Old Plantation House

Built in the 1850s in rural South Carolina, this stately home once stood at the heart of a vast cotton plantation that stretched across the surrounding farmland. Its original owner married three times and raised twelve children within its walls. Together with his nephew and a farm laborer, likely an enslaved man, he constructed the house by hand, shaping each piece of timber and brick with care.

Designed in the classic I-house style, the home features tall brick chimneys and rests on a foundation of sturdy brick pillars and hand-hewn sills fastened with wooden pegs. Square nails and cypress shingles were crafted right on the plantation, reflecting the self-sufficiency of 19th-century farm life. In later years, the house served as the town’s first post office, with the owner’s son-in-law appointed as its inaugural postmaster.

In the early 20th century, a powerful earthquake toppled one of the chimneys. A renowned local brick mason not only rebuilt it but also designed the brick entryway that now frames the property’s front approach. Decades later, a hurricane in the 1980s swept through, destroying several outbuildings including the corn house, stable, and the old barn that once doubled as a lively community square dance hall. Remarkably, the property has remained in the same family for generations and today is recognized as a centennial farm, a living testament to endurance, craftsmanship, and Southern heritage. Despite a number of renovations, the home still retains many of its original features.

Locals say the story of this old plantation home isn’t quite finished. According to previous owners, a mysterious figure is said to linger in the attic, sometimes seen gazing from the rear windows in the fading light of late afternoon. Whether ghost or memory, the presence adds another layer to the home’s long and complex past. Vacant since the passing of its last owner more than a decade ago, the property now rests quietly beneath the southern sky as a haunting reminder of the generations, and the secrets, it still holds.

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