James Kay House

Front: Built in the 1790s by Virginian James Kay, on land granted him by Governor Charles Pinckney in 1792. Kay was a blacksmith and ran a stagecoach stop here, along what was then known as the Charleston Road. The house was built of sawn lumber, dressed by hand, with squared floor joists that are notched and secured by wooden pegs. Reverse: The Kay House was acquired in the 1820s by Jesse Gent. In 1829 a post office was established here with Gent as postmaster, the place was known thereafter as Gentsville. With the construction of the Columbia-Greenville Railroad in the 1850s, and the establishment of Honea Path, Genstville fell into decline as a community.