Cedar Grove 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 ...

located near Edgefield,

Edgefield County, South Carolina Edgefield County is a county located on the western border of the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 25,657. Its county seat and largest community is Edgefield. The county was established on March 12, 1785 ...

. It was built between 1790 and 1805, and is a large two-story, Federal style house with a white clapboard exterior and high gable roof. It features a double-tiered

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

with delicate Adamesque detail. This home has many unusual architectural features including a barrel-vaulted hallway, elaborately carved mantelpieces, and the right front parlor retains an early hand-painted French wallpaper. The property features a landscape of tall cedars, as well as old English boxwoods and traces of an original rose garden like at John Blocker's father's home, the Blocker House. The gardens at Cedar Grove were reputedly laid out by Andre Michaux, the renowned botanist who had designed the gardens at Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina. The famous English boxwoods of Cedar Grove were sold during the Great Depression to the Rockefeller family and placed in the gardens of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia. Also on the property are the contributing servant's quarters and original kitchen. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971. As of 2024, it is owned by Brian Branton, an attorney and

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

, originally from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

References

* Architecture of the Old South by Mills Lane. 1997 by Beehive Press, Savannah, Georgia. pages 138–139 with photo. * The Story of Edgefield a 2010 publication by The Edgefield County Historical Society. Page 69 with photo.

External links

Cedar Grove photo gallery
at Old Houses USA Plantation houses in South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Federal architecture in South Carolina Houses completed in 1790 Houses in Edgefield County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Edgefield County, South Carolina {{EdgefieldCountySC-NRHP-stub