President's House

The last stop on Furman’s old campus is the land of the original president’s house. Built in 1852, even before the main academic building was finished, this home would have signaled the prestige and stature of this new university. The house had four traditional columns, two on each side of the front entrance, was made of red brick, a second-floor balcony, and four large front windows.

James C. Furman, the university's first president, would have likely directed the construction of his home, using a mix of free and enslaved labor. Soon after moving to Greenville, James C. Furman's wife grew disatisfied with the home and asked to move to a plantation estate in the countryside. By the late 1850's, the Furmans were living primarily at that farm, Cherrydale (which is where Cherrydale Point Mall currently sits), modeled on the immense estate she was raised on, near Winnsboro. While the Furmans owned 25 enslaved persons at Cherrydale, a smaller number of servants would have kept the grounds and home in shape downtown.

For thirty years, the home would have remained in their control, even if more a status symbol of the young school than an actual home. For example, in the 1880 census, the home records James' brother-in-law Nathan Davis (an attorney), as well as two African-American servants Charity Dawkins (age 18) and James Fisher (age 16), as the other residents.

As the university modernized and expanded in the 20th century, the home attended by servants was converted to a place of care for the students--the Charles S. Webb Memorial Infirmary. The Infirmary, named by Baptist ministers from North Carolina, was funded with $25,000 to "transform and equip the Infirmary" in November of 1919. Griffith Hall, a dorm, was used for this purpose until the home had been converted and opened on February 12, 1925 as the new infirmary. The Women’s Missionary Union of South Carolina fundraised to continue furnishing the building until 1928, where students began to be required by new regulations to receive vaccinations before the beginning of the term. Furman claimed to have the most well-equipped and advanced devices, with “no better college infirmary” on the eastern coast, according to the Furman University Catalog from 1932 (11). Students paid twenty-five dollars to cover library, medical, society, and athletic fees each year. Like the infirmary today, students could receive physical examinations and advice from the infirmary staff in the cases of ordinary illnesses.

Furman’s presidents took up residence on University Ridge, in the former home of the late professor and university president, Mr. Bennette E. Geer, after the original president’s home underwent transformation into the multipurpose infirmary and administration building.

In August of 1921, the old Judson cottage became the administration building, holding the offices of the President, Dean, Registrar, and a faculty assembly room.

Like all the rest of the campus buildings, these homes were all demolished in the early 1960s for the development of Bell Tower Square Shopping Center. The west side of Greenville had become an area of warehouses and "high crime," correlated with the larger African-American population on this side of town. The area around the university became undesirable compared to the east side of town, and even the mall proved unsuccessful, as white Greenville drove out to the eastern suburbs along Pleasantburg Drive fo their shopping.

Although this tour would certainly have been enhanced by the existence of these wonderful historic buildings, we can still honor the work and sacrifice of so many who made education possible, enhanced Greenville, and made Furman University what it is today. As new construction takes place on this area, in this newly revitalized side of the city, it may be possible to mark and recreate the spirit of this site.

Sources Used:

Furman University Historical Images

Furman University Catalogs from 1919-1952

Special thanks to Mr. William Boyd!