— Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —

Basic Information

• Location – Robertville, Jasper County

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Old Barn, Mt Pleasant
  

• Current status – ?

— Barn and Corral at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —

Timeline

• 1775 – Earliest known date of existence

• ? – House built

• Early 1800s – James Elliott McPherson owned the plantation sometime before his death in 1834. He also owned Brewton Plantation and Vernesover Plantation (5, p. 97).
  

• 1865 – House was burned during Sherman's March to the Sea (2).
  

• Late 1880s – A new house was built (2).
  

• ? – Rev. Joseph T. Robert became owner of Pleasant Hill
  

  Rev. Robert's son, General Henry M. Robert, who is best known for drafting Robert's Rules of Order, spent a portion of his childhood at the plantation (1).
  

• Circa 1940s – Dr. and Katherine Clark Morris purchased the plantation.
  

• ? – Dr. Harrison Lee and Elizabeth Peeples purchased the property from Katherine Clark Morris after her husband's death.
  

• 2009 – Upon the death of Elizabeth Peeples, her three daughters, Elizabeth Peeples Laffitte, Patricia Peeples Westmoreland, MD, and Brenda Peeples Batten inherited the plantation. Dr. Peeples had passed away prior to his wife.
  

— Manager's House at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – ?

• Under the ownership of Mrs. Morris, Tom Manley shares his observations from a visit in 1948, "To sum it up, 15,000 acres of all kinds of hunting. No phone or electricity. Occupied by black tenant farmers who lived for free and raised their crops with mules supplying the power."
  

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Jones; James Elliott McPherson (early 1800s); Maner; Dr. and Katherine Clark Morris; Katherine Clark Morris; Dr. Harrison Lee and Elizabeth Peeples; Elizabeth Cleland Peeples (?-2009); Rev. Joseph T. Robert; Patricia Peeples Westmoreland, MD, and Brenda Peeples Batten (2009-present)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— West Gate Cabin at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —

Buildings

• Tom Manley shared the following with us, "[The] manor house [stands] at the head of oblong drive and green flanked by huge oak trees."
  

• The west gate cabin, pictured above, was used as a commissary by Sherman's troops during their march through South Carolina. It is now used as a guest cottage.
  

References & Resources

1. Grace Fox Perry, Moving Finger of Jasper - scroll down to "HENRY MARTYN ROBERT"
   
   
2. Brief description of Pleasant Hill Plantation - PDF - see page 6
   
   
3. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   
   
4. 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
   
   
5. Suzanne Cameron Linder, Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of the ACE River Basin - 1860 (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 1995)
    Order Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of the ACE River Basin - 1860
   
   
   
   — Kid's House at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —
   (Kid is a slave descendant)
   
   
   
   
   — Cooking Shed at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —
   
   
   
   
   — Green at Pleasant Hill Plantation, 1994 © Thomas Manley —