Ellerslie is a historic

plantation house A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and ...

located near Linden,

Cumberland County, North Carolina Cumberland County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 334,728, making it the List of counties in North Carolina, fifth-most populo ...

. It was built about 1790, and is a 1 1/2-story, six bay by two bay, Georgian style frame dwelling with a two-story

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style addition. It features a wide shed porch with plastered cove ceiling. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980.

History

Ellerslie's founder, George Elliot, was born in Scotland in 1755. He immigrated to the American colonies around 1774 and soon entered the lumber business along the Cape Fear River Valley. After building Ellerslie sometime between 1790-1801, Elliot emerged as the largest landowner in his district and was an active political leader. In 1788 he represented Cumberland County at the Hillsborough Convention, which had been called to vote on the new

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

. Ellerslie’s location on the Lower Little River was important for community and commerce. The Little River and the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

connected the Highland-Scot community with Wilmington, NC and closely linked the regions commercially. Additionally, the Elliot family cemetery was located where the Little River joins the Cape Fear River. Ellerslie Fireplace

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the Ellerslie Plantation was used at separate times to quarter both Confederate and Union troops. Prior to the Battle of Averasborough, Federal troops under Union Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

raided Ellerslie. The encounter was recorded by resident and Civil War diarist Jane Evans Elliot:

Notable residents

* John Newland Maffitt (privateer), the renowned Confederate

blockade runner A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usua ...

, spent part of his childhood on the Ellerslie Plantation after he was adopted around 1824 by his uncle Dr. William Maffitt, a respected Cumberland County physician. The Maffitt family home was on or near the Ellerslie estate. Contrary to some reports, Dr. Maffitt did not own the Ellerslie plantation. * Jane Evans Elliot (1820-1886), the Civil War memoirist, lived at Ellerslie after marrying Col. Alexander Elliot. * Henry Elliot, the Elliot Pecan's namesake, was raised at Ellerslie. He was the son of Col. Alexander Elliot and Jane Evans Elliot.

References

Plantation houses in North Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Georgian architecture in North Carolina Greek Revival houses in North Carolina Houses completed in 1790 Houses in Cumberland County, North Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Cumberland County, North Carolina {{CumberlandCountyNC-NRHP-stub