Beautiful Large Home in SC has been Demolished

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Fred H. Young, a farmer and partner in Youngs' Pedigreed Seed Farms, first won regard throughout the South for his high-grade cotton seed. "Young's Special" cotton had produced a one-season yield of twenty-two bales on eight acres. When the boll weevil drastically reduced cotton production, Young decided to expand into dairy farming, and in about 1916 he began his herd with the purchase of Belle de Sarah, a registered Jersey.

He slowly and steadily increased his herd and in 1923 decided to begin scientifically testing the yields of his cattle. His first test cow was Belle de Sarah, who produced, in the first test year, 858.10 pounds of butterfat and 16,373 pounds of milk, making her the highest record cow in the South and the first Southern cow to win the American Jersey Cattle Club Medal of Merit for producing more than 850 pounds of butterfat. In succeeding years many of Young's cattle set records and were awarded American Jersey Cattle Club medals. These included Blue Fox's Eminent Sultana, Fontaine's Golden Florence, and Sarah's Golden Spot. Dairy products from Young's farm found a successful market in Florence and the surrounding areas.

Perhaps the high point of Young's career as a dairyman came in 1925 when his Sensation's Mikado's Millie set a world record for butterfat production in the senior two-year-old Jersey class. Her performance, the production of 13,303 pounds of milk and 850.81 pounds of butterfat, made her the first two-year-old in the world to win the American Jersey Cattle Club Medal of Merit. She was also the first cow of any breed in the South to set a world record, the first two-year-old to qualify for a Medal of Merit, the highest-producing two-year-old of any breed in the South, and the first two-year-old in the South to produce 1,000 pounds of butter in one year. Millie won more honors than any southern cow of any breed and more than any two-year old in the world.

Millie's achievements along with those of the rest of Young's herd, all of whom were bred, born, and raised in South Carolina, were cited as proof that dairy farming was well suited to South Carolina. Herbert Hoover, then secretary of commerce, visited the Young farm while in Florence in 1925 and expressed his belief that South Carolina held great potential for dairy farming. Young's farm was seen as a model operation and his modest beginning and low-cost operation were recommended for emulation among aspiring dairy farmers.

Demolition starts for historic Ed Young Plantation in Florence WBTW July 12^th, 2024

Site Description

The Young Farm is a collection of buildings, including a residence and outbuildings, associated with the dairy farm of Fred H. Young, a prominent Florence County agri-businessman and dairy farmer. The farm is located between Florence and Timmonsville in Florence County, South Carolina.

The Young Farm complex consists of a main residence and a collection of outbuildings including a dairy barn, cow shed, and silo. These properties are associated with the dairy farm of Fred H. Young, and the continued use of the property for agricultural purposes.

The following properties comprise the Young Farm complex:

1. The Young House is a two-story, frame house sheathed in weatherboard. The house was originally a one-story, central-hall residence constructed ca. 1877 by William Henry Young. In 1919, his son Fred H. Young enlarged and remodeled the house. At this time the gable-roofed second story was added along with a two-story, gable-roofed projecting bay on the northeast elevation and a gable-roofed, one-story wing at the rear (northwest elevation), which has two small shed-roofed additions on its southwest elevation. Also constructed in 1919 was the two-story pedimented portico on the facade (southeast elevation), which is supported by two pairs of Corinthian columns and has a semi-elliptical light with key block in the tympanum. A one-story, hip-roofed, wraparound porch with a plain balustrade shelters the first story facade, which features a central, single door, entrance with multi-paned sidelights and transom flanked by single nine-over-one windows. The second story facade features similar fenestration; the entrance opens onto a balcony with a plain balustrade. There are three interior chimneys in the 1919 portion of the house, and windows are all nine-over-one.

In 1969 the house was renovated, retaining the integrity of the 1919 house. A large one-story addition was constructed at the rear (northwest elevation) of the house. The weatherboarded frame addition has a truncated hip roof, one interior chimney, one large multi-paned window and nine-over-one windows.

2. Truck Shed - Frame with metal siding and metal roof.

3. Barn and Silo - One-and-one-half story block and wood with a gambrel roof.

4. Outbuilding - One story with metal gable roof; exterior rear chimney. Block and weatherboard.

5. Cow Shed (1920s)- Small, one-story, frame with metal roof.

6. Dairy Barn and Silo (1920s) - One-and-one-half story, frame with metal gable roof. Cylindrical silo attached to the rear.

7. Grain Storage Silos-Five cylindrical prefabricated silos with conical-shaped roofs.

8. Office Building (1970s) - Small one-story wood frame building with gable roof. Exterior end chimney.

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