Woodburn (Pendleton, South Carolina) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Woodburn
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Woodburn in 2009
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Pendleton, South Carolina |
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| Built | ca. 1830 |
| Part of | Pendleton Historic District (ID70000560) |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000741 |
| Added to NRHP | May 6, 1971 |
Woodburn, also known as the Woodburn Plantation, is a historic house located near Pendleton, South Carolina in Anderson County, South Carolina. It stands at 130 History Lane, just off U.S. 76. This beautiful house was built around 1830 as a summer home for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
Woodburn is an example of an antebellum house, which means it was built before the American Civil War. Because of its importance, Woodburn was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1970. It is also a key part of the Pendleton Historic District.
Contents
Woodburn's Story
Who Built Woodburn?
Many people believe Woodburn was built around 1830. Its first owner was Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1789–1865). He was the son of Thomas Pinckney. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was named after his uncle, who was a delegate to the meeting that created the U.S. Constitution.
The younger Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was an important person in South Carolina. He served as the lieutenant governor of South Carolina from 1832 to 1834. This role is a high-ranking position in the state government.
Charles Pinckney bought land in the Pendleton area in 1828. He then built Woodburn as a cool place to stay during the hot summer months.
New Owners Through the Years
Over the years, Woodburn had several different owners. In 1852, Charles Pinckney sold the house to David S. Taylor. Taylor then sold it to John Bailey Adger. Dr. Adger had worked as a Presbyterian missionary in places like Smyrna and Constantinople.
In 1858, Dr. Adger sold Woodburn to his brother, Joseph E. Adger. Later, in 1881, Augustine T. Smythe bought the property. He turned Woodburn into a modern farm, raising special kinds of cattle and race horses.
In 1911, William Frederick Calhoun Owen bought the land. However, he lost it in 1930 because he couldn't pay his mortgage. After that, John Frank bought it. Eventually, the U.S. government took ownership, and then Clemson College acquired it. Today, the Pendleton Historic Foundation owns and takes care of Woodburn.
A Special Person from Woodburn
Jane Edna Hunter, a famous African-American social worker, was born in 1882 on the Woodburn Plantation. Her parents were sharecroppers, meaning they farmed land owned by someone else and shared the crops.
Jane Edna Hunter later founded the Phillis Wheatley Association in Cleveland. This organization was named to honor Phillis Wheatley, an African-American poet from the time of the American Revolutionary War.
Visiting Woodburn Today
Today, Woodburn is a museum home. The Pendleton Historic Foundation manages it. You can visit Woodburn on Sunday and Saturday afternoons from April to October. Visitors can explore eighteen furnished rooms spread across three floors. Next to Woodburn, you can also find the Pendleton District Agricultural Museum.
What Woodburn Looks Like
Outside the House
The original house was built around 1830. It was made larger in 1850. The house is a two-and-a-half-story building. It sits on a tall basement. The outside walls are covered with clapboards, which are overlapping wooden boards.
Woodburn is designed like a "Charleston-type" house. This style helps the house stay cool by catching summer breezes. It has a two-story porch, also called a veranda, that wraps around three sides of the house.
Two sets of stairs lead from the ground up to the first floor. These stairs lead to French doors, which open into the parlor or the drawing room. Some windows on the second floor have special hinged panels below them. These panels can open to let people step out onto the veranda.
Inside the House
Inside Woodburn, the rooms have very high ceilings. Most of the inner walls are covered with horizontal wooden boards that are about 10 inches (25 cm) wide.
The full basement of the house has a "warming kitchen." It also has a dining room that stays cool even on hot summer days. You can find old pictures and floor plans of the house from before it was restored.
