Lookaway Hall, North Augusta, South Carolina

Lookaway Hall, North Augusta, South Carolina

LOOKAWAY HALL - 1895

NORTH AUGUSTA, SC

MAY 20, 2006

Surprisingly, to us anyway, Lookaway Hall is located right across the street from Rosemary Hall. It just seemed odd that two such grand and magnificant antebellum mansions would be situated so close to one another, and in such a small town as North Augusta.

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James U. Jackson and his brother Walter cut a deck of cards to determine who would build on this lot with a beautiful panoramic view. Walter won and built his home there in 1895. I don't have any other information on this mansion other than it too is now a Bed & Breakfast. Again, we didn't go in, but would like to check it out someday.

Rosemary Hall, North Augusta, South Carolina

Rosemary Hall, North Augusta, South Carolina

ROSEMARY HALL - 1902

NORTH AUGUSTA, SC

MAY 20, 2006

We didn't go into Rosemary Hall because it's now a Bed & Breakfast. We do hope to stay there one day, though. We read some negative reviews of the place, although it sounds as though it went under new management in 2006 and things have improved.

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In 1902 James U. Jackson, founder of North Augusta, built this home. It is said to have outstanding features such as: hand picked pine used for paneling. Jackson searched 30 carloads of lumber to find just the right "curl" for the effects he wanted, it is said. The scroll work on the outside of this structure is unbelievably beautiful!

Redcliffe Plantation, Beech Island, South Carolina

Redcliffe Plantation Carriage, Beech Island, South Carolina

Redcliffe Plantation Grounds, Beech Island, South Carolina

Redcliffe Plantation, Beech Island, South Carolina

REDCLIFFE PLANTATION - 1859

BEECH ISLAND, SC

MAY 20, 2006

From its construction in 1859 until 1975, Redcliffe was owned and occupied by four generations of the Hammond family. Its residents included a South Carolina Governor and U.S. Senator, and an editor of Time and Life Magazines. The original Hammond, James Henry, was a colorful fellow who married into money, a systematically calculated plan. He was pro-south and in favor of the Civil War. He nearly particpated in a duel over the issue of nullification - the theory that a state had the right to void any act of the federal government which it considered unconstitutional.

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Mr. Hammond bought Redcliffe in 1855 for "$3500 cash." He named it "Redcliffe" for the red bluff in front of it (although, when visiting, we never saw a red bluff). Mr. Hammond at one time owned 300 slaves, 21 of them at Redcliffe and 294 at his other estate, Silver Bluff, a plantation along the Savannah River. Remarkably the war never reached Redcliffe - it was spared as the fighting never traveled further than Aiken, SC, a few miles down the road.

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There were 10 rooms on the two floors we toured, not counting the bathroom that was installed in the 1930's. The kitchen was in the "basement" and there was a full attic with rooms and an observatory that was later converted to a "widow's walk", which is still there. I imagine one could see the Savannah River from that site. Ceilings were 14' high. The staircases were steep and long. Eventually an elevator was installed. The property was offered to the state of South Carolina in 1973 by the last descendent who died in 1975 and is manged by the South Carolina Parks, Recreaton and Tourism Division of State Park.

I LOVE antebellum styled mansions and plantations and enjoy reading about the south in the 1800's. This interest began when I lived in New Orleans for four years from 1956-1960. Even though I was only 12-years-old when my family moved there from West Des Moines, Iowa, I was quite taken with the mansions off St. Charles Blvd. and the southern lifestyle. All my friends had French last names, lived in large, stately homes, and had a maid (and so did we). Or maybe this interest began the first time I saw Gone With the Wind at the movies with Bob in 1961 when we were 16-years-old. I was fascinated with that story and loved Tara, the plantation home.

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Then in November 1990 on a trip to Savannah, Georgia with Bob and Trent, it all came rushing back - my love for the south. During that trip, Trent and I went on a historic home tour. It was great to visit the old mansions and hear the stories about the families who had lived in them. Trent and I laughed about how Bob and I could buy one old mansion we saw for sale. As we walked along the squares in Savannah, I kept thinking how great it would be if we REALLY could do that. We were selling our company back home and I had even figured out how much we would have to get to be able to retire early and renovate a Savannah mansion. But, of course, reality set in and it was never to be. We didn't retire and we moved to a suburb of Los Angeles, California instead.

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However, now that we actually live in the south, I am determined to visit as many antebellum mansions and southern plantations as I can. We started yesterday, Saturday, May 20, 2006, with the Redcliffe Plantation in Beech Island, SC. Click on each image to enlarge it for better viewing.

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This blog album is dedicated to:

ANTEBELLUM MANSIONS AND SOUTHERN PLANTATIONS!