It was sometime in the 1880s and R. E. Clark, from Charleston, bought a lot at the corner of Cleveland Street and Railroad Avenue to start a hardware store. In 1886, Mr. Clark built a large two-story frame residence right behind it. The street the home faces became known as Hardware Street. Sitting right on the railroad tracks and close to everything in town, the hardware store was a great location for visitors and locals alike.
Mr. Clark died sometime around the turn of the century and his widow, Sally, put the home up for sale. She sold it for $3,600 to John D. Fogle in 1909 and the home has been known as the Fogle House to the locals ever since.
The house is constructed of heart of pine and originally, the roof was made of cedar shakes. The cedar shakes were swapped out with metal roofing sometime in the late 1920s and are most likely responsible for how well the home has held up all these years.
Before refrigeration, an ice man would come and deliver a block of ice to keep the milk fresh. They had a coal burning stove that heated the dining room and that’s still in the pantry next to the kitchen to this day.
There was once a sugar cane grinding mill in the side yard where a mule would walk around in a circle while someone stuffed sugar cane into the top of the bin. The liquid was then cooked down in a cast iron bowl into syrup. That cast iron bowl is now found at the Elooree Museum.
There was also a grist mill located on the property as well. While the shed that held the mill has collapsed, the mill itself is still intact.
I just love the beautiful bay window on the right side of the home that overlooks a beautiful garden of camellias.
It came into the hands of John D. Fogle’s son Walter E. Fogle, Sr and his wife Naomi when his parents became elderly. Walter would walk over to the barber shop for his morning shave before heading out to the farm and opening the dry goods store. Walter and Naomi raised six children in “The Big House” as they called it. The last of the six children was Grace Fogle, who passed in 2018, and she lived her entire life in this home.
This home is currently for sale! $95,000 and is located in Elloree, South Carolina. Here’s a link to the real estate listing: https://bit.ly/FogleHouseElloree.
Let’s get this house with a wonderful story saved! I’d love for you to share!
