Basic Information

• Location – St. Matthews, Calhoun County

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

• ? – House built

• Circa 1880 – Othniel Hydrick Wienges purchased the plantation from Angelica Singleton.
  

  Angelica had been a White House Hostess under President James Madison (Sandlapper).
  

• The Wienges family added to the plantation's acerage growing it to about 4,000 acres at one point (Sandlapper).
  

• ? – Othniel Henry Wienges Sr. inherited the plantation from his father, Othniel Hydrick Wienges.
  

• ? – Othniel Henry Wienges Jr. became owner.
  

• 1965 – Tony award winning actress Viola Davis was born on August 11th at Singleton Plantation. Her family moved to Rhode Island when Viola was an infant (The State).
  

• 1991 – The red barn built by Othniel Hydrick Wienges in the early 1900s was used in the movie Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (The State).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 60 circa 1880; 2,600 in 2003; approximately 1,000 in 2012
  

  Today, much of the land is leased out (The State).
  

• Primary crop – Cotton historically; horse breeding in modern times
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Angelica Singleton (?-circa 1880), Othniel Hydrick Wienges (circa 1880 -?), Othniel Henry Wienges Sr., Othniel Henry Wienges Jr. (?-present, 2012)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• The former foreman's house is currently used as a guest house (Sandlapper).
  

Web Resources

• Otis R. Taylor Jr., Best Actress Nominee Viola Davis has Roots in St. Matthews, (The State Newspaper: February 26, 2012)
  

• Margaret N. O'Shea, Othniel Wienges, A Natural Judge of Horses - PDF, (Sandlapper: Summer 2003)
  

Print Resources

• Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
   Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
   Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII