Homefield Plantation – Stateburg – Sumter County

— Homefield Plantation © Library of Congress —
(Prints & Photographs Division HABS SC,43-STATBU.V,3--1)

Basic Information

• Location – Stateburg, Sumter County

• Origin of name – Shortly after the Carsons moved to the plantation in the mid-1800s, a minister visited with them. The minister commented that he felt so at home there, he called it "Homefield" and the name stuck (1) (4).
  

• Other names – Carson House

• Current status – No longer exists

Timeline

• 1771 – Earliest known date of existence (2, p. 134) (3)
  

  John Jennings Sr. received a royal grant of 250 acres (2, p. 134)
  

• Circa 1800 – Tyre Jennings acquired property. It is assumed Tyre's father, John Jennings Sr., gave him a part of the original grant (2, p. 134) (3).
  

• 1800 – House built (1)
  

  Tyre Jenning began construction on a house. He was secretly hoping to marry Rebecca Darrington. Instead, Rebecca married Tyre's brother and he abandoned construction on the unfinished house (1).
  

• ? – Tyre transferred the ownership of the property to his brother Hastings Jennings (4).
  

• 1830 or 1850 – Elisha Scott and Susan Marsh Carson purchased the plantation from Hastings Jennings and finished the house. They raised their 11 children at Homefield Plantation (1).
  

  Shortly after the Carsons moved in, a minister visited with them. The minister commented that he felt so at home there, he called it "Homefield" and the name stuck (1) (4).
  

• ? – Elisha and Susan's son, James Marsh Carson, became owner of the plantation (5, p. 1).
  

• Prior to 1943 – Grace Elliot Carson became owner of her family's homestead. She was the daughter of James Marsh Carson. Grace rented out a portion of the plantation's land (2, p. 134) (4) (5, p. 1).
  

• Late 1960s – Grace Carson was forced to leave Homefield to live at a nursing home. The house soon fell into a state of disrepair (4).
  

• 1975 – The house, having been vandalized, was lost in a fire (1) (4).
  

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – Cotton (5, p. 1)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

References & Resources

1. Information contributed by Wilson McElveen.
   

2. Cassie Nicholes, Historical Sketches of Sumter County: Its Birth and Growth (Sumter, SC: Sumter County Historical Commission 1975)
    Order Historical Sketches of Sumter County: Its Birth and Growth

3. Genealogy of John Jennings Sr.

4. Genealogy of Tyre Jennings

5. Plantation records, 1878-1949 (bulk 1878-1889); SCHS 1212.00; Container 24/66 - PDF - held by the South Carolina Historical Society