The Charles H. Lawton residence is one of the 40 homes located in the Treadwell Street Historic District. The District provides significant information about the history of the African American community in Orangeburg in the early twentieth century.  This neighborhood was one of the most well to do African American neighborhoods in the city. All residents of Treadwell Street, as well as those of the Treadwell-Amelia Streets intersection, listed in the 1920-1921 Orangeburg City Directory, were African American. Listed were laborers, tradesmen, professionals and businessmen living in the neighborhood. The majority of the homes were constructed between ca. 1890 and ca. 1930 and are set on small lots planted with bushes, trees and lawns. Houses are one and two-story, weatherboard frame, with simple design and detailing reflecting vernacular architectural modes of the period, including Victorian and Bungalow. Listed in the National Register September 20, 1985.

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Notable Persons of Treadwell Street

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Jacob Moorer
Jacob Moorer was a lawyer and a civil rights activist. He was admitted to the South Carolina bar in the early 1900s. Formed a partnership with another Black lawyer John Adams. In their most notable case, they risked their lives to represent a Black man who was accused of murdering a white man. Moorer contested exclusion of Black people from Grand Jury as being in violation of the Constitution and sought to bar the dying declaration that his client was the murderer. He was unsuccessful and the man was convicted of the crime.. Moorer appealed the conviction before the South Carolina Supreme Court and the United States Supreme. Theirs was the second appearance of African Americans before US supreme court

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Shellie Louis Jr.
During his high school years, Shellie Louis Jr. was honored as a young inventor. His version of a parking meter gained national attention. He invented a system to synchronize all the lights in Orangeburg. He also invented a computer. Louis went on to medical school and became a dentist, practicing in Georgia.

 

The Dash Family
Before the advent of the automobile, Lavalle David Dash, patriarch of Dash Family started taxi service with horse and buggy. Dash’s Taxi Service became the first taxi service owned and operated by a Black person or white man in Orangeburg. Upon his death at age 50 his wife Mattie Rufus Dash continued the business. Dash’s Taxi Service is still in operation. 

 

The Sunlight Club and Community Center
The Sunlight Club, formed in 1910, was the first African American women's organization dedicated to performing charitable acts for fellow citizens. They formed the first Girl Scout troop for African American girls in Orangeburg (circa 1951). They were the first sponsor in Orangeburg of Project Head Start. Amanda Lawton, wife of Charles H. Lawton was one of the charter members.

Julia Breeland
Julia Breeland, known as Madam Breeland, owned and operated a beauty salon which catered to both Black and white clientele. She established the first cosmetology school for African Americans in South Carolina in 1910. She created and distributed her own line of beauty products in 1914. In 1936 Breeland Organized South Carolina Beauticians Association now known as the South Carolina State Cosmetology Association.