Gregg Plantation – Mars Bluff – Florence County

— Gregg Plantation © James (Jim) Jenkins, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Mars Bluff, Florence County

  Wallace Drive
  

• Origin of name – The Gregg family originally owned the property.
  

• Other names – Gregg-Wallace; Wallace Hall; Wallace House
  

• Current status – Some of the plantation's property is owned by Francis Marion University, including the house which serves as the president's home.
  

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence
  

• ? – John Gregg acquired the property.
  

• 1836 – John Gregg gave the plantation to his son J. Eli Gregg (2) (4, p. 6).
  

  J. Eli's brother, Evander A. Gregg, owned neighboring Red Doe Plantation.
  

• 1836 – House built by J. Eli Gregg (5).
  

• 1890 – J. Eli Gregg's son Walter Gregg owned the plantation (4, p. 6).
  

• Circa 1920 – Walter Gregg's daughter and son-in-law, Sallie Gregg Wallace and Joseph Wilds Wallace Sr., became owners (4, p. 6).
  

• Early 1920s – The house was destroyed by fire (1, p. 5) (5).
  

• 1924 – The Wallaces rebuilt the house (5).
  

• 1960 – The Wallace family donated 100 acres including the house for the founding of the University of South Carolina at Florence. The house first provided classroom and meeting space (5).
  

• 1970 – Francis Marion College was established on the same site with the house serving as the administration building (5).
  

• 1983 – The house was renovated to serve as the residence for the school's president (5).
  

• 1994 – The house became formally known as the Wallace House (5).
  

— Gregg Plantation Slave Cabin © James (Jim) Jenkins, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 100 in 1960 (5)
  

• Primary crop – Cotton (4, p. 6)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• The plantation's first house, built in 1836, was lost to fire; the current structure was built in 1924 (5).
  

• There were 8 slave cabins on the plantation in 1870. Some of these cabins were expanded into tenant farm houses throughout the first half of the 20th century. Two of the original hewn-timber slave cabins, circa 1831, still exist and have been moved to a different location on the campus of Francis Marion University (1) (4) (6).
  

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form for slave cabins at Francis Marion University - PDF - submitted in 1974
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. 1839 Will of John Gregg

3. Hewn-timber slave cabins - moved to different location at Francis Marion University
   

4. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form for Gregg-Wallace Farm Tenant House - PDF - submitted in 2001
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

5. Francis Marion University Campus Facilities
   

6. 1870 Plat drawn for J. Eli Gregg

Contact Information

• Francis Marion University
  4822 East Palmetto Street
  Florence, SC 29506
  

  Telephone: 800-368-7551
  Website: Click here