DATA SHEET Form 10-306 STATE: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Oct. 1972) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE South Carolina COUNTY: NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES York & Cherokee INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NFS USE ONLY FOR FEDERAL PROPERTIES ENTRY DATE (Type all entries - complete applicable sections) COMMCN! Kings Mountain National Military Park AND/OR HISTORIC: ____Kings Mountain #00 ^ri^"tifi**A''*fff -^-Tf-——-- STREET AND NUMBER:, k miles south of I-8£ via e*ffc 2 fen N.cr2l6wand 9 miles south of I-8£ via CITY OR TOWN: OOn N.C. 161 CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT: Number 5 STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE South Carolina York/Cherokee )91/QZ. CATEGORY ACCESSIBLE OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) TO THE PUBLIC District Q Building Public Public Acquisition: Q Occupied Yes: Site Q Structure Private Q In ProctfsV" (XI Unoccupied Restricted Q Object Both Q Being Considered Q Preservation work | Unrestricted in progress PRESENT USE (Check One or More a* Appropriate) Agricultural Q Government Park rX Transportation [ 1 Comments Commercial Q Industrial Private Residence [~1 Other (Specify) Educational , CBMrlitary Religious Entertainment . [JR Museum Scientific Kings Mountain National Military Park (National Park REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS: (If applicable) STREET AND NUMBER: Southeast Regional Office WViipple Avenue CITY OR TOWN: STATE: Atlanta Georgia - MM^MiMIMMl^^M^^^^l^^^M^^ COURTHOUSE. REGISTRY OF DEEDS. ETC: Cherokee County Courthouse & York .County Courthouse STREET AND NUMBER: CITY OR TOWN: Gaffney TITLE OF SURVEY: DATE OF SURVEY: |~| Federal tate ! DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: STREET AND NUMBER: CITY OR TOWN: ("Check One) n Excellent gg Good I Fair 1 1 Deteriorated I | Ruins 1 I Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check On*; 13 Altered d Unaltered Q Moved E Original Site , DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (it known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 5500-1 The battle of Kings Mountain took place on typical piedmont terrain, in slightly rolling country lying between 660« and 10^3* above sea level. The area was covered with a dense, hardwood, virgin forest with interspersed pines. There was little or no ground brush and visibility on the forest floor at times reached \ mile* The battle took place between hardy colonial frontiersmen from Virginia, Tennessee, the Caroliftfcs and Georgia, led by Colonel Campbell of Virginia & other frontier leaders, and a loyalist force of about 125 provincial rangers and 1000 Carolina i©ry militia led by Colone: Patrick Ferguson« The fierce fight lasted far *out one hour and terminated in a patriot vic­ tory. rnAsv the first signifipant victory for American forces in over two year* the battle began a chain of eventp that culminated in the surrender of British forces at Yorktiown*. The park is slowly returning to a hardwood sta|e through natural plant succession. Presently much of the area is covered with secondary growth, «/» including., ;both pines and hardwoods%,« , /:. m m Kings Mountain National Military Park was 'established by an Act of Congress on March 3, 1931 (1*6 Stat. I5o8) t Significance: 1st Order Longitude: NW 81° 25' 15" Latitudes NW 35° 09• 30" NE 8lb 21* 30" NE 35° 09 • 30" SE 81° 21» 30" SE 35° 07• 00" o SW 81° 25 f 15" SW 35° 07'W z «/» Acreages 3,950 Recommended Treatment: Restoration by mean£ of allowing ground cover t,p, re­ turn'to its original condition through natural plant succession* Historical Structure #2: The Howser House* The house is in a state of dis­ repair. It appears to be unaltered with the probable exception of a wooden room added to the back of the house* The two-story house completed in 1803 is made of native stone, finished smooth in front and somewhat irregular on the sides. It has a cellar. The interior is plastered with chainail moulding. Underneath the plaster sepa­ rating- the rooms are wooden slats. On each side of these slats a mixture of clay and straw was used as insulation. The plaster was then of course, placed 6n top of this* Apparently every two feet or so a vertical board was placed in the clay/straw mixture to hold it while drying. Fire places are on each side of the house* There are 3 rooms downstairs, not counting the wood en addition dating to about 1930, one chlj^y on each side of the house but there is a fireplace for each room of the two on the east side* PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) c Q Pre-Columbian | | 16th Century PCI 18th Century 20th Century O 15th Century Q 17th Century Q 19th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1780 OF SIGNIFICANCE .