Corley Hall Plantation – Lexington – Lexington County

— Corley Hall Plantation House © Chuck Corley, 2011 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Lexington, Lexington County
  

  121 Berly Street

• Origin of name – Named for founding family

• Other names – William Berly House (2, p. 1)
  

• Current status – Privately owned
  

Timeline

• 1804 – Earliest known date of existence (1)
  

  Laurance Corley received a 604 acre land grant from the State of South Carolina (1).
  

• 1815 – Laurance Corley died and his son, Emmanuel, received 102 acres for being one of the executors of his father's estate (1).
  

• 1819 – House built

  Emmanuel and Catherine Meetze Corley constructed the house that still stands today (1).
  

• 1834 – Emmanuel Corley passed away. Catherine, his wife, deeded the house and 102 acres to the Lutheran Theological Seminary. The house was used to house and school students until 1858 (1).
  

• 1860 – The first graduate from the Seminary, Reverend William Berly, purchased the house and 102 acres (1).
  

• 1871 – Rev. Berly passed away leaving the plantation to his son and daughter-in-law W. Q. M. and Molly Meetze Berly. Mrs. Berly was a niece of Emmanuel and Catherine Corley (1).
  

  Corley Hall remained owned by the Berly family for the next 116 years (1).
  

• 2013 – Chuck and Dawn Corley are owners of Corley Hall. Chuck Corley is ninth generation great-grandson of Laurance and Christina Corley as well as being the ninth generation grand nephew of Emmanuel Corley (1).
  

— Corley Hall Plantation Dining Room © Chuck Corley, 2011 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 604 acres in 1804; 102 in 1819 (1)
  

• Primary crop – Corn, rice, and cotton (4)
  

• Chuck Corley shares the following, "The Town of Lexington was founded on part of our plantation by my family and most of present day Lexington is as well. Granny Corley, in 1820, deeded 2 acres to the State so the county seat could be moved to our plantation. She also mapped out seven lots for the original Town. I still own the seventh lot and the 1850 home that sits on it, built by her granddaughter Margaret Corley. My father remembers his granddaddy telling him that the reason Main Street is as wide as it is because that was the width it took Granny's driver to turn her carriage around to head the 300 feet back to her home!"
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – At least 20 (4)
  

— Corley Hall Ice House © Chuck Corley, 2011 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• The property includes a carriage house, well underneath house, and the only known ice house in the Town of Lexington which appears to constructed of tabby. The home has been featured on HGTV's If Walls Could Talk (4).
  

References & Resources

1. Corley Hall: Click here

2. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1977
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

3. Photo gallery

4. Information contributed by Chuck Corley

Contact Information

• Corley Hall
  121 Berly Street
  Lexington, SC 29072
  

  Website: Click here

— Corley Hall Plantation © Ann Helms, 2009 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)