Pebble Hill Plantation

In 1827, Thomas Jefferson Johnson (1793-1847), a cotton and tobacco planter who co-founded Thomasville, built the first house on this plantation. He left the property to his only surviving child, Julia Ann Johnson (1829-1888), who married another planter, John William Henry Mitchell (1828-1865). In 1850, the Mitchells owned 37-slaves and built the original house that stood on the site of the one seen today. Mitchell also designed a unique irrigation system here that back then allowed the plantation to become one of the largest producers of rice in the county, and today benefits Pebble Hill's magnificent gardens.

Resurrected with Iron and Oil

Mitchell died in 1865 and despite the depression that followed the American Civil War his widow persevered with the plantation until her death in 1881. The house then remained empty until 1896 when it was purchased for $3,000 by Howard Melville Hanna (1840-1921), the former Paymaster to the Union Army from Ohio who with his brother (U.S. Senator Mark Hanna) co-founded M.A. Hanna & Co., iron processors. He also operated an oil refinery which he sold to Standard Oil established by his old school friend, John D. Rockefeller. In 1901, Hanna gifted Pebble Hill to his daughter, Kate, who increased its landholdings to 10,000-acres (of which 3,000 are still maintained) and created the house as seen today. When he died in 1921, Kate was one of three heirs to his $11 million fortune.

In 1894, Kate married Robert Livingston Ireland, a descendant of several of New York's oldest families. They had two children and while living here entertained Presidents, European Royalty, and some of the world’s best-known sporting artists. They divorced in 1918 - and he shot himself ten years later - and five years later (1923) Kate remarried Perry Williams Harvey, who is chiefly remembered today for his collection of books that he donated to Yale on the 18th century printer and type-designer John Baskerville.

The House after 1934

In 1934, tragedy struck when the main house constructed by the Mitchells was destroyed by a fire. Only the loggia constructed by Kate in 1914 survived which was then incorporated into the new house designed by the architect Abram Garfield (1872-1958) - son of U.S. President James Abram Garfield. Garfield had been the principal architect at Pebble Hill since Kate had first employed him in 1911 to build a storehouse for game and other meats on the property. Kate maintained the original ‘H’ plan of the Mitchell house and had her new home built entirely of masonry to make it as fireproof as possible. Perhaps reflecting its north-south heritage, one facade of the house shows distinctly Federal features, (more commonly seen in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York in the late 18th century) while the other is in the Greek-Revival style and is distinctly southern style.

The main house of 28-rooms over two storeys has a wrap-around terrace on the upper floor and an elegant sunroom decorated with a wildlife motif. The grand curving staircase in the hall is free-standing and is crowned by a dome that is invisible from the outside. The plaster mouldings in the interior are an excellent example of beaux-arts architecture and there is an impressive collection of artwork depicting outdoor and hunting scenes, including 33-original pieces by the famous American ornithologist, John James Audubon.

The Grounds

Pebble Hill is approached by a winding drive lined with magnificent oaks, pine and southern magnolias that ends in a dramatic horse-shoe in front of the house. It is surrounded by 34 acres of immaculately maintained grounds. The front gardens are laid out symmetrically with brick walkways hedged by boxwood that follow geometrical patterns and are scented with azaleas, camellias, wisteria, jasmine etc. Outbuildings include a dairy, stables, kennels, a carriage house, a fire station, a hospital for the plantation's hounds, and a log cabin built in 1901 that served as a school where the children of Kate and her friends were tutored to keep them up-to-speed with school work.

The Pebble Hill Foundation

Sadly, Kate died just four months after her new home was finished. Pebble Hill now became the property of her daughter, Mrs "Pansy" (Ireland) Poe (1897-1978). In 1950, she personally established and endowed the Pebble Hill Foundation. On her death in 1978, she directed in her will that the property would go to the foundation and that Pebble Hill would become a house museum open to the public. In 1983, her wishes were realized and today it is the only plantation in the area that is open on a regular basis to the public.