Harriet Barber House

Front: In 1872 Samuel Barber (d. 1891) and his wife Harriet (d. 1899), both former slaves, bought 42 1/2 acres here from the S.C. Land Commission, established in 1869 to give freedmen and freedwomen the opportunity to own land. Barber, a well-digger as a slave, was a farmer and minister after the Civil War. The Barber family has owned a major portion of this tract since Samuel and Harriet Barber purchased it in 1872. Reverse: Samuel Barber’s wife Harriet (d. 1899) received title to this land in 1879. This one-story frame house was built ca. 1880. The Barbers’ son Rev. John B. Barber (1872-1957) inherited the property in 1899. He was a schoolteacher and pastor of St. Mark and New Light Beulah Baptist churches. This house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.