History and Culture - Plantations

Ashtabula Historic House

2725 Old Greenville Hwy. (SC 88)
Central, SC 29630
(864) 646-7249
www.pendletonhistoricfoundation.org
This 10-acre site includes the large two story “main” house, c.1825, built by Lewis Ladson Gibbes & wife Maria Drayton Gibbes, and an attached brick two-story building, c.1790, one of earliest licensed taverns in the SC Upcountry. Ashtabula is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a site on the SC National Heritage Corridor. Open April – October with a special holiday schedule during Thanksgiving and Christmas and by appointment anytime. Call or visit website for current schedule.

Woodburn Historic House

130 History Lane
Pendleton, SC 29670
(864) 646-7249, 646-3782
www.pendletonhistoricfoundation.org
The 12-acre historic site includes the four story c.1830 mansion built as a summer residence by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, c.1810 log Moorhead Cabin/cookhouse, Victorian Carriage house, 2-room slave/tenant cabin (birthplace of Jane Edna Hunter, a nationally recognized African-American activist and reformer) and a nature trail to the ruins of the 1880’s farm
buildings.  Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a site on the SC National Heritage Corridor.  Open April – October on select days and by appointment anytime.  Call or visit website for current schedule. Admission. Grounds available for weddings & receptions.

Beattie House

8 Bennett St.
Greenville, SC 29601
(864) 233-9977
The Italianate Gothic-style house, circa 1834, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is furnished in early Victorian style and is now occupied by the Greenville Woman’s Club. The house is available for weddings, receptions, parties, etc. Open by appointment.

Cherrydale at Furman University

3300 Poinsett Hwy.
Greenville, SC 29613
(864) 294-3464
www.furman.edu
The 150-year old antebellum mansion, formerly the home of Furman’s first president, James C. Furman, serves as the university’s alumni house. Tours by appointment.

Gassaway Mansion

106 Dupont Dr., Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 271-0188
The mansion combines several complex architectural styles and represents the wealthy Greenville of the 1920s. Open by appointment.

Kilgore-Lewis House

560 N. Academy St.
Greenville, SC 29601
(864) 232-3020
Kilgore-Lewis House (1838) is available for weddings, receptions, and meetings as well as free tours of the historic home and gardens maintained by the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs. Open year-round 10am-2pm M-F.

Oconee Station State Historic Site/Richards House

500 Oconee Station Rd.
Walhalla, SC 29691
(864) 638-0079
www.SouthCarolinaParks.com
Oconee Station was built in 1792 as one in a series of blockhouses along the SC frontier and was garrisoned with troops until 1799. The buildings were established during a period of tension between white settlers and the Indians. The adjacent William Richards House, built in 1805, is believed to be the first brick house built in the northwest corner of South Carolina and was a successful trading post. Nearby the beautiful Station Cove Falls can be enjoyed. The park is open 9am-6pm daily. Tours of the historic buildings are offered Sa and Su 1-5pm.

Hagood-Mauldin House/Irma Morris

Museum of Fine Arts
104 N. Lewis St., Pickens, SC 29671
(864) 878-4654 / (864) 878-9459
The house was built circa 1828 at the old Pickens Courthouse and moved to its present location in 1868. The classical Greek revival house features 17th and 18th-century art and furnishings. Open Apr-Oct, third Sa of each month, 11am-4pm. Admission. Group tours are offered by appointment.

Hanover House

Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634
(864) 656-2475
(864) 656-4789 (group tours)
The French Huguenot home, built in South Carolina’s Lowcountry in 1716, was reconstructed on Clemson University’s campus in 1941. It is currently furnished with items from the 1700s. In 1994 the house was moved to the South Carolina Botanical Garden on the Clemson campus. Open Sa 10am-Noon; 1-4:30pm; Su 24:30pm. The house is closed on home football game Saturdays and selected University holidays. Advance notice for groups suggested.

Fort Hill/John C. Calhoun House Museum

Box 345615, c/o Trustee House
Clemson University
Clemson, SC 29634-5615
(864) 656-2475
www.clemson.edu/about/history/forthill.html
John C. Calhoun, Vice President to John Adams and Andrew Jackson, made his home at the plantation. The home later became the home of his son-in-law, Thomas Green Clemson, founder of Clemson University. Now a National Historic Landmark, the house contains items which once belonged to Calhoun and Clemson. Open M-Sa 10am-12pm and 1pm-4pm; Su 2pm-4:30pm. Donations suggested of $5 adults, $4 seniors and $2 children.

Central History Museum

416 Church St.
Central, SC 29630
(864) 639-2794; (864) 639-2156
www.centralheritage.org
The 1893 house was the home of a local merchant and now houses a collection of historic memorabilia concerning the town and surrounding area. The Central Heritage Garden includes roses, gardenias, and azaleas with scattered pieces of sculpture. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Open each Sunday 2-4pm, except holidays; or open by appointment. Gardens are open daily dawn to dusk. Admission.

The Thomas Price House

1200 Oak View Farms Rd.
Woodruff, SC 29388
(864) 576-6546 www.spartanburghistory.org
The circa 1795 brick house was part of a 2,000-acre Upcountry plantation. The plantation was the site for the post office, general store and fed and housed travelers along the stage coach route. The features of the house include a steep gambrel roof and inside end chimneys, which were unusual for this section of the country. The bricks for the house were made on the premises and are laid in Flemish bond. In 2006, a slave cabin was moved to the site and restored. The house is Open Sa 11am-5pm, April 1-Oct. 31; Su 2-5pm, year-round; and by appointment. Admission.

Walnut Grove Plantation

1200 Otts Shoals Rd.
Roebuck, SC 29376
(864) 576-6546
www.spartanburghistory.org
The house is a 1760s manor house and Upcountry plantation that is listed on the National Register. The plantation was the home of the American Revolutionary War heroine, Kate Moore Barry. The site contains the Rocky Springs Academy, one of the first schools in the area, a kitchen and numerous outbuildings and the office of the county’s first doctor. A nature trail leads to the Moore family cemetery and a covered picnic area. Furnishings portray living conditions in Spartanburg County prior to 1800. Open Tu-F 11am-5pm, April 1-Oct. 31; Sa 11am-5pm and Su 2-5pm year-round. Admission.

The Seay House

100 Darby Rd., Spartanburg, SC 29306
(864) 596-3501
www.spartanburghistory.org
The Seay House is a surviving example of a small rural farmstead that existed prior to the development of Spartanburg. The log portion of the house is typical of the early architecture of the 18th-century. The House is open the third weekend of the month from April to October, Sa 11am-5pm, Su 1pm-5pm and by appointment. Suggested donation on weekends. Admission for groups.