Middleton Place
National Register Listing
Street Address:
SE of Summerville on SC 6l, Summerville, SC (Dorchester County)
Alternate Name:
Arthur Middleton Birthplace
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817718005
Description and Narrative:
(Arthur Middleton Birthplace) Middleton Place was the birthplace and home of Arthur Middleton, from 1742 to 1787, a signer of the Declaration of Independence for South Carolina, planter, politician and soldier. The south wing, ca. 1755, of the original plantation house still stands and Arthur Middleton is buried in the family cemetery near the residence. This wing is a fine example of the adapted English Country Tudor style with strong Dutch influences. The three-and-one-half story brick five-bay wide central block of Middleton Place Plantation house was built about 1738. In 1755 the mansion was enlarged by the addition of two two-story flankers north and south of the central block. The north flanker served as a library and conservatory and the south building as a gentleman’s guest wing. In 1781, the terms of British surrender and withdrawal from the American Revolution were accepted at Middleton Place. In 1865 Union troops burned the mansion and its wings, leaving only the brick walls standing. In 1868 William Middleton put a roof over the south flanker, which was the least damaged of the three structures, and utilized it as the plantation house. In 1886 a great earthquake felled the ruined walls of the central block and the north flanker. The gardens at Middleton Place are the nation’s oldest extant landscaped gardens and rank among the largest and most important in the world. They contain America’s oldest and largest camellias, planted about 1785. Beginning in 1916, under the supervision of Mr. J.J. Pringle Smith, the gardens were restored to their former beauty over a period of several decades. In the 1930s the house was enlarged by the addition of a two-story brick service wing to the south end. Built on the main axis, this addition is constructed in the eighteenth century style. Listed in the National Register May 6, 1971; Designated as a National Historic Landmark November 11, 1971.
Period of Significance:
circa 1742
Level of Significance:
National
Area of Significance:
Education;Archeology: Historic - Aboriginal;Agriculture;Architecture;Art;Commerce;Landscape Architecture;Politics/Government;Other
National Register Determination:
National Historic Landmark
Date of Certification:
May 6 1971
Date of Certification as a National Historic Landmark:
November 11 1971
