Cedar Grove Plantation – Summerton – Clarendon County

Basic Information

• Location – Summerton, Clarendon County

• Origin of name – Named for the cedar trees leading up to the house
  

• Other names – Smythe

• Current status – ?

Timeline

• 1786 – Earliest known date of existence

  John Lawson either received or purchased 2,160 acres. The land was laid out between Jack's Creek and Taw-Caw (1, bk. 2, vol. 16, p. 33).
  

• ? – House built

• 1817 – One of John Lawson's daughters, Mrs. Ann Ransom Lawson Felder, married Richard Ragin. It appears that John Lawson was deceased at this time. Ann and Richard either inherited or bought from the other heirs most of the plantation. They added more acreage until there were over 5,000 acres in the plantation.
  

  Richard Ragin is probably the first owner who lived in the house although John Lawson may have built it (1, bk. 2, vol. 16, p. 33).
  

• ? – Richard Ragin's granddaughter married James Adger Smythe. It was at this time that the plantation was referred to as Smythe Plantation (1, bk. 2, vol. 16, p. 33).
  

• ? – The house was destroyed by a fire (1, bk. 2, vol. 16, p. 33).
  

• ? – Parts of the plantation have been sold to the Santee-Cooper Development Company, the United States Government's Wild Life Refuge, and the State Forestry Commission (1, bk. 2, vol. 16, p. 33).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 2,160 in 1786; 5,000 in 1800s

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Billings; Brigs; John Lawson; Ann and Richard Ragin; Ransom; James Adger Smythe; Santee-Cooper Development Company, the United States Government's Wild Life Refuge, and the State Forestry Commission
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• ?

References & Resources

1. Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
    Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
    Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII