Ellerslie is a historic

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

located near Linden,

Cumberland County, North Carolina Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 334,508, making it the fifth-most populous county in North Carolina. Its county seat is Fayetteville. Cumberland County is pa ...

. It was built about 1790, and is a 1 1/2-story, six bay by two bay,

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

style frame dwelling with a two-story

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

style addition. It features a wide shed porch with plastered cove ceiling. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980.

History

Ellerslie's founder, George Elliot, was born in Scotland in 1755. He immigrated to the American colonies around 1774 and soon entered the lumber business along the Cape Fear River Valley. After building Ellerslie sometime between 1790-1801, Elliot emerged as the largest landowner in his district and was an active political leader. In 1788 he represented Cumberland County at the

Hillsborough Convention The Hillsborough Convention, was the first of two North Carolina conventions to ratify the United States Constitution. Delegates represented 7 boroughs and 59 counties, including six western counties that became part of Tennessee when it was creat ...

, which had been called to vote on the new United States Constitution. Ellerslie’s location on the Lower Little River was important for community and commerce. The Little River and the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...

connected the Highland-Scot community with

Wilmington, NC Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is th ...

and closely linked the regions commercially. Additionally, the Elliot family cemetery was located where the Little River joins the Cape Fear River. Ellerslie Fireplace

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, the Ellerslie Plantation was used at separate times to quarter both Confederate and Union troops. Prior to the

Battle of Averasborough The Battle of Averasborough or the Battle of Averasboro, fought March 16, 1865, in Harnett and Cumberland counties, North Carolina, as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War, was a prelude to the climactic Battle of Bentonvill ...

, Federal troops under

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Maj. Gen. Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

raided Ellerslie. The encounter was recorded by resident and Civil War diarist Jane Evans Elliot:

Notable residents

John Newland Maffitt (privateer) John Newland Maffitt (February 22, 1819 – May 15, 1886) was an officer in the Confederate States Navy who was nicknamed the "Prince of Privateers" due to his success as a blockade runner and commerce raider in the U.S. Civil War. Early lif ...

, the renowned Confederate blockade runner, spent part of his childhood on the Ellerslie Plantation after he was adopted around 1824 by his uncle Dr. William Maffitt, a respected Cumberland County physician. The Maffitt family home was on or near the Ellerslie estate. Contrary to some reports, Dr. Maffitt did not own the Ellerslie plantation. * Jane Evans Elliot (1820-1886), the Civil War memoirist, lived at Ellerslie after marrying Col. Alexander Elliot. * Henry Elliot, the Elliot Pecan's namesake, was raised at Ellerslie. He was the son of Col. Alexander Elliot and Jane Evans Elliot.

References

Plantation houses in North Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Georgian architecture in North Carolina Greek Revival houses in North Carolina Houses completed in 1790 Houses in Cumberland County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Cumberland County, North Carolina {{CumberlandCountyNC-NRHP-stub