Cross Keys Plantation – Cross Keys – Union County

— Cross Keys Plantation © F. Everett Leigh, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Cross Keys, Ninety Six District, Union County

  This plantation was originally situated on the knoll at the intersection of two stage coach roads – Old Buncombe Road (or Charleston Road) and Old Ninety-Six (also known as the Old Piedmont Stage Road). (5)
  

  Today, it sits at 163 Old Buncombe Road, 12 miles southwest of the City of Union.

• Origin of name – It was named by owner Barrum Bobo. It is believed to have been named for the community the plantation was established in (4, XI: 46) (7).
  

• Other names – Cross Keys House

• Current status – Owned by the Union County Historical Society, it is open on Saturdays for tours.
  

— Cross Keys House © F. Everett Leigh, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

• 1812-1814 – House built by Barrum (sometimes spelled Barham) Bobo. Today, it stands as one of the oldest homes in the South Carolina Upstate (1, p. 2) (7).
  

• ? – Mr. and/or Mrs. Warren Davis acquired the plantation (3, p. 204).
  

• 1865 – Jefferson Davis, along with the Confederate cabinet and his military escort, arrived unannounced for lunch at Cross Keys on April 30th while traveling through the area. Mrs. Warren Davis was their hostess with the esteem guests not revealing their identies until their departure (2) (3, p. 204).
  

• 1971 – William Claude Wilburn owned Cross Keys Plantation (1, p. 1).
  

• 1987 – The Wilburn family stilled owned Cross Keys Plantation (3, p. 204).
  

• 2006 – The Union County Historical Society purchased the Cross Keys house and 25 surrounding acres (5).
  

— Cross Keys Plantation Barn © Stephen McCloskey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 900 in the 1800s; 25 in 2006 (5)
  

• Primary crop – ?

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Cross Keys Plantation House Marker © Ann Helms, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• House was constructed with common bond brick in the Georgian Colonial style (1, p. 2).

• The Union County Historical Society has moved three log cabins from other area plantations to Cross Keys Plantation and repurposed two of them as a blacksmith's shop and tool shed (5).
  

— Kitchen of Cross Keys House Plantation © F. Everett Leigh, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1971
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. SC Highway Historical Marker Guide - online database by the SC Department of Archives & History
   

3. Allan D. Charles, Narrative History of Union County South Carolina (Greenville, SC: A PRESS Printing Company, 1997)
    Order Narrative History of Union County South Carolina

4. Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
    Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
    Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII
   

5. Meet Jefferson Davis at the Cross Keys House in Union
   

6. Union County Historical Society's Cross Keys Plantation webpage – Click here
   

7. Cross Keys House - SCIWAY's SC Picture Project: South Carolina Citizen History
   

— Cross Keys Plantation Outbuildings © Ann Helms, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Contact Information

• Cross Keys Plantation
  163 Old Buncombe Road
  Union, SC 29379
  

  Telephone: 864-429-5081
  Website: Click here
  

— Piano at Cross Keys Plantation © Ann Helms, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

— Cross Keys Plantation Loft Used for Dancing Parties © Ann Helms, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)