Ruins Plantation – Statesburg – Sumter County

— Ruins Plantation © Vanessa Kauffmann, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Stateburg, Sumter County, St. Mark's Parish

  1257 Barnwell Drive, which is about ½ mile off SC 261 from US 378 (6)
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned
  

— Ruins Plantation © Vanessa Kauffmann, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence
  

  General Thomas Sumter acquired the property (5, p. 2).
  

• ? – House built
  

  General Sumter had a house on the property that was destroyed by British troops in the Revolutionary War (3).
  

• 1784 – John Mayrant built a house on the property and called it "The Ruins" (3) (6).
  

• 1835-1837 – The plantation served as the Hawthorndean Seminary for Young Ladies (5, p. 2).
  

• 1970 – St Julian and Amelia DeSaussure Barnwell owned the plantation (5, p. 2).
  

• 2015 – Rett and Pat Summerville owned Ruins Plantation (4).
  

— Ruins Plantation Gate © Vanessa Kauffmann, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – ?

  The property surrounding The Ruins has been placed into conservancy (6).
  

• Primary crop – Cotton (6)

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Alston; Julian Barnwell; Colclegh; Coles; Mrs Robert Marion DeVeaux; DeVeaux; John Mayrant; Moore; Pinckney; Rett and Pat Summerville; General Thomas Sumter
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

  We are actively seeking information on the slaves who lived and worked at this plantation. If you find a resource that might help, please fill out this form. Thank you.
  

Buildings

• As of 2015, a building that is thought to once have been a slave cabin was still standing (4).
  

References & Resources

1. 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
   

2. Cassie Nicholes, Historical Sketches of Sumter County Volume II (Sumter, SC: Sumter County Historical Commission 1981)
   
   

3. Information contributed by Kellie Roughen.
   

4. Information contributed by photographer Vanessa Kauffmann who visited Ruins Plantation December 20, 2015 to document a building on the plantation that was thought to once be a slave cabin.
   

5. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - Statesburg Historic District - submitted in 1970
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

6. Article contributed by Cyndi Shull: Historic Stateburg Home Hosts Christmas Open House (Columbia, SC: WIS TV, December 2, 2016)