The John Craig House, the oldest in Chesterfield, was built about 1798 for John Craig (1755-1839), a veteran of the American Revolution, merchant, miller, and county official. Craig’s father Hugh moved his family from Ireland to Virginia in 1760, and John and his older brother Alexander came to South Carolina soon after the war and helped organize Chesterfield District, later Chesterfield County. Craig also served as Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Commissioner of Locations. Craig, his wife Sarah Chapman (1778-1852), and their eleven children lived in the fourteen-room house, which often entertained travelers and distinguished guests. He operated a general store, tannery, and shoe shop in Chesterfield, as well as Craig’s Mill on Thompson’s Creek. His son William E. lived there on March 2, 1865, when Federal General W.T. Sherman used the house as his overnight headquarters in Chesterfield.