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Woodland Plantation:

History & Significance

Location & Construction

  • Woodland Plantation is located on what is now Santuc-Carlisle Highway (State Highway 215), near Carlisle in Union County, SC. Wikipedia+2Roots and Recall+2

  • The main house was built around 1850 in a Greek Revival style—with some Italianate influences—reflecting the wealth and architectural tastes of the antebellum South. Wikipedia+2Roots and Recall+2

Original Owners: The Jeter & Mobley Connection

  • Woodland was built for Reverend James Thomas Jeter and his wife Catherine Elizabeth Mobley Jeter. National Register+1

  • The Mobley family (on his wife’s side) is known in the region for several antebellum homes sharing similar architectural features—especially the open/light-filled columns—suggesting shared design influences. Roots and Recall

Architectural Features

  • The house is a two-story clapboard structure. Unique elements include square porch columns with windows on all four sides—these windows/light features were used for lighting (lanterns), signage to passing stagecoaches, and social uses (evenings, gatherings). Roots and Recall

  • The plantation complex includes multiple outbuildings dating from mid-19th century to mid-20th century: smokehouse, storehouse, carriage house, barns (hay, calf, etc.), cotton gin house, silo, privy, etc. south-carolina-plantations.com+3Wikipedia+3Roots and Recall+3

Usage Over Time

Preservation & Later Recognition

  • Woodland Plantation has proven to be one of Union County’s most intact antebellum residences, especially in terms of house and associated historic outbuildings. Roots and Recall+1

  • It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 30, 2001. The historic boundary is about 78 acres.

 

Woodland Plantation Timeline

Date / Period Events & Property Use People / Ownership
c. 1850 House constructed in Greek Revival with Italianate elements; moved mid-build closer to the new Spartanburg & Union Railroad. Built for Rev. James Thomas Jeter (1818–1884) and wife Catherine Elizabeth Mobley Jeter (1823–1894).
1850s–1920s Operated as a cotton plantation; complex included smokehouse, storehouse, carriage house, barns, cotton gin, etc. The Jeter family maintained Woodland as their primary agricultural seat.
1894 Woodland inherited upon Catherine’s death. Passed to her son Dr. James Thomas Jeter, Jr. (1867–1940).
Early 1900s House exchanged within family so Dr. Jeter could live nearer his Santuc medical practice. Dr. J.T. Jeter, Jr. swapped homes with his sister Mary Elizabeth “Bessie” Jeter (1865–1936) and her husband James Parham “Jimmie” Jeter (1862–1926).
1920s–1957 Converted to and operated as a dairy farm; dairy closed in 1957. Run by Bessie and Jimmie’s sons: Hugh Jeter, John Mobley Jeter, and James T. Jeter. Brother Douglas Jeter lived there into the early 1980s.
1984 Estate survey map documents buildings on site. James P. Jeter Estate surveyed.
1996 Restoration begun after decades of decline. Purchased by Drs. Allen P. & Elaine K. Jeter from James Jeter Easley.
2001 (Feb) Official photos taken for historic designation. –
2001 (May 30) National Register of Historic Places listing; 78-acre boundary includes house & ten contributing outbuildings. Recognized under Criteria A & C (agriculture & architecture).

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