Spring Park Inn

Front: The Spring Park Inn is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Travelers Rest. Its eastern section likely dates to c.1820 and was originally a residence owned by Aquilla Bradley. In 1851, C.C. Montgomery acquired the house and surrounding 194 acres and opened it as a public inn for travelers on the adjacent Buncombe Road. The house was first expanded during his ownership. It was sometimes called the Nine Mile House for its distance from the city of Greenville. Reverse: In 1860, Montgomery’s property included three dwellings for 19 enslaved people, some of whom likely worked at the inn. Robert Anderson acquired the inn in 1874 and also used it as a post office. His daughter Minnie Hillhouse obtained it after his 1898 death. She expanded the house again and named it Spring Park Inn after a nearby spring. It catered to passengers on the “Swamp Rabbit” rail line which first reached Travelers Rest in 1888 and later stopped at the inn.