(Check One or More as Appropriate) ,. Aboriginal ~Q Education: ,., t . Q,Political Q Urb«n Pljannin.gi Prehistoric [ | Engineering P~1 Religion/Phi- Other (Specify.) Jotophy I I Agriculture I I Invention I I Jcienc* ^ [~~l Architecture I | Landscape Q Sculpture CD Art Architecture [ | Social/Humap^ I | Commerce I I Literature itarian I | Communications E Military [~~| Theater [ | Conservation C] Music [ | Transporta STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE 5500-1 Kings Mountain was a surprising action northward movement of Lord Cornwall is, British in the South, who had undertaken to subdue that section in a final Revolution Though far removed from the main course of the Revolution, the hardy southern Appalachian frontiersmen rose quickly to their own defense at Kings Mountain Z and brought unexpected defeat to Cornwallis 1 Tory invaders under Major Putrid: o Ferguson. With this great victory came an immediate turn of events in the I- war in the Southe Cornwallis^ abandoned his foothold in North Carolina and u withdrew to a defensive position in upper South Carolina to await reinforce- mente His northward march was thus delayed until January 1781, giving patrio•> forces an opportunity to organize a new offensive in the South. After Kings fountain there also came a sharp upturn of patriot spirit in the Southern Piedmont which completely unnerved the Tory organization in the region. This renewed patriot resistance led eventually to the American victory at Yorktown Ul in 1781 e The engagement at Kings Mountain was not only a memorable example o; IU the individual valor of the American frontier fighter, but also of the deadly effectiveness of his hunting rifle. The battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780 was an overwhelming blow struck by American patriots against British forces engaged in the (releiitless Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. The military importance of thii sharp engagement was described in strong and realistic terms by Sir Henry linton, then commander in chief of the British forces in North America. He spoke of the battle as "an event which was immediately protective of the worst Consequences to the King's affairs in South Carolina, and unhappily proved the First Link of a Chainsof "Evils that followed each other in regular slicession until they at last ended in the total loss of America«* The site of the Battle of Kings Mountain is of the first order of historical significance. It contains approximately 3950 acres, of Class VI Lande Draper, Lyraan C. Kings Mountain and Its Heroes, Cincinnati i Ohio: 1881, Ferguson, James, Two Scottish Soldier, D. Wyler & Sons: Aberdeen, 1881. Mackenzie, George C. Kings Mountain National Military Park, Goverwent Printing Office: Washington, D. C., 1955* Bearss, Edwin & Alderstein, Mike*. Historic,Structure,Eport Hovser House• National Park Service, 197U. LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES LATITUDE' LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE D»orr*« Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds NW 35° 09- "30-." 81 ° 25- 15" NE :35° 09' 30" 61° 21: 30" SE 07' 00" "8t« :21-^- 30" sw n no- 81° 2«?' It" APPROXIMA*T*E ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 39^0 LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE SntttVi flfl-rolina 39 York 091 STATE: COUNTY: CODE m Cherokee 021 m CpDE CODE COUNTY: CODE NAME AND TITLE! D^TE: O Historian Q*««~ H BUSIN-ESS ADDRESS: j O Z STREE-T AND NUMBER: PHONE: Pout Office Box 31 TOWN: STATE CODE North Carolina 28086 State. Liaison Officer recommendation: .._- . I hereby certify that this property-is included in the ayes , •j.j ..•". ( • „ 'i I , \n~;f • - -n .{.:•, /, " , a NO National Register. None * r . 5fafe Liaison Officer Signature In compliance with Executive Order 11593, I hereby Director, Office of Archeology and Hit tori c Preservation nominate this property to the National Register, certify­ ing that the State Liaison Officer has been allowed 90 days in which to present the nomination to the State Re- Board and to evauate Its significance. The recom- Date \ I State ATTEST: Date SBPUt slst'ant Seoretarf Keeper of The Nation*! Regiater Titl* UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE (July 1969) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE South Carolina NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM York & Cherokee FOR NPS USE ONLY - ? ENTRY NUMBER / (Continuation Sheet) •<nttiea) 7. Description """Historical Structure #2 continued: The Henry Howser House is a significant architectural resource, illustrative of the social, cultural and economic his­ tory of the region. Its architectural significance was recognized by the National Park Service and the Historic American Buildings Survey more than 30 years ago. There are only several stone houses of this type in the Piedmont Region of North and South Carolina* Significance: 3rd Order Longitude: 81° 2k' 1*0" Latitude: 08« 3k" Acreage: Less than \ Recommended Treatment: Stabilization(as minimum) Preservation Preliminary Cost Estimate: $38,000 (Minimum). Historic Structure #3: Howser Barn Foundations. Presently, all that can be found of the Howser barn foundations are k stone corners about 1 foot high with one complete wall foundation about 21 feet long being evident.