Spring Bank Plantation – Hebron Crossroads
Williamsburg County
— Spring Bank Plantation, 1930s © Contributed by Wilson McElveen —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
Basic Information
- Location – Hebron Crossroads, Kingstree, Williamsburg County
1345 Spring Bank Road
- Origin of name – Named for the marshy creek that runs through the property (3) (5)
- Other names – Springbank, McElveen Place
- Current status – Owned by Catholic Dominican Order of Men which deeded it to the Ecumenical Board of Directors and is operated as a retreat/conference center
— Spring Bank Plantation © Wilson McElveen, 2012 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
Timeline
- ? – Earliest known date of existence (1)
John Burgess received a 5,000 acre land grant from the King of England (1).
- ? – John Burgess's son, James Burgess acquired at least part of his father's property (5).
- 1782/3 – House built by James Burgess (1) (5)
- 1816 – James Burgess died at Spring Bank leaving the plantation to son Warren Hamilton Burgess (4) (5).
- 1843 – Warren Hamilton Burgess sold the 2,988 acre plantation for $5,100 to brother-in-laws Edward Epps and John Epps (4).
- ? – John Epps became sole owner of the plantation.
- 1852 – Mary Jane McKnight Epps inherited Spring Bank Plantation when her husband, John Epps, passed away. Mary Jane subsequently married William Henry McElveen in 1854 (4).
- Late 1800s – Over the years, Mary Jane and William subdivided off five pieces the plantation's property giving it to their children to start their own farms (4).
- 1906 – Mary Jane and William Henry McElveen's son Robert Charles McElveen and family were the next to occupy Spring Bank. It is assumed he inherited the property after his father's death in 1906 (4).
- 1930 – Howard and Agnes Hadden purchased Spring Bank from the McElveens and completed a major remodling and renovation project (1) (4).
- 1947 – The house was lost in a fire. It was rebuilt to be like the original house with only the location of the front door and roof line changed (4).
- 1955 – Mrs. Hadden gave the plantation to the Catholic Dominican Order of Men after her husband's death. Mr. and Mrs. Hadden are buried next to the what the Nuns who live there now refer to as the "grandmother tree" (1) (4).
- 1986 – The property was deeded in trust to an Ecumenical Board of Directors with strick stipulation that Spring Bank be used solely as a retreat center. This lead to the property being used again after the Catholic Dominican Order of Men had been restructured in the 1970s and been forced to close Spring Bank in 1979 (1).
— Slave Cabin of Spring Bank Plantation, 1930s © —
— Contributed by Wilson McElveen —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
Land
- Number of acres – 5,000 in 1780; 2,988 in 1843
- Primary crop – Rice and cotton (1)
— Sketch of Spring Bank Plantation by Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, 1930s —
— Contributed by Wilson McElveen —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
Slaves
— W. Ashby "Bubba" McElveen, Jr. at Spring Bank Plantation, 1930s © —
— Contributed by Wilson McElveen —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
References & Resources
- Spring Bank Retreat History: Click here then scroll down
- Information contributed by Katherine Miller Burnett.
- Information contributed by Elizabeth McElveen Yountz.
- Information contributed by Wilson McElveen whose great-great grandparents were William Henry McElveen and Mary Jane McKnight Epps McElveen. Mr. McElveen has extensively researched Spring Bank Plantation through deed and family records.
- Nell Flinn Gillan, New Yorkers Restore Spring Bank, 148 Year Old Williamsburg House - PDF, (Columbia, SC: The State, December, 20, 1931)
— Rear of Slave Cabin of Spring Bank Plantation, 1930s © —
— Contributed by Wilson McElveen —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)
Contact Information
- Spring Bank Retreat
1345 Spring Bank Road
Kingstree, SC 29556
Telephone: 800-671-0361
Website: Click here
