Poplar Grove Plantation

In 1795, James Foy, Jr., son of Captain James Foy, Sr. purchased 628 acres of land from Francis Clayton, who had purchased the land in 1784 from the recently widowed, Mary Harnett, wife of Cornelius Harnett. The acreage is located on Topsail Sound in New Hanover County, including the northern banks of Figure Eight Island.

 

James Foy, Jr., newly married to Henrietta Rhodes, daughter of Colonel Henry Rhodes, built the couple’s home close to the sound to more easily transport goods via boats and water barges to the port of Wilmington, since the arduous trip by road took about twelve hours round trip.

 

Ownership passed to James’ son, Joseph Mumford Foy, in 1838. After a  fire destroyed the homestead, Joseph M. Foy selected this current location because of its proximity to the Old New Bern Road. Construction began circa 1850. The Manor House was designed by Joseph, an amateur architect, in the popular Greek-Revival Style, mixing earlier Federal Style flourishes. The home is 4,284 square feet, with twelve fireplaces, two pairs of corbelled interior chimneys, eight principle rooms, and a full basement.

 

Here's the formal living room:

Formal dining room:

The Winter bedroom which was used in the film The Wedding, starring Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry.

The Foy family:

The children's bedroom:

Poplar Grove was a self-sustaining peanut plantation, including a sawmill, brickyard, grist mill, salt works, turpentine still, a blacksmith’s forge and skilled slave artisans. Today, the Manor House and grounds echo the cultural and economic structure of the planter class and the beginning of the New South in the form of tenant farming and emancipation.

Here's the exterior:

The gazebo:

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of history!

I'm sharing with 'Share Your Cup Thursday #81'