Valencia, listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, South Carolina
Valencia is a plantation house in Fairfield County, South Carolina, built in the early 1800s and situated on a gentle ridge with views of rolling countryside. The house features a wide front porch, large windows, thick walls, an ornately designed staircase with scroll work, and fine woodwork throughout its interior.
Valencia was built in the early 1800s by Edward Gendron Palmer, a lawyer and farmer, who moved from the coast to Fairfield County with his family. Palmer also played a role in developing railroad routes across South Carolina, and his plantation of approximately six thousand acres was an important center of the local economy before the Civil War.
Valencia takes its name from a trip that inspired its owner - a Southern planter named his home after the Spanish city of Valencia, suggested by a family member who had traveled there. This naming choice shows how travel and family conversations shaped the identity of local places in that era.
The house is privately set but can be viewed from a distance from the road and is maintained by descendants of the original founding family. Visitors interested in local history can learn about the early days of Fairfield County through the National Register of Historic Places website or by contacting local historical organizations.
Palmer built a cotton gin on the property whose location became so well-known that a nearby railroad route is still called Palmer's Gin House Route today. This industrial feature shows how the plantation was not just a residence but also an economic center of the early nineteenth century.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
