Belfast Plantation – Kinards – Laurens County

— Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Belfast Plantation spans Newberry and Laurens counties near Kinards, with the house located in Laurens County.

  SC Highway 56 near intersection with SC Highway 560
  

• Origin of name – Founder John Simpson named the plantation in honor of his birthplace, Belfast, Ireland (1) (2).
  

• Other names – Brick House (2)
  

• Current status – Operated as a Wildlife Management Area by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (1) (2)
  

— Front of Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1785 or 1786 – Earliest known date of existence (2)
  

  Colonel John Simpson acquired the property (1) (2).
  

• 1786-1815 – House built (1) (2)
  

  John Simpson had the Federal style house constructed for his English wife, Mary Well. The house was constructed using bricks made in Ireland, and the hand-carved black walnut mantels were imported from England (1) (2).
  

  Simpson operated a post office and mercantile store at Belfast (2).
  

• 1815 – John Simpson passed away, leaving Belfast Plantation to his two young sons, John W. Simpson and Richard F. Simpson (2).
  

• 1823 – John Simpson's grandson, William Dunlap Simpson, was born at Belfast Plantation. William would go on to be the governor of South Carolina from 1879 through 1880 (1).
  

• ? – Champion International Corporation, which became International Paper in 2000, acquired the plantation. The company was headquartered at Belfast, managing the timber on property and using the plantation house as a hunting lodge (2).
  

• 2008 – Belfast Plantation was purchased by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (1) (2).
  

— Rear of Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 4,664 in 2016
  

• Primary crop – ?

— Marker for Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Back of Marker for Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. Information contributed by photographer Andy Hunter.

2. Belfast Plantation - SCIWAY's South Carolina Picture Project

3. SCDNR Public Lands - Belfast Wildlife Management Area

   
   

— Sign for Belfast Plantation © Andy Hunter, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Contact Information

• SCDNR Contact Information