavern

Where is Smith’s Tavern located?
Address: South Carolina Highway 215, Roebuck, SC 29376
GPS Coordinates: 34.860733,-81.946201
What else should I see?
Walnut Grove Plantation 4.1 miles
Anderson's Mill 6.5 miles
Seay House 7.7 miles
Hatcher Garden & Woodland Preserve 7.8 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Historic Houses
  • See other South Carolina National Register
    Smith’s Tavern 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

    Nicholls-Crook Plantation Default ThumbnailBush Homeplace Default ThumbnailMountain Shoals Bivings-Converse House GlendaleBivings-Converse House Foster's TavernFoster’s Tavern

    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 © 2023 · All Rights Reserved