Cross Keys House

Cross Keys House is a historic plantation house built in 1814 by a successful merchant named Barrun Bobo. It is the one of the oldest houses in the county and in the Upstate part of South Carolina. Cross Keys is located at an intersection of two historic roads—Old Buncombe Road and Old Piedmont State Road (now State Road 44-22). Two historic stone milestone markers are still in place in front of the house that tell the distance to Union and Columbia. The house is an excellent example of Georgian architecture and it features a small portico and two pairs of chimneys on either side. In between each chimney is a stone inscribed with the the dates of construction, the Cross Keys insignia, and Bobo's initials. On the grounds of the house are a number of buildings what were relocated here: a log cabin, Blacksmith shop, barn, and detached kitchen. The site operates as museum on Saturdays and hosts a living history event in April.

It is believed that name Cross Keys was chosen because that was the name of the community at the time. Before Bobo built the house, the community was already an important location, as evidenced by a post office that was established here in 1809. For many years, the house served as a rest stop. The most notable visit occurred in April 1865 when Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet (they were also escorted by five brigades), stopped and dined here as they fled Richmond, Virginia, which was about to fall after the Union captured the nearby city of Petersburg. The living history event in April recreates this visit and there is also a reenactment of a skirmish. Cross Keys was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

"Cross Keys." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed June 21, 2021. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=13390.

"Cross Keys House." SC Picture Project. Accessed June 21, 2021. https://www.scpictureproject.org/union-county/cross-keys-house.html.

Ruhf, Nancy R. "The Cross Keys House." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 24, 1971. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2f325cbc-22f4-464c-a790-e010c166cec5.