Ellerslie, Historic plantation house in Cumberland County, United States.
Ellerslie is a residential house from the late 1700s in Cumberland County, North Carolina, built in two distinct architectural phases that remain visible today. The original structure occupies the rear section, while a larger Greek Revival addition was constructed at the front, creating an asymmetrical building profile.
George Elliot, born in Scotland in 1755, immigrated to the American colonies around 1774 and entered the lumber trade along the Cape Fear River valley. He built Ellerslie between 1790 and 1801 on the Lower Little River, and in 1788 represented Cumberland County at the Hillsborough Convention on the new U.S. Constitution. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Ellerslie takes its name from the Scottish background of founder George Elliot, born in Scotland in 1755 and settled on the Lower Little River by the 1790s. The house stayed in the Elliot family for generations: diarist Jane Evans Elliot lived here after marrying Col. Alexander Elliot, and Henry Elliot, namesake of the Elliot Pecan, was raised on the plantation. The family cemetery lay where the Little River meets the Cape Fear River.
The house sits on a rural property outside Linden, accessible by Elliott Bridge Road, so visiting requires your own transportation to reach it comfortably. Detailed photographic documentation is maintained by NC State University Libraries if you want to study the building's features before or after a visit.
John Newland Maffitt, later a celebrated Confederate blockade runner, spent part of his childhood at Ellerslie after his uncle Dr. William Maffitt adopted him around 1824. The Maffitt family home stood on or near the estate, though Dr. Maffitt never owned the plantation itself. Henry Elliot, who gave the Elliot pecan its name, was also raised here.
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