Just out of Saluda, there is a marker next to a Dodge dealership that marks roughly I guess where the plantation once stood.
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Cane Brake Plantation
– Saluda – Edgefield County
Basic Information
- Location – Saluda, Edgefield County
Timeline
- ?
– Earliest known date of existence
- ?
– House built
- ?
– Executors' records for Arthur Simkins includes a slave list for Cane
Brake Plantation. Simpkins also owned Cedarfield Plantation. He died in 1826
- 1843 – Thomas Green Clemson purchased Cane Brake).
The Clemson
family did not live at the plantation long as they moved to Europe in 1844 when
Thomas was appointed the ambassador from the United States to Belgium).
- 1853 – The Clemsons returned to the United States after
the death of Mrs. Clemson's father, John C. Calhoun. Clemson sold Cane
Brake the same year).
Land
- Number of acres – 1,000 in 1843
- Primary crop – ?
Owners
- Chronological list – Arthur Simkins; Thomas Green
Clemson (1843-1853)
Thomas Green Clemson
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Born
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Died
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Education
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Occupation
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Spouse(s)
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Children
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Floride Clemson Lee, John Calhoun Clemson
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Parents
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Thomas Green Clemson III, Elizabeth Baker
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Thomas Green
Clemson, (July 1, 1807
– April 6, 1888) was an American politician and statesman, serving as an
ambassador and the United
States Superintendent of Agriculture. He served in the Confederate States Army. He founded Clemson University, located in South Carolina.
Early life and education
Born in Philadelphia, Clemson was
the son of Thomas Green Clemson, III and Elizabeth Baker. He is descended from
Quaker roots and his mother was Episcopalian. Partly because of this mixed
religious background, Clemson's personal religious belief is not well
documented.[1] In 1813, his
father died, and his father’s second cousin John Gest was appointed guardian
over him and his five siblings. Clemson was one beneficiary of his father’s
$100,000 life savings, which was split up between him and his five siblings.[1] There is not
much known about his home life, but his schooling started in the winter of
1814, as he, as well as the older Clemson’s, attended day school at Tabernacle
Presbyterian Church. There is no knowledge as to exactly how long Thomas
attended day school, but his next schooling venture began in 1823. From
1823-1825, Clemson was educated at Alden Partridge's Military Academy in
Vermont, also known as Norwich University.[1] It is known
that Clemson’s older brother, who had recently graduated from Princeton, had sent Thomas a letter outlining the courses and
subjects that he should study. He completed those studies sometime in late
1825, but the exact month is not certain. What is known, however, is that he
went back to Philadelphia in 1825 and he started studying Mineralogy. Later on,
sometime in 1826, Clemson left for Paris, France. His departure
date, the ship name, and where exactly he landed in France is unknown, as well
as when he returned to Philadelphia.[1]
Paris, France
Not much is
documented from the beginning of his trip to Paris that started in 1826. A
letter that he wrote to his Mother did not include anything about his
scientific study but did vaguely reference that he had a particular interest in
expanding his knowledge. In addition, the letter states that if he were to die
he wants all of his wealth to be left to his mother and then after she passes
it be left to any sister who is not married. Later on in 1829, Clemson wrote a
letter to Benjamin Silliman, M.D., about his research of Iron Ore.
In 1826–27, he expanded his knowledge of practical laboratory chemistry while
working with chemist Gaultier de Clowbry. He soon furthered his chemistry study
by working with other Parisian chemists.[1] Following his
time there he further trained at Sorbonne and the Royal School of Mines. He received his diploma
as an assayer from the Royal Mint.[2]
Upon his return
to the U.S., he co-authored significant legislation to promote agricultural
education. With knowledge of both French and German, he served as
U.S. charge d'affaires to Belgium from 1844 to
1851. Because of his education, historians have called Clemson "a
quintessential nineteenth-century Renaissance man.”[1]
Agricultural studies
In 1843, Thomas
purchased a 1000 acre plot of land in the Edgefield district in South
Carolina. Named
“Canebrake” due to the vast amount of dense and thick canes along the
riverbank, the land, as well as the twenty slaves he placed
there, had an estimated cost of $24,000. Though this plot of land did not do
well while Clemson was abroad in Belgium, he was
furthering his studies in the field of Agriculture. He
successfully translated the lengthy article “Extraction of Sugar from the
Beet”, written by Professor Melsens, a professor at one of Belgium’s State
colleges, from French to English. Upon his return from Belgium, in 1853 Clemson
purchased a small 100 acre piece of land in Maryland which he
called “The Home”. The advantages for Clemson to live in Maryland, not too far
from Washington, was the ability to get better access to utilities and
resources for his research, studies, and experiments. While there, his studies
in Agricultural Chemistry led to findings that were published in scientific
journals, such as The American Farmer. In addition, he attended the meetings of
both the Maryland and the United States Agricultural Societies. Within that
framework, he did a study of cattle disease. The study showed that cattle
coming from the North to the South contracted the disease, whereas cattle going
from the South to the North transmitted the disease. This added to the
knowledge of Texas
Fever, which was the
disease observed by Clemson. His findings and distinction as a scientist got
him an invitation to speak at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington
in 1858. Clemson was active in the field of agricultural development for many
years to come, as more of his documents became published.[3]
Marriage and family
On November 13,
1838, at the age of 31, Clemson married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of John
C. Calhoun and Floride
Calhoun. John C.
