Pendleton, SC – the charming town within Anderson County
Pendleton oh Pendleton… this small, charming town located in the Northwest side of Anderson County once was the seat of Pendleton District that encompassed Anderson, Pickens and Oconee Counties. Pendleton has a rich history dating back to the American Revolution, Civil War and today charming, quaint, idyllic, town with shops, restaurants and historic charm.
Pendleton Historic Foundation in Pendleton owns three amazing homes. Woodburn Plantation, Ashtabula Plantation, and the Jenkins House. These houses are loving cared for by the Foundation. All were once working farms with gardens, cows, cotton, smoke houses, laundry houses, outdoor kitchens and much much more. Two of the three houses are completely furnished with tours weekly or on demand by calling ahead for 6 people or more in a group. The Jenkins House is under renovation as we speak, and you can already see the transformation from forgotten to elegant.
Woodburn Plantation is the grandest of the three homes. Wide porches, jib windows (or doors), large front doors and rooms that can hold an easy a crowd with ease. It is easy to see as you enter Woodburn, the windows wide open, doors open, rugs rolled up and furniture moved to make way for hoop skirts, men in fine dress and dancing taking place in the first few rooms. A ball would have taken place here during the High Season of social life here in Pendleton. Pendleton was a refuge for many Charlestonians and Low Country Planters who would come here for the “Sick season” in the Low Country. The nasty little Mosquito caused death to many as it carried the dreaded “Fever” so the wealthy planters of the day would come north to get away from the heat and “Fever” of the Low Country. Most of the time the planters would leave their homes down south in late March and return after the first frost. Woodburn is so elegant and beautiful. You can’t help but fall in love with the house as soon as you drive up the driveway. The house is beautifully decorated with period antiques, family portraits, books, China and silverware line the dining room table. The house is huge with four floors, including a basement kitchen, cellar, and an attic. The bedrooms and one bathroom are adorned with four poster canopy beds, period dresses and under clothes and the one private bathroom has a bathtub that is nothing like today’s bathrooms.
The outbuildings of this beautiful property have a Carriage House, (used for weddings), a Slave Cabin (used for education) and a Cabin moved to the property for safe keeping and education. Before the storm of 2018 there was a HUGE Fig Tree at the back of the house. It was the oldest Fig Tree in the Upstate of SC. Unfortunately, it was destroyed when another large tree fell on it and the house. The house was repaired but the FIG Tree no longer stands. Weddings and other celebrations are welcomed at Woodburn Planation. It is a beautiful place to get married at and have your wedding reception on the grounds under hundreds of year-old Oak, Pecan and Black Gum Trees.
Woodburn has special events throughout the year that is put on throughout the year such as Mother’s Day Tea’s, Halloween Haunted House Tours, and Christmas Celebrations. Take the time to visit Woodburn, you will enjoy every second of your tour!
Ashtabula Plantation is located outside of the main town of Pendleton on the old Greenville Highway. It was a working farm with a life full of servants, children and parents for many many years. The house was occupied until the 1970’s when it entered the Pendleton Historic Foundation ‘s care. Ashtabula was a grand home with so much rich and sad history. Drive up the grand driveway lined with beautiful old Oak Trees, get out of the car onto the pebble lined drive and enter the home from the wide porch with jib windows (doors) just like at Woodburn Plantation. The wide expansive hallway with grand staircase, large hall mirror, family portraits and the feeling of yesteryear in the air. Ashtabula is so completely different than Woodburn but so beautiful and rich in history. The rooms are fille with family or period antiques, China, silver goblets, fireplaces in every room, and lots of stories of the families that lived there. Some are happy stories, and some are sad stories of a family that morns the loss of children and a mother, the story of mental illness, of ghost sightings and sounds. Ashtabula has it all… the grand anticultural features of a bygone era, the modern-day remolding of making room for closets, and bathrooms for comfort, the outside kitchen, and the upstairs with mounds of family memorabilia housed behind glass. The bedrooms are filled with four poster beds, night clothes, under clothes that are so small a modern-day woman could not possibly fit into her corset. It is incredible to see how small the people were during the 1850-1920 era… I was once told that women were about 90 lbs and 4’8 feet tall and men were 130 lbs and 5’5 feet tall. The house feels haunted when you take the tour, you can see for yourself with pictures showing white ghostly figures in the background. One of the volunteers that gives tours, once told me they do not like to be in the house alone locking up at night. It sends chill bumps up your spine… What are your thoughts on the supernatural or ghosts?
The outside buildings of Ashtabula are equally interesting. The old Kitchen was once a Tavern on the wagon road that led you to here for a night’s sleep, rest your horses, have a meal and sleep upstairs above the restaurant. Everything that you did here cost money. ..nothing comes free. To eat costs money, to water and feed your horses cost money, to bathe cost money and to sleep upstairs would cost money. Depending on how much you were willing to pay for a bath and to sleep would depend on the order in which you had these things. If you paid the most money the traveler could take his bath first, and sleep with lone or maybe with one other traveler in his bed for the night. The less money you had for these things, the further down line you were to take a bath and the more men you had in one bed. Horrible conditions compared to todays standards.
The trees are amazing at the farm. There was one a smoke house on site as well as a outside laundry building but both have sense gone and left the property due to storm damage, rot, or neglect. I would encourage you to visit both houses and see which one is your favorite. They are both so beautiful and so different in their styles. One serves as a showcase for parties and the other serves as areal home for a family with all of life’s happy times and sad times.
The Jenkins House is the newest addition to the Pendleton Historic Foundation houses. This was originally a doctor’s office and used as a farm, family home and town Doctors office. The Pendleton Historic Foundation is actively and lovely restoring it for it former grander. The foundation has been secured, the wood rot gone, a new roof put on and painting with historic colors is taking place now. I recently toured the inside of the house for the first time a few weeks ago and was so excited to see the potential of this beautiful home. This was used a family home with a kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and entertainment rooms. PHF will restore it back to its former glory as a place to hold meetings, a potential doctors office on one end once again to bring it back to its beginnings and a place of high honor in the historic town of Pendleton. Some of the outbuildings remain and will be restored one at a time. We look forward to seeing the Jenkins House in the glory of the yesteryear with beautiful wide clear glass windows, 12 ft ceilings, crown moldings, 15×15 rooms, wide formal grand hall for welcoming guest and a wonderful Butlers Pantry to house the serving pieces of the fine China that will once again entrain guests. Stay tuned in for updates on this wonderful project.
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