High Hills of Santee

Monday, April 30, 2018

Snack bags, check.  Baked goods to-go boxes, check.  Water, itinerary, birthday cake, check.  A family adventure day was in order to celebrate my parents birthdays.  My Daddy is the history person and my Mom is the architecture & nature person so where we would go was easy...Millford Plantation and Swan Lake Iris Gardens.  Have you been to Millford Plantation and/or Swan Lake Iris Gardens?  These places are breathtakingly beautiful!

Millford Plantation is located in the High Hills of Santee.  The High Hills were given this name in the 1700s.  This area saw a lot of Revolutionary War action but not much Civil War action.  The High Hills is a great backroads area, I mean who doesn't like getting off the interstate and actually seeing history.  My mister and I arrived in the area a little early in order to explore the St. Mark's Episcopal Church.  This church is located off SC Hwy 260 and right across from the dirt road we would turn on in order to reach Millford Plantation.







 This Gothic Revival style church was built in 1855, previous building was burned by the British during the Revolutionary War.  The land was donated to the church by the Manning and Richardson families, prominent families in the area during this time period.

After visiting this gorgeous church, we made our way down the long dirt road that leads to a magnificent piece of property.


 Before the history of Millford Plantation, can we take a minute to check out how cute my niece is with her Nana...I mean cutest kiddo ever!

 Side view of Millford Plantation.
 There was some construction taking place on the front of the mansion so I wasn't able to get a really great photo of the front so you'll just have to go for a visit to Millford Plantation.
  The view from the front porch.  I was already daydreaming about having breakfast on the front porch, curling up with a good book mid-day, then watching the sunset all from the front porch with this fantastic view.
Miniature version of Trinity Episcopal Catherdal.  The Hampton and the Manning families attended Trinity and are also buried in Trinity's cemetery.
Millford Plantation was the 'starter' home for the newlywed couple, John Laurence and Susan Hampton Manning (daughter of Wade Hampton I).  Millford cost an estimated $125,000 to build in 1840!  A majority of the funds to build Millford came from Susan's inheritance as her father had passed away in 1835.  She and her husband were 22 when building this dreamboat (I just can't imagine that)!  The land was land inherited by John L. Manning from his Richardson grandparents.  Of course while building the mansion, they started thinking of furnishing the inside so of course their first choice was Duncan Phyfe...I mean who doesn't want their entire home furnished with Duncan Phyfe furniture?!?!  John Manning went to New York and put in the largest single order to day of Duncan Phyfe pieces, 40 pieces.

Okay, are you ready to go inside?  Here we Duncan Phyfe go!
 The end.  I kid, there's way more photos!
Portrait is of Susan Frances Hampton Manning.  Susan Frances Hampton Manning will only live in this house for a few years as she dies in child birth (in the Hampton-Preston Mansion in Columbia).  Grecian Couch (1841).  The Grecian couch is original to the house and would have been 1 of 2 Grecian couches that were owned by the Manning family.
 Portrait on the left is of Henry Clay.

 The molding!!!
 A Duncan Phyfe piece.

 A couple of 'subtle' ways they displayed their wealth were their 16 ft. ceilings and having armchairs that went all around the table instead of just the head of the table.  The armchairs are made of mahogany and 12 of the 14 are original to the property (1841).
 Family silver.  One of these pieces, from what I could tell, are monogrammed.  I really appreciate that having items monogrammed in the 1840s (& possibly before...maybe the history of monogramming should be my next study) is still popular in 2018.
 Another view of these beautiful armchairs.

 John Laurence Manning.  A few years after his wife, Susan Hampton Manning, passes away he remarries and continues to live at Millford.  He and Susan had 3 children together and he will go on to have 4 more children with his second wife.

 The semi-self guided tour is the one floor only.
Outbuildings.

Richard Hampton Jenrette purchased the mansion, along with 400 acres, in 1992.  He restored the mansion and donated it to Classical American Homes Preservation Trust in 2008.  Other homes that Mr. Jenrette had restored are Estate Cane Garden (St. Croix), Ayr Mount (Hillsborough, NC), Edgewater (Barrytown, NY), Roper House (Charleston, SC), and George F. Baker Houses (New York, NY).  Mr. Jenrette passed away last week and will surely be missed.  A huge thank you to Mr. Jenrette for preserving these great pieces of history and opening them to the public for us all to enjoy.

After leaving Millford Plantation, we head to Swan Lake Iris Gardens.
 My niece, the coolest kiddo at Swan Lake!












Needless to say we had a great family day celebrating my parents birthday!

Happy Travels,
Amber

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