A Beauty of A Stone House...and a Few Chiggers

Fieldwork has its benefits…and its drawbacks. Keyes Williamson and Madie Fischetti spent a hot July morning at Kings Mountain National Military Park recording a 19th century farmstead. The Howser Farmstead landscape encompasses approximately 30 acres on the northwestern boundary of Kings Mountain NMP. The landscape includes a gorgeous stone house, former agricultural terraces, dry stacked stone walls, a family cemetery, and the ruins of agricultural structures. WLA Studio is assisting the National Park Service, Interior Region 2 in developing treatment recommendations for this cultural landscape. Our team came home with fieldwork completed—but a batch of chiggers made for an itchy weekend!

She’s a beauty! The Howser House at Kings Mountain National Military Park

More about the Howser House cultural landscape: Following his service during the American Revolution, stone mason and farmer, Henry Howser, migrated south from Pennsylvania to the Carolina piedmont region. Howser acquired land on Kings Creek near the site of the American Revolution battle of Kings Mountain. On this site, he established a family farmstead and built a large stone house, now called the Howser House. It was a significant departure from typical piedmont building types of the era and embodied the slow process of German-American acculturalization following the war. The Howser House reflects the skill, wealth, and societal position Henry Howser acquired in the community. Henry Howser conducted large agricultural operations that included logging, raising crops, animal husbandry, milling grain, and distilling spirits. By the time of his death in 1822, he accumulated several thousand acres, ran a successful farm, had nine children, provided land and capital to his children, and was a well-respected member of the community.