Brattonsville - Stepping Back In Time.

Sue and I took a trip to Brattonsville, South Carolina yesterday. We have been meaning to visit this 38 structure town for quite awhile, but never seem to have gotten around to it. The town is a unique collection of buildings, most of which once belonged to the Bratton family. The 5 Bratton brothers came to America from Ulster in Northern Ireland sometime around 1730, first settling in the Pennsylvania area and then Virginia, before William Bratton and his wife Matha, purchased these 770 acres in present day York County in 1766. They immediately began to build for their growing family, which would eventually number 14 children. Not to mention William's 4 brothers.

The first home reflected the urgency of building something for a dwelling. It is a simple log cabin with a hearth on the first floor and an upstairs loft area for the kids to sleep. The most unusual part of this building is the latch on the OUTSIDE of the doorway leading to the children's sleeping area in the loft. I suppose that when Momma and Papa wanted to have some time alone, they just latched the kids in upstairs. Not a bad system when you think about it!

Eventually William and Martha needed a larger home, and so, they built one right next door. When that one grew cramped, they built an annex to it. After awhile, with all of the outbuildings, and dwellings, along with a store run by the family, there were 38 structures in all!

Historically, the property is significant, in that it played a key role on the road to Yorktown and the British surrender there. Brattonsville was the site of what is known as the "Battle of Huck's Defeat", which was fought on July 12th, 1780. William Bratton's slave, Watt, chanced upon the British troops under Huck's command. He was able to get back to William Bratton in time to summom all the local militia and defeat Huck, who was on his way to re-inforce Cornwallis in Virginia. A victory for him at Brattonsville might have changed the outcome of the war. There is a marker to Watt erected on the site of the Visitor's Center.

The real pleasure of this visit was the unhurried, and unescorted, pace. There were no tour guides moving groups of people about. It was a relaxing way to tour an historical site, an approach which allows the visitor to really absorb the novelty of living in the woods, far from the main roads. The property is still home to some goats, and I heard some chickens roosting about in one of the outbuildings.

But, the lizards were the best. Sue spotted them first, and I was lucky enough to become friendly with this red headed lizard, who allowed me to take numerous photos of him. Of course, I expected him to speak in an Australian accent and sell me insurance, but I would be a liar if I were to tell you that is what happened.

This little village really was self sufficent. Along with the hen house, the pastures for the sheep and cattle, alongside of the vegetable and herb gardens, and the smokehouse, was the most important building of all- the gin house, which allowed them to gin their own cotton, resulting in a larger profit from the cotton crop, which was the mainstay of the village. They even had a loom house, where they spun their own cotton into cloth.

This is a wonderful place to visit for a look back at what life was really like in the last days of the 18th Century. With it's lack of regimentation, it is the perfect way to spend a spring afternoon in the past.

For more about this historical village visit the website at;

http://south-carolina-plantations.com/york/brattonsville.html