Joanna in Laurens County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Belfast Plantation
[Front]
This Federal plantation house was built between 1786 and 1815 for John Simpson (1751-1815), merchant and planter. Simpson came to S.C. from England in 1786 and named Belfast after his birthplace in Ireland. A post office here was called Belfast by 1804. Simpson was the first of four generations representing Laurens County in the S.C. House of Representatives from 1797 to 1886.
[Reverse];
John Simpson’s grandson William Dunlap Simpson (1823-1890), born here, was a state representative and senator 1854-1863, and a Confederate officer and Congressman 1861-65. Simpson was lt. governor 1878-79, then governor 1879-1880, and was chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court at his death. Belfast was acquired by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources in 2008.
Erected 2011 by Kenelm Winslow Chapter, S.C. Society of the Colonial Dames XVII Century. (Marker Number 30-16.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the The Colonial Dames XVII Century, National Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1786.
Location. 34° 19.583′ N, 81° 50.983′ W. Marker is in Joanna, South Carolina, in Laurens County. Marker is on State Highway 56 south of State Highway 560, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Joanna SC 29351, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Bush River Church (approx. 5.2 miles away); Joanna Veterans' Memorial (approx. 6.4 miles away); Cross Hill Confederate Monument (approx. 7.8 miles away); Pinelawn Memory Gardens Veterans Monument (approx. 8.9 miles away); James Ferdinand Jacobs (approx. 9.3 miles away); The Reverend William Plumer Jacobs (approx. 9.7 miles away); Davison McDowell Douglas (approx. 9.7 miles away); Jacobs Hall (approx. 9.7 miles away); Presbyterian College Armed Forces Memorial (approx. 9.7 miles away); Mrs. Lillian G. Brown (approx. 9.7 miles away).
Also see . . .
1. Belfast Plantation – Kinards – Laurens County. South Carolina Plantations website entry (Submitted on September 10, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York.)
2. Federal Architecture. Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. (Submitted on November 12, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
3. William Dunlap Simpson. William Dunlap Simpson (October 27, 1823 – December 26, 1890) was the 78th Governor of South Carolina from February 26, 1879, when the previous governor, Wade Hampton, resigned to take his seat in the U.S. Senate, until 1880, when Simpson resigned to become Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court. (Submitted on November 12, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)
Additional commentary.
1. William Dunlap Simpson Papers Summary (University of N.C. Southern Historical Collection)
William Dunlap Simpson, lawyer of Laurens, S.C., served during the Civil War with the 14th S. C. Volunteers and in the Confederate Congress. In 1876, he was S.C. lieutenant governor, and, in 1878, was acting governor until he became chief justice of the state Supreme Court in 1880. He marrried Jane E. Young, daughter of Henry Clinton Young (b. 1794), lawyer of Laurens, and Lucy Melissa Young (1802-1874). William and Jane's children included William Dunlap, Jr., and Ernest, both lawyers, and John W., banker of Spartanburg, S.C., Greensboro, N.C., and Tennessee. John W. Simpson married Mabel Donald Fleming in 1895.
Correspondence and related items, 1819-1852, include family and business letters, including an 1849 letter describing the capture of a violent runaway slave in Alabama. There are also letters of Mary Owen Dean in Spartanburg, S.C., and her husband Hosea G. Dean, clerk of the S.C. House of Representatives, 1852-1853. Letters in the late 1850s relate to William Simpson's law practice. During the Civil War, most letters are from William in the field, 1861-1862, with the 14th S.C. Volunteers, or from Richmond in the Confederate Congress, to his wife Jane, in charge of the Simpson platnation in Laurens. In 1876-1879, there are letters to William requesting political favors and outlining political deals, among them a letter from Wade Hampton, and to state Democratic Party activities. Similar letters appear during Simpson's tenure as chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court. After William's death, there are letters from his son Ernest from a sanitorium in Battle Creek, Mich., where he was trying to improve his health. Most letters, 1900-1942, relate to John W. Simpson's banking career or to Mabel Fleming Simpson's interest in the history of the Dean, Fleming, Simpson, Wade, and other families. Other items include a few writings by family members, who were particularly intent on defending old southern ways; legal notes; pictures of family members, including a strip of photographs of a baby with a nurse and a homemade calendar for 1899 with photographs of children; a copy of Tri-Weekly Guardian, an 1863 news sheet; and a copy of a history of the Gregg/McGowan South Carolina Brigade (1866).
— Submitted November 12, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 10, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 12, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,581 times since then and 75 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. submitted on November 12, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.