James Dunklin House
The James Dunklin House, also known as the Williams-Watts-Todd-Dunklin House, is a historic residence located at 544 West Main Street in Laurens, South Carolina. Constructed around 1812, it exemplifies the Upcountry farmhouse or I-house style, featuring a two-story, five-bay structure with informal spacing of columns and twin pipe-stem chimneys . Design: The house is a two-story, five-bay structure with informal spacing of columns and twin pipe-stem chimneys.
- Modifications: In 1950, an 1845 wing was removed and converted into a six-room apartment building located behind the main house. At this time, a first-floor sun porch was added to the rear of the house.
- Outbuildings: The property includes outbuildings such as a renovated slave cabin, a garage apartment, and a reconstruction of a kitchen at Colonial Williamsburg.
The house was originally built for Washington Williams, a son of Colonel James Williams, and was later owned by various families, including the Watts and Todd families. In 1950, James G. Dunklin, an antiques collector and historic preservationist, acquired the property. He restored the house and donated it to the Laurens County Landmarks Foundation as a house museum upon his death in 1973 .
The James Dunklin House was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974, and is located within the Laurens Historic District, which encompasses 77 contributing buildings and 1 contributing structure in Laurens .