Overview

Location

• Beech Island, Edgefield Co., SC
• Beech Island, Aiken Co., SC after county line change in 1871

Date Constructed/ Founded

James Henry Hammond purchased nearly 400 acres of property in Beech Island, Edgefield County, SC, in 1855 from Dr. Milledge Galphin for $3500 cash. Construction on a new home Hammond called 'Redcliffe' was begun in 1857 using enslaved labor. Construction was completed in 1859. Hammond died at Redcliffe five years later in 1864. 

Associated Surnames

Galphin, Hammond, Cumming, Richards, Billings, Wade

Historical notes

See Silver Bluff Plantation

Associated Slave Workplaces

Cathwood Plantation (Barnwell Co., SC), Cowden Plantation (Barnwell Co., SC), Silver Bluff Plantation (Barnwell Co., SC)

Associated Free Persons

• James Henry Hammond (1807-1864) - owner of Silver Bluff Plantation, Cathwood Plantation, Cowden Plantation, and Redcliffe Plantation

• Catherine FitzSimons Hammond (1814-1896) - wife of James H. Hammond

• James Henry ("Harry") Hammond, Jr. (1831-1916) son of James Henry Hammond, and Harry's wife, Emily Cumming Hammond (1834-1911) daughter of Henry Harford Cumming (1799-1866) and Julia Ann Bryan Cumming (1803-1879).

• Julia Bryan Hammond Richards (1860-1935) daughter of Harry and Emily Hammond, and her husband James Richards (d. 1934)

• John Shaw Billings II (1898-1975) and his first wife, Frederica Washburn Wade Billings (1901-1963). Billings was the great grandson of Redcliffe founder, James Henry Hammond. Billings purchased Redcliffe in 1935. In 1944, he became editoriral director of all publications of Time, Inc. In 1954 he retired to Redcliffe and died there in 1975. The estate was bequeathed to the state of South Carolina and is now managed as a state historic site. 

Associated Enslaved Persons

For extensive research regarding the individuals and families who were enslaved by James Henry Hammond at his Silver Bluff, Cathwood, Cowden and Redcliffe Plantations from 1831-1865 and their descendants who continued to work for the Hammond family after emancipation, please contact Alane Roundtree at elmoreroundtree@aol.com

Research Leads and Plantation Records

• See Silver Bluff Plantation

Miscellaneous Information

• none

References

• See Silver Bluff Plantation

Users Researching This Workplace

Alane Roundtree has been researching the family histories and genealogies of the Silver Bluff Slave Community of South Carolina and their descendants since 1997. This research includes the individuals and families who were enslaved at Redcliffe Plantation, their descendants, and the African Americans who worked for members of the Hammond family after emancipation. Please contact Alane at elmoreroundtree@aol.com