Basic Information

• Location – Bull Pond, Allendale County

  Located south of US 301 on Elmore Lane
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privatley owned

Timeline

• 1850 – Earliest known date of existence

• 1857 – Plantation house built by Benjamin Lawton Willingham

• 1865 – Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick, a member of General Sherman's staff, spared the house because it had been used as a hospital for Union troops as they passed through the area.
  

• 1888 – Sold to Charles Edward Bryan

• 1993 – Sold to Clayton New

• 1996 – Sold to Suzanne Oswald Cordray, a great granddaughter of Charles Edward Bryan
  

• 2001 – Plantation house renovated

• 2003 – Sold to Frank E. Guidobono

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – Cotton

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Charles Edward Bryan; Suzanne Oswald Cordray; Frank E. Guidobono; Clayton New; Benjamin Lawton Willingham
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – Benjamin Willingham had 75 slaves.

Buildings

• The plantation house originally had 15 rooms. It is in good condition, thanks to a major renovation completed in 2001. The original dining room and living room were eliminated during this renovation.
  

Web Resources

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1975
  – Photographs, architectural overview
  

• Brief history of Gravel Hill Plantation - Click here
  

Print Resources

• Initial references: 4