Barnwell County · Marker 06-17
Ashley-Willis House
corner of W. Main St. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 6-33) and David St., Williston
Front inscription
This Greek Revival house was built between 1833 and 1850 and features a wide gable-front form unusual for the period. John Ashley and then Elijah Willis owned this land before 1850; the house was likely built by the Ashley family. Williston, chartered in 1858, was named for the Willis family, which gave land for a depot on the S.C. Rail Road, for a church (now First Baptist Church), and for a school.
Reverse inscription
The town’s oldest house occupies a prominent location between the S.C. Rail Road and the Augusta-Charleston Road. As Gen. W.T. Sherman’s Federal army advanced through the area on February 8-9, 1865, Gen. Judson Kilpatrick used this house as his headquarters before burning most of the town and proceeding to Aiken and Columbia. The house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.