silver bluff plantation
SANKOFA'S SLAVERY DATA COLLECTION
Silver
Bluff Plantation
Original Location: Silverton Township, Barnwell Co., SC
Final Location (due to county line change)*: Aiken Co., SC (1871)
Constructed: ----
History: James Henry Hammond arrived at Silver Bluff in 1831 and took possession
of the property that his wife Catherine Fitzsimons inherited from her father Christopher
Fitzsimons (of Charleston) after his death in 1825. As Hammond's wealth and position
grew, so did his plantation lands. In 1855, he acquired "Redcliffe"
in Edgefield County as the place of the new family estate while the lands and
slave quarters that made all the new found opulence possible, were still eight
miles to the south at Silver Bluff, Cathwood and Cowden Plantations in Barnwell
County. *In 1871, Aiken County was formed from parts of Barnwell and Edgefield
Counties, and "Redcliffe" and Silverton Township reverted to Aiken County.
Associated Surnames: Fitzsimons, Galphin, Hammond
Associated Plantations: Redcliffe (Edgefield Co.,
SC)
Associated Free White Names
- (1700's - 1782) George Galphin: established an Indian Trading Post
at Silver Bluff in the mid 1700s
- ( - 1825) Christopher Fitzsimons (of Charleston): father of Catherine
Fitzsimons
- (1825 - 1831) Catherine Fitzsimons Hammond: inherited Silver
Bluff from her father Christopher Fitzsimons after his death in 1825
- (1831 - 1864) hus James Henry Hammond: owner; statesman and
planter of antebellum South Carolina; took possession of Silver Bluff,
inherited by his wife Catherine Fitzsimons
Associated Black Slave Names
- Over 49 surnames are associated with the Silver Bluff Slave community. Please
contact Alane Roundtree: [email protected]
Description of Land
- Silver Bluff: The plantation lands called "Silver Bluff"
were approximately 10,800 acres in Barnwell County, lying roughly 12 miles south
of Augusta, Georgia, along the Savannah River.
- Hammond's Land: At the time of his death, James H. Hammond owned over
14,000 acres, approximately 22 square miles, which encompassed two counties.
Description of Associated Architecture
- Silverton: James H. Hammond's original plantation home located in Silverton
Township, Barnwell Co., SC.
Research Leads
- Records of Antebellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through
the Civil War, Series A, Part I, The Papers of James Henry Hammond, Selections
from the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia, Reels
# 1-15, University Publications of America, 1985.
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