A stylized illustration of a black, leaping wolf with a prominent snout and large ears, next to the text 'ABANDONED NC' in a distressed font.

    Antebellum

    Antebellum plantation

    These pictures are over a year old as of my posting them. I have held onto them for that long seeing what might become of the property, but it appears it’s slated for development and some work has started now. I don’t know how much longer these structures will survive.
    Be that as it may, I’m keeping the detailed history and location to myself for now. There’s still a slight hope something might survive.

    What I will say is that this property is very old, with original settlement of it being in the late 1700’s. Before the Civil War it was also a working farm with a slave population. Those slaves built the main house. Some of those slaves may be buried on the land as well but searches haven’t been able to locate their graves thus far. Several attempts have been made through the years to have the property added to the National Register of Historic Places but for some reason, they have never succeeded. As things are, this site is endangered, and despite parts of it being over 200 years old, it may not last much longer.

    I hope to possibly find my way back to this place again soon to check one or two more places in the overgrowth where graves might be, but the massive size of the property and it’s current inaccessibility might make that difficult.
    During the last search with several other people we found only one stone that looked like it might have been a grave marker at one time.

    It was on the edge of a formerly cultivated field, and it makes me wonder if someone in the recent past might have plowed under what little proof of enslaved graves there may have been.

    It’s rare for a structure, a property this old to still exist as it does. It’s a shame that nothing was ever done to save it. There aren’t many antebellum farms left in this part of the state, and preserving this one would be a way not only to tell the story of the people who owned the property, but the enslaved people who built, maintained, and were likely buried on it.

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    6 responses to “Antebellum”

    1. Shellie Taylor Avatar
      Shellie Taylor

      Thank you for sharing these images. This place is so special and I’m devastated that it might get torn down!

      Reply
      1. Elena Avatar
        Elena

        This is a very common assumption made by urban exploration blogs, but it is historically inaccurate. While many grand, antebellum structures in the South were indeed the centers of slave plantations, not every large or old home from that era fits this definition.Historically, large 19th-century homes belonged to a variety of operations that did not rely on the large-scale plantation model. In western North Carolina counties like Iredell (which based on other “Urbex” sites this looks like the house) , agriculture looked vastly different from the coastal plains. Many large, multi-story brick or timber homes belonged to successful yeoman farmers or local merchants. While some of these families may have held a small number of enslaved people, their properties functioned as localized family farms or small businesses rather than expansive, hundreds-of-acres commercial plantations. Amateur historians frequently misdate abandoned structures based purely on a “classic” southern look. Many homes that feature sweeping porches, large chimneys, and grand symmetric frames were actually constructed during the Reconstruction era or late 19th century (well after the abolition of slavery). This transitional architecture borrowed heavily from earlier Greek Revival aesthetics but had no operational ties to the pre-war plantation economy. If there is “well documented proof” as you claim, why gatekeep it? This seems like you were trespassing and have no proof that it isn’t still owned by the family/estate.

        Reply
        1. Abandoned NC Avatar
          Abandoned NC

          If you’re taking exception with the word “plantation,” I have replaced it with “farm.”

          As for “gatekeeping,” I rarely reveal exact locations of any of the places I photograph.

          The family no longer owns this property. A land development LLC based in Delaware currently owns the property.

    2. Andy Brown Avatar
      Andy Brown

      Thanks for the photos. What a tale that could be told.

      Andy Brown

      Reply
    3. Bob Varnell Avatar
      Bob Varnell

      While your enthusiasm for little known history of North Carolina. I live in the region of North Carolina where slavery was most prominent and you say about graves being deliberately plowed nothing more than your own speculation. I know for a fact that here there are many graves both white and black that are left to decay. The fact is no public records of many of these deaths because they were put to rest at home by their families both white and black. The only record of their passing is an entry in the family bible. I personally know of one such black grave yard that had no headstones or markers and if they did they have long since rotted. I know of white graveyards out the country where that is the case as well. To make the leap from antebellum home to slave owner without any proof is not helpful in the slightest and furthermore jump to speculation of graves. Not everyone with big house or a farm participate in slavery. If you have facts by all means present them. Thank you for pictures and information.

      Reply
      1. Abandoned NC Avatar
        Abandoned NC

        It is possible markers have decayed beyond recognition. It’s also possible there were never graves to begin with. There is one other property where slaves from this plantation likely would have been buried and it’s a toss up between the two.

        However, there is well documented proof slaves were here and that they even built the house. There is at least one account I have read referring to a slave who lived on this plantation by name. So that is not really in dispute, only whether slaves were buried here or the other property. As for documentation, revealing the family name would reveal the location, so at moment I’m keeping that close to the chest. If this property gets bulldozed, somehow saved, or otherwise changes, I will certainly write up the full history as best I can.

        Reply

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