Brick House

Front: In 1841, Dr. John S. Bratton began construction of a new, all-brick two-story house at Brattonsville. Completed c.1843, the Greek Revival building housed the Brattonsville Store and Post Office. A two-story rear frame section was added c.1855 to house the Brattonsville School. Napoleon Bratton took over the store by 1870 and constructed a new store building c.1885. It closed in 1915. Reverse: In March 1871, York Co. Ku Klux Klan members, led by Dr. J. Rufus Bratton, lynched black militia Capt. James Williams, hanging him from a tree near his home 1.5 miles away. His body was carried to the Brick House the next day where a coroner’s inquest was held. The murder was part of a wave of Reconstruction-era Klan violence that led to a declaration of martial law in nine S.C. counties.