Historic Blackmon Home
363 East Main Street
Private residence
Architect: Julian S. Starr
Builder: Julian S. Starr
Built: circa 1905
Dr. Blackmon had his office at the Equitable Building (Lt)., the corner of East Main and North Trade Street.
Postcard view of East Main Street in ca. 1910
This was one of the two homes constructed along Main Street, by Rock Hill architect, Mr. Julian Starr as a speculative venture, dividing the one large lot which he had purchased earlier into two suitable building sites. The Rock Hill Record reported on Dec. 5, 1912 - "Dr. W.R. Blackmon, who recently graduated from the Medical Un. of Louisville Kentucky, and who began the practice of his profession in Kershaw, S.C., left last week for Rock Hill, where he has accepted a position as house physician at the Fennell Infirmary. This is an excellent recommendation for Dr. Blackmon and while we regret to lose him as a citizen of Kershaw, we wish him every success in his new field of work."
This article clearly parallels the arrival of Dr. Blackmon and the subsequent sale of Julian Starr’s new house to the young M.D.
Dr. Blackmon worked closely with the Fennell Infirmary but also opened his own medical practice at the Roddey Building at the corner of East Main and North Trade Street. Here he became acquainted with the need for medical services to not only Rock Hill’s prosperous citizens but also the extensive needs of the poor. He was known to have often traveled to the Catawba Reservation to deliver babies and take care of the sick. Payment for services was often provided through a gift of Catawba Pottery, some of which became highly collectable and now is on display at the Catawba Pottery Museum in Lancaster, S.C.
It has been reported that Doctors Wm. Frank Strait and Blackmon, who shared an office, were two of the last individuals to have retained offices on Main Street.
The Blackmon home was later owned and cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Mackey Joe Norman during much of the late 20th century.