Millford Plantation – Pinewood – Sumter County

— Millford Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Pinewood, Sumter County, St. Mark's Parish

  Located west of the Town of Pinewood and south of Poinsett State Park off SC 261 at 7320 Millford Plantation Road, Pinewood.
  

• Comments – Bears a striking resemblance to the old Charleston Hotel in Charleston, which is not surprising since Millford's builder, Nathaniel P. Potter, was an understudy for the hotel's architect (3).
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Manning's Folly

• Other spellings – Milford (2, p. 1)
  

• Current status – Owned by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust and open to the public for tours.
  

— Millford Plantation Bell Tower © Pete Lawrence, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1839 – Earliest known date of existence
  

• 1839-1841 – House was built by Nathaniel P. Potter for future South Carolina governor John Lawrence Manning and his young bride, Susan Frances Hampton (3).
  

  Millford was built on land inherited by Manning from his grandfather, Richard Richardson (3).
  

• 1902 – The Manning family sold Millford to Mary Clark Thompson (3).
  

• 1923 – Mary Clark Thompson enjoyed escaping the harsh New York winters at Millford. Upon her death in 1923, the property was willed to her nephews, Emory Wendell Clark and Myron Clark Williams (4).
  

• ? – Emory Clark's son, William Reeve Clark, became Millford's next owner and used the property as a winter home (3).
  

• 1992 – Richard Hampton Jenrette purchased Millford along with 400 acres and began an extensive restoration of the house (3).
  

• 2008 – Jenrette donated Millford to be used as a house museum by the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust (3).
  

— Millford Plantation House Detail © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 4,251 in 1969; 400 in 1992 (3)

• Primary crop – Cotton (1, p. 3)

• Bloomhill Cemetery is located on the Millford Plantation property, not far from Poinsett Park State.
  

— Rear of Millford Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Chapel at Millford Plantation © Pete Lawrence, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• The house was built by Rhode Island's Nathaniel P. Potter. Potter also designed Susan Manning's brother, Wade Hampton III's, Millwood Plantation in Columbia (3).
  

• The Greek Revival mansion is equally impressive inside and out. The walls are two-feet thick and constructed of handmade bricks which were fired on site. Imported materials were delivered via boat up the Santee River. Most of the original Duncan Phyfe furniture still remains in the house (1, p. 2) (3).
  

• A remarkable coincidence appears to have saved Millford from the fiery end that destroyed many stately homes during the Civil War. The following story is reported on the website of the Classical American Homes Preservation Trust:

  On what turned out to be the final day of the War before Lee's surrender, Northern troops, under the command of Brig. General Edward Elmer Potter arrived at Millford. Gov. Manning met the Yankee General at the front door and observed: "Well, the house was built by a Potter (Nathaniel Potter, the architect) and it looks as though it will be destroyed by a Potter." General Potter responded: "No, you are protected. Nathaniel Potter was my brother." (3)
  

  Docent Marguerite Wiegand shared a possible twist to this story with us. "When General Potter spared Millford he did not know that Governor Manning had a copy of the articles of secession in his desk. The story of Millford's survival might have ended quite differently had he known." (4)
  

• Servant quarters were small white stone houses built at the sides and back of the big house.
  

• Other structures on the property include guesthouses, a 26-stall stable c. 1850, water tower, and a spring house (3).
  

— Millford Plantation Expanded View © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. South Carolina's Richardson Family
   

2. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1969
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

3. Classical American Homes Preservations Trust: Click here
   

4. Information contributed by docent Marguerite Wiegand.
   

— Side of Millford Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Contact Information

• Classical American Homes Preservations Trust
  Millford Plantation
  7320 Millford Plantation Road
  Pinewood, SC 29125
  

  Website: Click here
  Tour Ticket Information: Click here
  

— Millford Plantation House © Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, 2009 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

— Wisteria-draped Rear Porch © Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, 2009 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)