Numertia Plantation – Eutawville – Orangeburg County

— Numertia Plantation © Brandon Coffey —

Basic Information

• Location – Eutawville, St. John's Berkeley Parish, Orangeburg County

• Origin of name – Numertia's name comes from the Latin "numeral tertius" which means "the third"
  

• Other spelling – Neumertia

• Current status – Privately owned; working plantation growing wheat, corn, and soybeans
  

— Rear of Numertia Plantation © Brandon Coffey —

Timeline

• 1840 – Earliest known date of existence

• Circa 1850-1851 – House built by Major Samuel Porcher for his grandson Richard Shackelford Porcher. The 1850 census lists Richard as 24 years old and a resident of his father, Thomas Porcher's, household (National Register, p. 1, 3).
  

• 1851 – Major Porcher died and Richard became owner (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1856 – Christopher Gaillard, cousin of Richard Porcher, purchased the plantation (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1911 – William Snowden Gaillard, Christopher Gaillard's grandson, began working the plantation. In 1917, he started a dairy business on the plantation and became one of the largest milk producers in the state (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1982 – Gabrielle K. Gilliard, William's widow, was owner of record (National Register, p. 2).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 481 in 1856; 2,100 in 1860 (National Register, p. 3)
  

• Primary crop – Historically cotton; wheat, corn, soybeans and milk in modern times (National Register, p. 3)
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Major Samuel Porcher (?-1851); Richard Shackelford Porcher (1851-1856); Christopher Gaillard (1856-?); William Snowden Gaillard (1911-?); Gabrielle K. Gilliard (1982)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves:
  – Samuel Porcher owned nearly 400 slaves in total over his plantations upon his death in 1851 (1851 estate inventory of Samuel Porcher)
  – 91 in 1860 under Christopher Gaillard (National Register, p. 3)
  

Buildings

• The house is two-story of frame construction. Other historic buildings on the property include a carriage house, smoke house, and warehouse (National Register, p. 2).
  

Web Resources

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1982
  – Photographs, architectural overview
  

• 1851 estate inventory of Samuel Porcher - fold3

Print Resources

• 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society

• J. Russell Cross, Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1985)
   Order Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley