SANKOFA'S PLANTATION DATABASE
Harmony Hall Plantation
Location: White Oak, Bladen County, NC
Constructed: 1768
History: In 1768 that Colonel James A. Richardson built his home on a 12,000 acre tract on the Cape Fear River near the village of White Oak. A native of Stonington, Connecticut, who ran a West Indies shipping line, he had earlier been shipwrecked off Cape Hatteras and while waiting for the arrival of one of his ships, had explored the area. He liked the Cape Fear River bottom lands so much that he decided to settle and make his home there. About the same time, he met a young widow named Elizabeth O’Neal Purdy, a native of Jamaica. The two were soon married and moved up the river to build their new home. This house remained in the Richardson family until 1874 when it was acquired by Daniel S. Tatum. Tatum transferred the title to his daughter Sarah Margaret and her husband N. Austin Layton, Sr. In 1961, Mr. and Mrs. N. A. Layton Jr., of Winter Haven, Florida, deeded the structure to the Bladen County Historical Society.
Associated Surnames: Richardson
Associated Free White Names
Associated Black Slave Names
Agriculture
Description of Associated Architecture
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