City Directories and History: (Millvale) Built around 1830 by Garner Sanders, Ellerbe’s Mill is a two-and-one-half-story pine clapboard building mounted on wooden pilings situated on a 90-acre millpond. The grist mill, in operation since before the Civil War, is a functioning example of an essential nineteenth century industrial process. Its water power is derived from internal chutes and a turbine rather than a wheel. Modern equipment has been added to the grist mill – working parts were replaced in 1880 and the interior was remodeled in 1928. The building was once a center for social and political interaction in rural Sumter County. Ellerbe’s Mill and the nearby store (originally built before the Civil War but replaced in 1910) once formed the chief commercial center for a 10-mile square area. In addition to the mill and store, structures on the property include a ca.1890 house, several tenant houses, and a dovecote. The two-story white clapboard house was built by W.C.S. Ellerbe, nephew of Sanders, and features a first floor veranda with square columns and gingerbread scroll saw-work and a second floor partially screened porch with a Victorian vine-bracketed balustrade. Listed in the National Register November 20, 1974. [Courtesy of the S.C. Dept. of Archives and History]
Ellerbe’s Mill – the home of Georgia’s sister Mary Sanders and her husband, William Crawford Sanders Ellerbe. The house, now the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Brown, is a remarkably preserved example of Victorian grandeur at its finest. It is filled with heirlooms from the Sanders and Ellerbe families. The mill house, built about 1825, was saved from Potter’s torch by a freed Negro man who held a Masonic apron before the door. The commanding officer was a Mason, and spared the building. The apron, which belonged to Dr. William C. Ellerbe of Cheraw, is on display in the residence.
(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
“Nelson, Mrs. Sarah Robinson (Murray) of “Ellerbe” plantation. Born Sept. 21, 1818 (S.C.); died Feb. 14, 1895. Church: Episcopalian. Married Dec. 20, 1837, James McCauley Nelson (Jan. 17, 1812-Dec. 17, 1855). Education: College of S.C. (left in 1830). Church: Episcopalian. Public Service: State Representative; Lieut. Col. (Gov. Means’s staff). Slaves: 128 (Sumter District).”
The Last Foray, C. Gaston Davidson, SC Press – 1971
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