Thornwell
Encyclopedia
Thornwell Orphanage opened in Clinton, South Carolina
on October 1, 1875, to ten children orphaned by the American Civil War
. It was founded by Reverend William Plumer Jacobs and named for noted theologian James Henley Thornwell
. Dr. Jacobs went on to found Presbyterian College
and his son Thornwell Jacobs
revitalized Oglethorpe University
.
Thornwell Orphanage came to be when a ten year-old, Willie Anderson, gave Dr. Jacobs fifty cents to "build your orphanage." Dr. Jacobs built the orphanage with the help of his church and presided over the orphanage until his death in 1917.
Thornwell Home for Children, once known as Thornwell Home and School for Children (formerly Thornwell Orphanage), operates 12 residential cottages with 6-8 children per home. It has school buildings, an infirmary, office facilities, recreational facilities (including a swimming pool, gymnasium, ballfields and tennis courts), a museum, a dining hall, a Church and Sunday-school building (Hartness-Thornwell Memorial Presbyterian Church), a farm (Lushacres Farm) and various maintenance facilities. Thornwell is supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Synod of the South Atlantic, congregations within the Synod and without, and private donations.
Most of the buildings are made of granite or with granite facings and the campus is notably attractive. Many of the buildings are part of the Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District which comprises the historic cores of Presbyterian College and the Thornwell Home and School for Children, together with the adjacent residential streets. The Thornwell campus is unified by consistency of materials (granite stone) and by scale. The Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District was listed in the National Register March 5, 1982.
Thornwell has some interesting attributes:
Thornwell is located in downtown Clinton, on South Broad Street and across the street from Presbyterian College.
Thornwell School was shut down in May 2007 due to insufficient funding, however the home and daycare remain open.
Clinton, South Carolina
Clinton is a city in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,091 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville–Mauldin–Easley Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clinton was first settled by Scots-Irish immigrants two decades before the American Revolutionary...
on October 1, 1875, to ten children orphaned by the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It was founded by Reverend William Plumer Jacobs and named for noted theologian James Henley Thornwell
James Henley Thornwell
James Henley Thornwell was an American Presbyterian preacher and religious writer.Born in Marlboro District, South Carolina, on December 9, 1812; Thornwell graduated from South Carolina College at nineteen, studied briefly at Harvard, then entered the Presbyterian ministry...
. Dr. Jacobs went on to found Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College
Presbyterian College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, South Carolina, USA. Presbyterian College, or PC, is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA. PC was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs, a prominent Presbyterian minister who also founded the nearby Thornwell Home and...
and his son Thornwell Jacobs
Thornwell Jacobs
-Early life:Jacobs was born in Clinton, South Carolina, February 15, 1877, at the Thornwell Orphanage. The orphanage was founded by his father, Reverend William Plumer Jacobs. His mother was Mary Jane Jacobs....
revitalized Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe University
Oglethorpe University is a private liberal arts college in Brookhaven, Georgia, an inner suburb of Atlanta. It was chartered in 1835 and named after James Edward Oglethorpe, the state's founder.-History:...
.
Thornwell Orphanage came to be when a ten year-old, Willie Anderson, gave Dr. Jacobs fifty cents to "build your orphanage." Dr. Jacobs built the orphanage with the help of his church and presided over the orphanage until his death in 1917.
Thornwell Home for Children, once known as Thornwell Home and School for Children (formerly Thornwell Orphanage), operates 12 residential cottages with 6-8 children per home. It has school buildings, an infirmary, office facilities, recreational facilities (including a swimming pool, gymnasium, ballfields and tennis courts), a museum, a dining hall, a Church and Sunday-school building (Hartness-Thornwell Memorial Presbyterian Church), a farm (Lushacres Farm) and various maintenance facilities. Thornwell is supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church , or PC, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. Part of the Reformed tradition, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the U.S...
Synod of the South Atlantic, congregations within the Synod and without, and private donations.
Most of the buildings are made of granite or with granite facings and the campus is notably attractive. Many of the buildings are part of the Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District which comprises the historic cores of Presbyterian College and the Thornwell Home and School for Children, together with the adjacent residential streets. The Thornwell campus is unified by consistency of materials (granite stone) and by scale. The Thornwell-Presbyterian College Historic District was listed in the National Register March 5, 1982.
Thornwell has some interesting attributes:
- It is one of the earliest American child-care facilities that used "cottages" rather than dormatories to house children.
- Cyrus McCormick, the inventor of the reaper, supported Thornwell and there was once a "McCormick Cottage" on the campus.
- Thornwell children themselves dug the campus swimming pool.
Thornwell is located in downtown Clinton, on South Broad Street and across the street from Presbyterian College.
Thornwell School was shut down in May 2007 due to insufficient funding, however the home and daycare remain open.