Rip Raps Plantation, also known as the James McBride Dabbs House, 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 ...

and national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

located near

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

Sumter County, South Carolina Sumter County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,556. Its county seat is Sumter. Sumter County comprises the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included ...

. It was the home of

James McBride Dabbs James McBride Dabbs (May 8, 1896 – May 30, 1970) was an American author and farmer from South Carolina known for his writings on religion and Southern culture. He has been recognized as one of the South's leading liberals during his time. Dabbs ...

, author and leading advocate for social justice and civil rights (1896-1970). It was added to 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 1978.

Architecture

The structure encompasses four contributing buildings, three contributing sites, and two contributing structures. The house was built in 1858, and is a two-story, frame vernacular

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, ...

dwelling with twin facades. Each facade features a two-story, full width, pedimented

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

supported by six paneled piers. Also on the property are a log

smokehouse A smokehouse (North American) or smokery (British) is a building where meat or fish is curing (food preservation), cured with Smoking (cooking), smoke. The finished product might be stored in the building, sometimes for a year or more.carriage house A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two ...

(c. 1830), and a barn.

Ownership

According to Edith Mitchell Dabbs the land under Rip Raps Plantation was "given to Peter Mellette" in the 1750s. It was subsequently purchased by the great-grandfather of James McBride Dabbs. After James McBride Dabbs' death it was willed to his wife, Edith Mitchell Dabbs, and subsequently their son, Richard W. Dabbs (1945–2022), after Edith passed in 1991. Upon Richard Dabbs death in 2022, he left the home to his children: Samuel H. Dabbs, Sophie M. Dabbs, and Nathan W. Dabbs

References

;Footnotes ;Sources

External links

Everything Happens at the Crossroads
Plantation houses in South Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Agricultural buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Greek Revival houses in South Carolina Houses completed in 1858 Houses in Sumter County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Sumter County, South Carolina {{SumterCountySC-NRHP-stub