— Oak Grove Plantation House —
Photo courtesy of Theodore Guesnard Robinson, III ("Ted")
Click here for original image.

Basic Information

• Location – Rowesville, Orangeburgh District, Orangeburg County

  Located one mile north of Rowesville and eight miles south of Orangeburg
  

• Origin of name –

• Other names – St George, Chevilette, Roach
  

• Current status – Privately owned
  

Timeline

• 1757 – Earliest known date of existence

  The property was owned by Andrew Govan.
  

• 1771 – Andrew Govan died. In his will he left his plantation, called "St George," to his son, Daniel. The property consisted of 1,300 acres (Salley, p. 22).
  

• 1797 or 1798 – Daniel Govan was killed when thrown from a horse. Daniel's widow, Louisa Robinson, married John Chevilette, and they continued to live on the plantation. Later, the property was officially given to Daniel and Louisa's daughter, Eliza Ann Govan, and her husband, Nash Roach
  (Culler, p. 147).
  

• 1830s – John Robinson purchased Oak Grove from Nash Roach (Will).
  

  The house on the property was considered too small for Johns's family so he began to build a larger structure.

  Before purchasing Oak Grove, John Robinson built several houses in downtown Charleston. One of the best known is the Aiken-Rhett House, built in 1817. John lost this house about 1825 due to financial hardship incurred after several of his ships and their cargoes were captured and burned by the French. Although not legally liable for the cargoes of cotton and indigo, he felt obligated to repay the planters for the loss of their crops, and in doing so was forced to sell the home to the Aiken family to raise the capital.
  

• 1845 – John and his son, Murray, jointly owned Oak Grove
  (Will).
  

• 1847 – John sold Murray the plantation and forty-two slaves
  (Will).
  

• 1849 – John Robinson died. Murray and his wife, Felicia Jeane Hurtel, continued to live on the plantation and plant cotton until the Civil War. Murray was awarded a silver prize for raising the largest amount of cotton to the acre in South Carolina.
  

  Henry Timrod, considered the "Poet of the Confederacy," tutored the Robinson children from 1854 to 1856. Timrod dedicated his poem Praeceptor Amat to one of the older daughters, Felicia (Culler, pp. 252-255).
  

• 1879 – Murray's daughter, Felicia, and her husband, Edward N. Chisolm, purchased Oak Grove. The plantation consisted of 1,465 acres (Salley, pp. 23-24).
  

• 1880 – Murray Robinson died at Oak Grove on February 7. He was buried at the First Presbyterian Church in Orangeburg.
  

  "CAPT. MURRAY ROBINSON Old and respected citizen of Orangeburg ... in feeble health for several years ... Charleston was his native place. He also lived some time in Alabama, but Orangeburg was his adopted home. He was one of the founders of the old Agricultural Society of Orangeburg along with Dr. Elliott, Judge Glover, Rev. T.M. Legare, Col. Burton and others ... He always exhibited a taste for agricultural matters, and was a successful planter." (Orangeburg Times).
  

• 1903-1945 – Members of the Robinson family continued to make Oak Grove their home. The fields were worked by sharecroppers.
  

• 1945 – Julian Q. Snelgrove purchased Oak Grove from the Estate of Edward N. Chisolm (Salley, p. 24).
  

• 1990s – Oak Grove came into the possession of Jimmy Irick. He renovated the old homestead to be used as his residence. The large house that John Robinson built (pictured above) was dismantled.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 1,300 in 1771; 1,465 in 1879
  

• Primary crop – Cotton
  

Owners

• Alphabetical list – John and Louisa Robinson Govan Chevilette, Edward N. and Felicia Robinson Chisolm, Andrew Govan, Daniel and Louisa Robinson Govan, Jimmy Irick; Nash and Eliza Ann Govan Roach, John Robinson, Murray and Felicia Jeane Hurtel Robinson; Julian Q. Snelgrove
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 8 in 1790; 36 in 1845; 42 in 1847
  

Buildings

• House – The original house was one story with ten rooms. John Robinson considered the house too small so he had another larger house built on the property. This second house was dismantled in the 1990s while the original house was renovated as the residence of Jimmy Irick.
  

Web Resources

Print Resources

• Initial references: 1

• Daniel Marchant Culler, Orangeburg District 1768-1868 History and Records (Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Company, 1995).
  

• Marion Salley, The Orangeburg Papers (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1970).
  

• Will of John Robinson (on file at the Charleston County Library).
  

• The Orangeburg Times: February 13, 1880.
  

• The Orangeburg Democrat: February 13, 1880.
  

Contact Information

• Telephone:

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