The Endangered

Here is the good news. Until recently, this house was surrounded by junked cars and enough flotsam and jetsam to make a salvage dealer shout hallelujah. We can give thanks that most all of it is now gone. Having seen photos, I can assure you that the person (or the army) tasked with the cleanup had their hands completely full.

When I first ran across a photo of the McMillan House in Latta, SC several years ago, I was the one shouting hallelujah. The Second Empire structure is widely regarded as one of the finest in all of Dillon County, and from what I know of South Carolina’s historic architecture, I would put it near the top of the Second Empire list for the entire state. Here, below, was the photo that captured my heart.

The town of Latta is a short reach from where I live in North Carolina, so I immediately went to work trying to track down a recent street view of the house online, which is a prerequisite for me when planning a run for a photo shoot. The sickening result took my breath away and broke my heart. In that photo (which is no longer the street view and therefore not available for me to show here), several junked cars and mountains of debris, which looked very much like the overflow of a hoarder, littered the front yard and covered the front walk, completely blocking the entrance. On top of that, the house appeared to have gone dramatically downhill since the photo, above, which was taken 12 years ago.

Seeing that photo, I truly did not have the heart to make the journey. Abusing a house of this quality in such a way is truly shameful, and viewing such neglect is physically painful for those of us who care about historic preservation. I couldn’t do it.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I found myself on the SC coast for a book signing, and had several options for the return route home on Sunday morning. Seeing that Latta was on the way, I decided to check on the old house. When I pulled up the latest street view online, my heart sang. The junk was gone and the house still stood.

As mentioned in the opening of this post - that is the good news. In the not-so-good-news department, the place is still in need of a lot of love. One side of the gorgeous third-floor dormer appears to have rotted away, and the ghostly remains of that junkyard are still evident. Weeds and broom straw, even in January, appear to be gaining the high ground.

I took a few photos and said a prayer before promising myself I would research the history. Following that, I moved on to survey the rest of Latta - which is beautifully preserved and contains a nice handful of other significant old places.

As for that history, the McMillan House was built in 1890 - two years after the town of Latta was established. Local merchant, Sidney Alexis McMillan, known to everyone as “Lex”, had taken over the remains of a mercantile business that had been run by a loveable hustler named W.W. George. Mr. George was quite the go-getter - having built a significant chunk of the earliest houses in Latta - and having accomplished the task all within the space of 13 months. His store was part of that burst of activity, but his tenure as shop-keeper was brief.

Once S.A. McMillan’s Mercantile took over, things took off. As was (and still is) the case in a lot of small towns, the store sold more than one thing. (I’m reminded of Fremin’s Food and Furniture, still going strong in New Iberia, Louisiana to this day as the home of the best Cajun seasoning known to man.) In the case of McMillan’s, they specialized in furniture, medicine, and hats.

Lex McMcMillan and his wife, Sue, made a good life in Latta running the store, farming cotton and tobacco, and raising three children. In fact, one of the boys, Norman “Bub” McMillan, had a stellar career in major league baseball that included stints with the Yankees, Red Sox, Browns, Saints and Cubs. What is more, Bub McMillan still holds the major league record for one of the shortest home run balls ever hit. It traveled all of 100 feet.

Learning the story behind the family who built this house made the sadness of what it has become all the more touching, but there is hope. Property records indicate that it changed hands in 2019, and I want to believe that this new owner is responsible for the recent clean-up.

As I have learned through the years, the reason behind the decline of these old places is very often as heartbreaking as the decline itself. Houses such as this are very difficult to maintain, and property owners often are helpless to keep up. That does not excuse the tenure of the hoarder in this case, but it does serve to illustrate that bad intentions are not always at work when an old house becomes vulnerable.

If you are a resident of Latta or Dillon County and can help shed light on this current situation, I would be delighted to hear from you. The information does not even need to be a public comment. You are welcome to message me via email and I will keep the info confidential if you wish. In the process, though, if there is a way to help facilitate the saving of this one, I would be more than willing to help point someone in the right direction.

In the meantime, please join me in wishing this pretty old girl a safe passage.

Top and bottom photos by Beth Yarbrough. Center photo via Wikipedia, photographer unknown.