Kilburnie is set on
historic Craig Farm located 3 miles north of Lancaster, SC.
John Craig,
Esquire, whose family originated in southwestern Scotland, immigrated
to South Carolina from Northern Ireland in 1772. After receiving a
land grant in Lancaster County from King George III, Craig bought
additional land in the Waxhaw's in 1773.
Historic Craig House
John Craig, Esquire and
several of his sons fought in the Revolutionary War battles that
occurred in the vicinity. The current Craig House dates from the early
1830s, and was originally a federal-style farmhouse. In 1901, it was
significantly enlarged with a Victorian front addition by John Edgar
and Amanda Drennan Craig, who were married in 1883 at Kilburnie, then
the residence of the Drennan's. Craig House was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1989. Badly deteriorated, Craig house
was restored during 1990/91 by the current owners and in 2003 a large
wing was added onto the back, where once the original pantry and
kitchen wing stood.
The fields and woods
surrounding historic Craig House are all part of pre-Civil War Craig Farm, which
included more than a thousand acres of the area between Highways 200
and 521 from Montgomery Lane to several miles north of Cane Creek.
Craig Farm today consists of close to 400 acres, owned by the
five siblings of the current Craig generation and Johannes Tromp, and is operated as a
cattle farm by Bill Craig, the twin brother of Kilburnie partner John
Craig. Bill is also a skilled cabinet maker, and fine examples of his
workmanship are scattered throughout Kilburnie.
