Dear Warner,

I wanted to let you know that Cabin Branch (at the end of Chappell Creek Rd.) was struck b y lightning on the evening of Wednesday July 23, and burned completely.

The fire department did everything they could, but an old wooden house on fire doesn't do well. I know you had spoken with my brother, Lewis Smith, about the old house a few months ago.

We're very saddened to lose this old friend.

Sincerely, Mackie O'Keefe

The remains of the Hicks Chappell House

This devastating news came as I was preparing to write a story on the oldest dwelling in Richland County, the Hicks Chappell House of Cabin Branch Plantation in Hopkins. The house was built in 1781, five years before Columbia was established. It sheltered families who built the Lower Richland community, survived the Civil War, and prospered into the 21st century. It was recently restored by descendants of the original owner. Now it is gone, destroyed by a lightning strike.

History of the Hicks Chappell House

Major Hicks (Hix) Chappell (1759- 1836) was born in Virginia and came down the Great Wagon Road to central South Carolina just in time to join the patriot cause in the American Revolution. He was 19 and tall (5'11"), a private with Capt. Robert Goodwyn's Rangers along the Congaree River when the Declaration of Independence was signed. When the war ended, he collected 56 pounds for his service with Col. Thomas Taylor's Cavalry and was awarded the rank of major. In 1834, two years before his death, Chappell was granted a federal pension of $400 a year for his military service.

The Hicks Chappell House in Hopkins was built in 1781 and stood until July 23, 2008.

Chappell married Elizabeth Threewits (1760- 1841), a fellow traveler on the Great Wagon Road, in 1780. They built their home on Cabin Branch (AKA Myers Creek) near John Hopkins' Back Swamp and Old Field plantations, the community that became Hopkins. They called their home Cabin Branch Plantation (not to be confused with the nearby John Hopkins plantation by the same name). The creek gave them water for their crops and access to the Congaree River in what is now the Congaree National Park.

The house was a simple two- story frame house modeled after those in Virginia. On the first floor were the library, dining room, and parlor. Four bedrooms were on the second floor. The attic was used for storage. The kitchen and outhouses were separate buildings in the yard. A front porch and additional rooms were added later.

The front of the Hicks Chappell House in Hopkins before it was burned.

In the 1790 census, the household included the parents, two children ( John Joel and James Henry), and 16 slaves. Three children had died in infancy.

Hicks Chappell jumped into politics as soon as Richland County was organized. He was appointed one of the county's first judges then took Wade Hampton's seat in the S.C. House of Representatives when the war hero became sheriff.

Chappell left his home, land, and servants to his wife. The farm's income was divided among his wife and sons. At his wife's death, all was to go to his sons. He left three slaves - Jinny, Heggar, and Betty - $5 annually.

John Joel Chappell (1786- 1871), Hicks's oldest son, married Sophie M. Green. They had seven children. Chappell served in the War of 1812 as a colonel, in the S.C. House of Representatives, and in the U.S. House of Representatives. John's daughter, Eugenia (1812- 1839), married Andrew Pickens Calhoun, the son of John C. Calhoun. Eugenia and their infant are buried in First Baptist Church cemetery in Columbia.

James Henry Chappell (1785- 1850), Hicks and Elizabeth's second son, married Margaret Goodwyn. They had four children. Ownership of the Hicks Chappell house passed to his son, James Jr. who married Elizabeth Butler. Their son, Francis Marion Chappell, moved to Florida. Their daughter, Jessie, who married Charles T. Smith, received the house. Jessie and Charles had eight children: Laura, Charles Jr., Elizabeth, Septima, Edward, Teresa, Claudia, and Jessie Jr.

Septima Smith, a long time teacher at Shandon/Schneider School and author of the school's history, lived in the house with her sister, Claudia, until her death. The house was sold outside of the family, then in 1990 it was brought back into the family by Charles IV and Lewis, sons of Charles T. Smith III and descendants of Hicks Chappell.

The Smiths purchased the home and surrounding acreage and formed a partnership (Cabin Branch Associates). Mackie (sister of Charles IV and Lewis) and Pat O'Keefe bought a share in the partnership after Pat retired from the Navy and moved back to Columbia in 1994. The house was renovated and used as a weekend and vacation retreat for the three families.

On July 23, disaster struck! The 227- year- old house burned to the ground. Richland County lost a valuable artifact. The Chappell- Smith family is devastated but plans to rebuild on the same site.