This is a list of plantations in North Carolina that are National Historic Landmarks, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, listed on a heritage register, or are otherwise significant for their history, association with significant events or people, or their architecture and design.
Definition of a plantation
Today, as was also true in the past, there is a wide range of opinion as to what differentiated a plantation from a farm. Typically, the focus of a farm was subsistence agriculture. In contrast, the primary focus of a plantation was the production of cash crops, with enough staple food crops produced to feed the population of the estate and the livestock. A common definition of what constituted a plantation is that it typically had or more of land and produced one or two cash crops for sale. Other scholars have attempted to define it by the number of slaves that were owned.
North Carolina plantations The tables of plantations below are sortable, so the name, locality, county (current), historic register number, and built in years can be easily reviewed. References can be found on the individual articles linked or are noted if there are no articles. Comparisons to similar referenced listings are in progress.
Color keyHistoric register listingNational Historic LandmarkNational Register of Historic PlacesContributing property to a National Register of Historic Places historic districtNot listed on national or state register
Built during the Province of North Carolina period North Carolina plantation were identified by name, beginning in the 17th century. The names of families or nearby rivers or other features were used. The names assisted the owners and local record keepers in keeping track of specific parcels of land. In the early 1900s, there were 328 plantations identified in North Carolina from extant records.
The Sloop Point plantation in Pender County, built in 1729, is the oldest surviving plantation house and the second oldest house surviving in North Carolina, after the Lane House (built in 17181719 and not part of a plantation). Sloop Point was once owned by John Baptista Ashe, who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Congressman from North Carolina and Continental Army officer.
The known plantations during the period of the Province of North Carolina (17121776) are listed in the table below.
NRHP reference numberNameImageDate designatedLocalityCountyDate built and other notes72000985Sloop Point PlantationJanuary 20, 1972Sloop PointPenderBuilt in 1729 (circa). 71000615Newbold-White PlantationJune 24, 1971HertfordPerquimansBuilt in 1730 by Abraham Sanders76001305Belfont Plantation HouseDecember 12, 1976LathamBeaufortBuilt 1700–1799, Burned 10 Jan 2024 https://www.wnct.com/local-news/washington/fire-destroys-historic-plantation-home-in-beaufort-county/ 73001294Orton PlantationApril 11, 1973Smithville TownshipBrunswickBuilt in 1735. Owner: Roger Moore (1694–1751)72000961Old Town PlantationJanuary 20, 1972BattleboroEdgecombeBuilt in 1742 (circa).73001318Clear Springs PlantationMarch 14, 1973JasperCravenBuilt in 1740. Unknown Status Turkey Branch Plantation (The Lilacs)NATurkeyDuplinon the Duplin and Sampson County lineBuilt in 1730s (late) by Thomas Kenan (17001765), the father of James Kenan73001371AshlandMarch 14, 1973HendersonVanceBuilt in 1740 (circa) by Samuel Henderson79001720White Rock PlantationFebruary 14, 1979HollisterHalifaxBuilt in 1750–1799. 76001316Greenfield Plantation (Fordice's)May 6, 1976Somer, near SomersetChowanBuilt in 1752, 1840. Original owner: Levi Creecy (d.1772)Green HillHillsboroughOrangeBuilt in 1750 by Charles Wilson Johnston97001561Potts PlantationJanuary 5, 1998CorneliusMecklenburgBuilt in 1753. 71000570King HouseAugust 26, 1971WindsorBertieBuilt in 1763 by William King.Lipscomb HouseDurhamDurhamBuilt in 1775 by Joseph Brittain73001329Oak Grove PlantationFebruary 6, 1973Godwin (near Erwin)CumberlandBuilt in 1764 (circa).79001711Abrams Plains PlantationNovember 29, 1979StovallGranvilleBuilt in 1766 by Samuel Smith.70000462House in the Horseshoe (Alston House)February 26, 1970CarthageMooreBuilt in 1772 by Philip AlstonFamily historyGilreath PlantationGilreathWilkesBuilt in 1776 (circa). Over 600+ acres, later home to George Allen Gilreath.70000472Joel Lane HouseJuly 28, 1970RaleighWakeBuilt in 1769Mulberry Island PlantationStonevilleRockingham Built by Nathaniel ScalesPatterson PlantationDurhamOrangeBuilt in 1770 by John Patterson
Built from 1776 to 1863 The following table shows the plantations in North Carolina that were built between 1776 and the end of the Civil War.