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William Robertson House

SC PICTURE PROJECT 1 Comment

SC Picture Project / Berkeley County / William Robertson House

The William Robertson House, commonly known as the Wampee Plantation Summer House, is a two-story frame structure built in 1844. The house stands in the village of Pinopolis in Berkeley County. The village was founded by wealthy planters as a summer retreat. The prevalence of pine trees, as well as a higher elevation, provided presumed health benefits during the hottest months of the year. Further, while Pinopolis was not located on Lake Moultrie at the time, it afforded a chance for the families, normally confined to their plantations, to enjoy visiting with neighbors.

William Robertson House

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Wampee Plantation Summer House was one of the earliest residences in the village and has a central-hall floor plan which was popular as it allowed excellent cross-ventilation. Wings were added to both the left and rear elevations in later years. The interior of the home is simple, without much adornment, as were most in the village, since the homes were primarily used only during the summer. As mentioned above, Pinopolis was once landlocked but today stands as a peninsula surrounded by the murky waters of Lake Moultrie after the surrounding land was flooded during the Santee-Cooper Hydroelectric Project in 1939.

William Robertson House

Charleston County Public Library, Elias Bull, 1973 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The William Robert House is listed in the National Register:

(Wampee Plantation Summer House) The William Robertson House is a two-story frame house, sheathed in weatherboard, reputedly built ca. 1844. The house was one of the early planters’ retreats in the pineland village of Pinopolis. It is three bays wide with a hip roofed, one-story porch spanning the façade and wrapping around the right elevation. The main roof and the porch roof are covered with standing seam metal. Two exterior brick chimneys with corbeled caps rise at the ends of the building. The nine-over-nine windows support the antebellum dating of the building. It has wing additions on the left and rear elevations. The house is representative of the vernacular central-hall farmhouse or I-House type as adapted to the summer village of Pinopolis. With the decline of the planter classes after the war, many resort villages turned to commercial ventures for their livelihood, however this was not the case in Pinopolis. Preferring to preserve the quiet community atmosphere of their resort village, the residents of Pinopolis blocked several proposals that would have attracted development. This decision helped Pinopolis retain its integrity as a pineland village.

Plan Your Trip: William Robertson House

Where is William Robertson House located?
Address: 2005 Pinopolis Road, Pinopolis, SC 29469
GPS Coordinates: 33.231503,-80.037011
What else should I see?
Old Pinopolis Post Office 0.1 mile
Fishburne House 0.3 mile
Dr. Morton Waring Office 0.4 mile
Old Rectory 0.5 mile
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Historic Houses
  • See other South Carolina Historical Photos
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • Pinopolis Historic Sites
    William Robertson House Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Catherine B Robertson says

      August 29, 2019 at 1:59 PM

      William Robertson was my 3rd great-grandfather! I knew he lived at Pinopolis but couldn’t figure out if the house was still standing after the lake was built.

      William’s second wife was Mary Macbeth, sister of Charles. They married in 1841. There is an extensive marriage agreement, plus wills for both Mary and William and a journal written by William.

      William was a civil engineer, and was President of the SC Canal and Railroad Co., which built the first railroad in America that was over 100 miles long. It ran from Charleston to Hamburg.

      In her will, Mary praised William for the zeal with which he managed her esstate and trust, and left money so some of his children, including my 2ggf, Francis Marion Robertson.

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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