Fort Hill
Fort Hill was the home of John C. Calhoun, South Carolina's pre-eminent 19th century statesman, from 1825 until his death in 1850. The antebellum plantation home, office and kitchen are furnished mostly with family artifacts.

John Caldwell Calhoun's national political career spanned 40 years from 1810 to 1850. His service in the national government included: United States representative (1811-1817); secretary of war to President James Monroe (1817-1825); vice president to President John Quincy Adams (1825-1829); vice president to President Andrew Jackson (1829-1832); United States senator (1832-1843); secretary of state to President John Tyler (1844-1845) and United States senator (1845-1850).

Thomas Green Clemson, Calhoun's son-in-law and founder of the University, envisioned "the preservation of the home of the illustrious man who spent his life in the public service of his country." Thomas Clemson willed that Fort Hill "shall always be open for the inspection of visitors."

Location
Fort Hill is located in Clemson, S.C., near the intersection of Fort Hill Street and Calhoun Drive in the center of the Clemson University campus.

Parking
Visitor parking passes are available at the University Visitors Center located on Alumni Circle. Handicapped parking is available.

Additional Information about the House
The house was built by John and Mary Calhoun in the late 1880s. Mary, born in 1860, was the daughter of Alfred A. Plummer, who founded Port Townsend in 1851. The site of the house was Plummer property that was given to Mary in 1884 by her mother, Anna Plummer. The site, since subdivided, then consisted of the west half of the present block. John Calhoun died in 1891, leaving Mary with a four-year-old daughter. As a result of her husband's death, she was unable to meet the mortgage payments, and she lost the property.

The house was built without plumbing and was later modified and added to in different ways to provide bathroom and other space. This house has had the least space added.

The original house had five main rooms: parlor, dining room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. There was also an entry hall, a pantry, and two closets. A side porch at the back of the house had steps that lead to a carriage house to the north, now the location of a neighbor's home.

In the old houses that were built without plumbing, the first plumbing was generally installed in the kitchen. Later, a bathroom was placed off the kitchen, near the plumbing. Before the 1995 tour, the present owner, an architect, had removed this bathroom, which had been added as a lean-to off the kitchen. She had also removed the wall between the kitchen and the pantry, which had been turned into a laundry and passage to the bathroom. She had carved a bathroom space out of a closet in one bedroom, converted the porch to a cozy inglenook with a brick fireplace, added another back porch and pantry, and supported the house with a sturdy new basement.

Hours
Fort Hill is open Monday - Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon & 1 to 4:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 2 to 4:30 p.m. Closed University holidays.

Fees
An admission donation of $5 for adults and $4 for senior citizens.