Rosemont Plantation is a historic

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

located near Waterloo,

Laurens County, South Carolina Laurens County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 67,539. Its county seat is Laurens. Laurens County is included in the Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC Metropolitan Statistical Ar ...

. Development of the Piedmont plantation complex was begun sometime between 1750 and 1790. It reached its zenith as a cotton plantation during the second quarter of the 19th century, when it was occupied by the Cunningham family, whose descendants retained control. The main house of Rosemont burned in 1930. The Cunninghams sold it after that. The site is largely wooded, but there are architectural remains of seven structures and some formal gardens. At one time there were at least 17 buildings and activity areas, including vegetable and flower gardens, a race track, separate living quarters for the adult Cunningham daughter in the 19th century, and other facilities. An archeological survey was done in 1992 by Historic Landscape and Garden Design, and Chicora Foundation, Inc., both of Columbia, South Carolina, for the Laurens County Historical Society. (See Trinkley, 1992) Architectural and archeological remains at Rosemont Plantation may provide information on intra-site patterning, subsistence data, refuse disposal patterns, architecture and organization of the plantation, and the display of wealth by the plantation owners. In the mid-19th century, it was the home of Ann Pamela Cunningham (1816-1875), who became an activist in historic preservation and lived here all her life. She founded the

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union (MVLA) is a non-profit organization that preserves and maintains the Mount Vernon estate originally owned by the family of George Washington. The association was founded in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cu ...

, which purchased

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

in 1859 for restoration and preservation. Rosemont Plantation 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 1993.

References

Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Laurens County, South Carolina Cotton plantations in South Carolina {{LaurensCountySC-NRHP-stub