Boyd House Interior

The design of the five-room Boyd House is a common one – two parlors flanking each side of a wide central hall running perpendicular to the street. Each set of parlors shares a common chimney. The fireplaces were probably wood burning in the mid-19th century but later converted to accommodate coal as fuel.

The original cypress double-hung windows are large, lighting the interior and allowing for adequate ventilation. Exterior shutters move on hinges to close out the sun at certain times of the day. Ceilings are just over ten feet tall to allow the hot Southern air to rise above its inhabitants. All of these elements are original to the circa 1853 structure.

Boyd House Entrance

Flanked by three-pane sidelights with raised panels and crowned by a four-pane transom, the two-panel cypress front door is appropriate to the classic Greek Revival style. The facings of the front door are battered, eared, and back banded, also Greek Revival details. All doors except the one at the front entrance are original.

Original heart pine floors run throughout the house and are in remarkable condition. Tack marks on the floors indicate the placement of floor coverings through the years. Painted canvas floor cloths ran down and across the entrance hall. Straw mats and perhaps a woven Venetian carpet graced the floors of the bedrooms. The parlor and dining room likely were carpeted with wool ingrain carpet similar to the fine reproduction carpet laid there now.

Wall and ceiling surfaces were originally plaster. The closets are not original to the 1853 structure but were probably added before 1863.