Hanover House

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The Hanover House houses the Historic French Colonial Museum, and is located at the South Carolina Botanical Garden. It was built circa 1716 for French Huguenot Paul de St. Julien in Berkeley County, South Carolina.

St. Julien named his lowcountry plantation Hanover after the English monarch George I who, as George Louis, Elector of Hanover, had befriended French Huguenot Protestants and offered them safety prior to passage to America. St. Julien honored his French heritage in the mortar of one chimney where he inscribed "Peu a Peu" from the French proverb, "Little by little the bird builds its nest." The house remained in the St. Julien and Ravenel families for nearly 150 years.

Threatened with demolition in 1941, Hanover was moved to Clemson University, home to the state's architectural school. It stood on the main campus until it was relocated to the South Carolina Botanical Garden in 1994.

Reminiscent of Colonial Williamsburg, Hanover is preserved today as a monument of early French Colonial architecture. Its timeless design is featured in Southern Living Historical House Collection. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum contains 18th and 19th century artifacts. The restoration has been aided since 1953 by the Spartanburg Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America.

Hanover is open Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m - 12 noon and 1 - 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 - 4:30 p.m. Closed on university holidays. An admission donation of $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and $1 for children is suggested. School and group tours are by reservation only.

Trivia

In the 1970s, when the University Union hosted open-air beer busts on the grounds, this was nicknamed the "Hangover House".

Address

Historic Properties
Clemson University
P.O. Box 345615
Clemson, South Carolina 29634-5615
864-656-2241 or -2475
FAX 864-656-1026
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