Historic Brattonsville –Culture & Heritage Museums

In the summer of 1841, Dr. John S. Bratton, Sr. built a new house in now-historic Brattonsville. When completed, the “Brick House” house served a variety of domestic, civic, and commercial purposes in the local community.

After the Civil War, Napoleon Bonaparte Bratton, Dr. John S. Bratton, Sr.’s youngest son, re-opened the Brattonsville store inside the Brick House, stocking a wide range of products. But the house would never been famous for its retail history.

On March 7, 1871, the home became the site of a coroner’s inquest into the murder of South Carolina militia Captain James Williams. Williams, African-America, was an active civil rights leader during the Reconstruction Era Ku Klux in York County. On March 7, 1871, the Klan had raided Williams’ home and lynched him. The inquest was performed at the Brick House.

Many years later, the Culture & Heritage Museums of York acquired the property, and then conducted an initial phase of preservation/stabilization activities between 2013-14.

On November 23, 2021, the Brick House was opened for public interpretation for the first time. The exhibit Liberty & Resistance: Reconstruction and the African American Community at Brattonsville 1865-1877 details the Reconstruction Era in York County, with a special focus on the life and legacy of Capt. Williams. The exhibit is part of an effort to tell a more inclusive story at Historic Brattonsville. To this end, the museum worked with local historians, advisors, and scholars including the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the local NAACP, and descendants of Capt. Williams. Descendants were invited to a private preview of the exhibit prior to its public opening. After the tour, one descendant said that he “left with a sense of pride” knowing that his ancestor “fought for inclusion, equity, and representation.”