Dantzler Plantation – Holly Hill – Orangeburg County

— Dantzler Plantation © Mike Kullenberg, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Holly Hill, Orangeburg County
  

  2755 Vance Road at Bass Drive - at the corner of US 15 and SC 210
  

• Origin of name – Named for Dr. Lewis Dantzler
  

• Other names – Four Hole; SunnySide House (1, p. 1)
  

• Current status – Privately owned

Timeline

• 1787 – Earliest known date of existence

  Jacob Dantzler received a land grant (1, p. 8).
  

• 1846 – Dr. Lewis Dantzler was issued a land grant for 703 acres that had been part of his relative Jacob Dantzler's grant (1, p. 8).
  

• 1846-1849 – House built (1, p. 5)
  

  Dr. Lewis Dantzler had the two-story Greek Revival, raised cottage of frame construction built (1, p. 5)
  

  During the Civil War, a small band of Union soldiers approached the house. Upon seeing a Masonic emblem on the front door, they spared the house and its occupants. Dr. Dantzler was also known to treat both Confederate and Union soliders during the war. Blood stains on the upstairs pine floors from this period remain to this day (3).
  

• 1878 – Dr. Lewis Dantzler died and left the plantation to his son, Irvin H. Dantzler (1, p. 8).
  

• 1920 – Irvin H. Dantzler passed away and willed Dantzler Plantation to nephew, Frederick Connor Dantzler (1, p. 8).
  

• 1930s – Blanch Dantzler, wife of Frederick, operated a popular travelers stop and boarding house called SunnySide House at Dantzler Plantation. Rates were $1.00 a night to sleep and 35 cents for a meal (1, p. 8) (3).
  

• 1973 – Frederick Connor Dantzler's daughter, Doris Dantzler Henry, inherited the property when her father died (1, p. 8).
  

• 1989 – Doris Dantzler Henry died and left the home to her husband Tom Henry (1, p. 8).
  

• 2007 – Michael and Doris "Deedee" Dantzler Henry Kullenberg were owners of Dantzler Plantation. Deedee is the great-great-grand niece of Dr. Lewis Dantzler. The Kullenbergs lovingly restored the house (3).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 703 in 1846; 24.5 in 2007 (1)
  

• Primary crop – Cotton (1, p. 8)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 90 in 1860 (4)
  

Buildings

• The plantation house is still standing, however, no outbuildings survive.
  

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 2007
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. Dantzler Plantation: More about National Historic Register - source no longer available online
   

3. Shirley Upton, A House of Love, (Orangeburg, SC: The Times and Democrat, April 29, 2007)
   

4. 1860 Orangeburg County Slave Census Schedule