Great Plains Plantation – Greenville – Greenville County

Basic Information

• Location – Reedy River, Greenville, Greenville County

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Falls Park in downtown Greenville

Timeline

• Circa 1770 – Earliest known date of existence

  Richard Pearis was a trader with the Cherokee Indians and acquired 100 acres from the tribe in what is now downtown Greenville (2).
  

• Circa 1770 – House built by Richard Pearis (2)
  

  Pearis set-up a trading post and grist mill at Great Plains Plantation (2).
  

• Circa 1775 – Pearis was a prominent Tory during the Revolutionary War which lead to his plantation being burned by Patriots (3).
  

• 1781 – All of Pearis' landholdings were seized by the state of South Carolina (2).
  

• ? – William and Mary Whitlock Jones called Great Plains Plantation home (4).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 100 about 1770 (2)
  

• Primary crop – Grains (2)
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Richard Pearis (Circa 1770-1781); State of South Carolina (1781-?); William and Mary Whitlock Jones
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 12 in 1770 (2)
  

Buildings

• No plantation structures remain
  

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. Cathleen Gallagher, Historically Speaking: The History of Paris Mountain - source no longer available online
   

3. SC Highway Historical Marker Guide - online database by the SC Department of Archives & History
   

4. Information contributed by Ed Nelson
   

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