Savannah River Scenic Byway
Burt-Stark House, SC

Abbevillians boast that Jefferson Davis slept here. Yes, here in the almost sleepy town of Abbeville, the Confederacy both rose and fell, and most of it happened at the Burt-Stark Mansion.

In 1860, a meeting to discuss the secession of South Carolina was held in Abbeville. One month later, the event that shook the nation took place. After the fall of Richmond in 1865, Jefferson Davis fled south, stopping at his friend, Armistead Burt's mansion for the evening. In the front parlor, Jefferson Davis finally agreed to give up the fight and dissolve the government on May 2, 1865.

The Burt-Stark Mansion was built after the style of a Hudson River estate admired by the first owner's northern wife. Local folklore tells of David Lesley, the first owner, sending his slave and master carpenter, Cubic, to New York to study. Over the next ten years, Cubic and many other skilled artisans and craftsman (who were probably all slaves) built this antebellum estate.

Today, visitors to Abbeville can tour this historic estate, given to the Abbeville County Historical Preservation Commission by Mary Stark Davis. Because the house still contains its original furnishings and possessions, this excursion not only looks at the architectural elements, but at the lifestyle of those who lived here and made it a part of the South.