A plantation house from 1889 is still occupied in Greenville

A plantation house built in 1898 is still occupied on Greenville’s southwest side.

Imagine driving around and discovering a two-story plantation house next to several much smaller houses. The four giant pillars of the white house remind me of an antebellum plantation house.

I could only wonder if the smaller houses that surround the plantation house were dwellings for servants, a holdover from slavery.

The outside metal stairs that led to the second-story deck were intriguing because metal was not commonly used for steps when the house was constructed. And the steps seem to invite visitors up for a chit-chat while also serving as a convenient escape for the occupants.

The placement of the steps also seemed to be a contradiction in another way.  Exterior steps are oftener located on the side or rear of the house, not at the front, as if publicly inviting even strangers up to the deck, as if the deck was often used for gatherings.

The house is faced parallel to the street and not facing the street like all the other houses on the block. This unusual position made the city employee take a side picture of the house for public records.

The parallel position suggests that the plantation house was built before the city street was graded and paved, so the original occupants likely also graded a private road that placed the front of the house.

I wanted to see the inside, so when the woman of the house came out because  I was taking pictures, I gave her a business card and asked her to call me and schedule a viewing of the interior of the house for publication.

The woman said she would speak to her husband about it and let me know the outcome.  I have not heard from her yet, but I have not given up hope.

Standby.