Piney Woods Plantation – Trenton – Edgefield County

Basic Information

• Location – Trenton, Edgefield County

  5995 Edgefield Road
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Pine House; Vann; Weaver Mansion
  

• Current status – ?

Timeline

• 1757 – Earliest known date of existence (3)
  

  Richard Pace received a grant for 200 acres from King George II. Because the grant stipulates this land was "known by the name of the Piney Woods House," there appears to have been a house already located on the property at that time (3).
  

• Circa 1786 – Van Swearingen became owner (3).
  

• ? – 1,084 acres were granted to Van Swearingen. At least part of this property was likely located across the road from the Piney Woods House (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170).
  

• ? – A log tavern was built at Piney Woods, across the road from the house (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170).
  

• 1791 – General George Washington changed horses and spent the night at the tavern on his way to Columbia in 1791 (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170).
  

• 1808 – Vann Swearinger died leaving the property to his sons, Eli and John. The brothers divided the property; Eli received the tavern and John received 194 acres and the house (3).
  

• 1818 – John Swearinger sold his property with the house to John Cloud for $2,800 (3).
  

• 1820 – Eli Swearinger sold his property with the tavern to Francis Bettis (3).
  

• 1825 – John Cloud sold the house to future governor Benjamin F. Perry (3).
  

• ? – Henry Lowe was the next owner of the Piney Woods House (3).
  

• ? – Robert Glover purchased the house (3).
  

• ? – William Eddins was the homes's next owner (3).
  

• 1847 – General John R. Weaver purchased the house and surrounding acreage for $2,000 and either built a new house or expanded the existing. This house was called Weaver Mansion (3).
  

• 1858 – Benjamin Warren Bettis, who owned the tavern property, purchased the Weaver Mansion and renamed it the Pine House (3).
  

• 1868 – The Pine House was lost to fire on Christmas Day. The Bettis family rebuilt the house over a period of two years (3).
  

• 1932 – The property was passed down through the Bettis family. Benjamin Bettis Bouknight was the last Bettis owner when he died in 1932 (3).
  

• 1933 – Julius Marshall Vann, Sr. purchased Piney Woods (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170).
  

• 1945 – The house was restored by Julius Marshall Vann, Sr. (3).
  

• 1957 – Julius's wife died and he sold the house to his son Julius Marshall Vann, Jr. (3).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 200 in 1757; 1,084 in the late 1700s (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170 and (3)
  

• Primary crop – Cotton historically; peaches in modern times (2 and 3)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• There had been a log tavern built at Piney Woods in the 1700s that served as a stop on the Stage Road that ran between Columbia and Augusta. General George Washington changed horses and spent the night at this tavern on his way to Columbia in 1791 (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170).
  

• There were two guest houses built at the same time as the main house. These structures were not burned during the 1868 fire, and the Bettis family lived in them while the main house was being rebuilt (1, vol. I-XII, p. 170 and 3).
  

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. Information contributed by Mattie Davis - Mattie's late grandparents worked on the plantation years after slavery was abolished
   

3. History of the Pine House - by Bettis Rainsord, Jr., Edgfield native and Bettis family descendant