Calhoun was the noted Senator from South
Carolina and 7th Vice President of the United States. After
Calhoun's death, Floride Calhoun, Anna Calhoun Clemson, and two other Calhoun
children inherited the Fort Hill plantation near Pendleton, South Carolina. It was sold
with 50 slaves for $49,000 to Calhoun's oldest son, Andrew Pickens Calhoun, in
1854. After the war and upon the Andrew's death in 1865, Floride Calhoun
foreclosed on his heirs prior to her death in 1866. After lengthy legal
procedures, Fort Hill was auctioned in 1872. The executor of her estate won the
auction, which was divided among her surviving heirs. Her daughter, Anna
Clemson, received the residence with about 814 acres (329.6 ha) and her great
granddaughter, Floride Isabella Lee, received about 288 acres (116.6 ha).
Thomas Green and Anna Clemson moved into Fort Hill in 1872. After Anna's death
in 1875, Thomas Green Clemson inherited Fort Hill and lived there until his
death. He died on April 6, 1888 and is buried in St. Paul's Episcopal
churchyard in Pendleton, South Carolina.
Children
Thomas Green
Clemson and his wife Anna Calhoun Clemson had four children. Their first child,
whose name is not known, died as an infant in 1839. In 1841, John Calhoun
Clemson was born. Shortly after in 1842, Anne Clemson gave birth to her
daughter Floride Elizabeth Clemson. At age 15, John was getting treatment for a
spinal condition in Northampton, Massachusetts. Around this
time, the Clemson’s were having health problems with another child. Cornelia
“Nina” Clemson was born in October 1855, but just a few years into her life in
1858, she died from Scarlet
Fever. On July 23,
1871, their daughter Floride died. Shortly after, in less than three weeks,
tragedy struck the family again as Clemson’s only son John died on August 10,
1871.[1]
Politics
From 1860 to
1861, Clemson served in the Buchanan administration
as Superintendent of Agriculture. As the threat of civil war became a reality,
Clemson resigned this post on March 4, 1861. He stood on the side of his
adopted state. Following the firing on Fort
Sumter on April 12,
1861, Clemson left Maryland for South
Carolina. In Pendleton on November 2, 1861, Clemson spoke to the Farmers
Society and publicly "Urged the establishment of a department of
agriculture in the government of the Confederate States which, in addition to
fostering the general interest of agriculture, would also serve as a sort of
university for the diffusion of scientific knowledge and the improvement of
agriculture."
Diplomatic career
Clemson,
through representation of the United States government, served as the Chargé d’affaires to Belgium starting
October 4, 1844 and ending January 8, 1852. He received the position largely
due to his father in-law John
C. Calhoun. Calhoun,
currently, was the Secretary of State under the Taylor
Administration. President Taylor had given the task of filling the position to Calhoun,
who quickly nominated his son in-law Clemson. Clemson was more than qualified
to serve this position for the government. From his time spent in Paris studying, he
picked up on European culture and their way of living. In addition, the time
there also gave him a feel for continental problems and thinking. It goes on
from there, with his extensive knowledge of not just Belgium’s but the vast
majority of Europe’s economics, politics, and social life, he was better able
to connect the United States to Belgium, as well as the other European
countries. In his time in Belgium, only one treaty was passed by the two countries.
The treaty was the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation. The treaty, which was set
to last ten years, removed trade and tariff restrictions between the two
countries. This led to an increase in commerce between the United States and
Belgium.[4] Clemson was
awarded the Order of Leopold by King Leopold I during his time as chargé.[5]
American Civil War
Fifty-four-year-old
Clemson, enlisted in the Confederacy and was assigned to the Army of the
Trans-Mississippi Department. Clemson worked in Arkansas and Texas developing
nitrate mines for explosives. He was paroled on June 9, 1865 at Shreveport, Louisiana, after four years of service. His son,
Captain John Calhoun Clemson, enlisted in the Confederate States Army and spent two
years in a Union prison camp on Johnson's
Island, in Lake Erie,
Ohio.
Clemson's
statue at Tillman Hall
Founding Clemson University
Outliving his
wife and his children, Clemson drafted a final will in the mid-1880s. The will called for the establishment
of a land-grant institution
called "The Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina" upon the
property of the Fort Hill estate. He believed that education, especially
scientific education, leads to economic prosperity. He wanted to start an
agricultural college because he felt that government officials did not
appreciate the importance of agricultural education.[1]
Although the
college was an all white, all male college when it opened, Clemson did not
explicitly ban women or African Americans from attending Clemson, unlike the
founders of Vanderbilt, Tulane, Rice and other southern universities.[6]
The military
college, founded in 1889, opened its doors in 1893 to 446 cadets. Clemson
Agricultural College was renamed Clemson University in 1964. A statue of Thomas Green
Clemson and the Fort Hill house are located on the campus. The town of Calhoun
that bordered the campus was renamed Clemson in 1943
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