Redcliffe
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1.5 mi. NE of Beech Island on SC 125 (Aiken County)
Alternate Name:
Redcliffe Plantation State Park
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817702001
Description and Narrative:
(Redcliffe Plantation State Park) Redcliffe is representative of the architectural styles in the South during the early nineteenth century. Begun in 1857 by James Henry Hammond, it is a two-story house of wooden construction. Built on brick pillars like many of the lowcountry houses, Redcliffe maintained the pattern of a central hall with four rooms, so characteristic of the Carolina upcountry. Double-decked porches were built on all four sides. Only the front and back porches had steps down to the ground. Large French windows in all rooms opened on to the porches, upper and lower. An enclosed cupola or observatory, consisting almost entirely of windows, was built on the roof between the two chimneys. In 1886, James Hammond’s son Henry removed the upper porch and moved the main stairs to the corner of the new porch. In 1901, the observatory on the roof was removed and replaced by a widow’s walk. Originally Georgian in style, the house now features many Greek Revival elements. Two slave quarters remain, illustrating the pattern of life prior to the Civil War. A young landscape architect, Louis Berckman from Belgium, planned the grounds at Redcliffe. The home’s builder, James H. Hammond, was elected governor of South Carolina in 1842 and served two terms. He was elected to United States Congress in 1834 and then to United States Senate in 1857. A later owner of Redcliffe is John Shaw Billings, a descendant of Hammond. Billings was Managing Editor of both TIME and LIFE magazines and eventually Editorial Director of TIME, Inc. Listed in the National Register May 8, 1973.
Period of Significance:
1857 – 1973
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Literature;Agriculture;Architecture;Conservation;Landscape Architecture;Social History
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
May 8 1973
