Wateree River Expedition
Part 4: Stateburg's Miller- Ellison House

By Warner M. Montgomery

Grainger McKoy has sculpted a marvelous ivory- billed woodpecker. The extinct bird was the third largest woodpecker in the world at 18- 20 inches tall with a wingspan of 31 inches. It is distinquished from the pileated woodpecker by its jet- black body and large white wing patches.

Warner@TheColumbiaStar.com

The Greater Piedmont Chapter of the Explorers Club members walked from the Borough Plantation next door to the historic Miller- Ellison House. This home with hand- wrought hinges, handmade nails, small window panes and a narrow central hall was built in 1816 by Stephen Decatur Miller in the village of Stateburg.

Miller was a state legislator, a U.S. congressman (1817- 1819), a U.S. senator (1822- 1828), and governor (1828- 1830). His daughter, Mary Boykin (b. 1823), married James Chestnut Jr. who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1850 and in 1861 became an aide to CSA President Jefferson Davis. Her Diary from Dixie has her impression of events during the Civil War.

McKoy carves his birds, such as this Carolina parakeet, feather by feather, from wood. Each feather is carved and painted then put into the body.

Stephen Miller was a delegate to the SC Nullification Conventions in 1832 and 1833 during which the state challenged President Andrew Jackson's right to enforce the Tariff of 1828. Vice President John C. Calhoun resigned and Jackson sent warships to Charles-ton to enforce the law. The crisis was averted with a compromise by Henry Clay.

In 1835, three years before his death, Miller sold his home and farm to April, a wealthy free black man. April had learned carpentry, machining, blacksmithing, and bookkeeping while in slavery in Fairfield County. In 1816, he was granted his freedom from his owner, William Ellison. He moved to Stateburg, set up a blacksmith shop, joined the Church of Holy Cross where he was given a pew on the first floor.

April purchased two slaves in 1820 and expanded his business to the manufacture of cotton gins. He adopted the name of his former master, William Ellison. After he purchased Miller's home, Ellison purchased more land on which he planted cotton. By 1860, he owned 63 slaves and was S.C.'s largest black slaveowner. His 600 acres put him in the top five percent of landowners in the state.

The Miller- Ellison House was built by Gov. Stephen D. Miller in 1816 who sold it to William Ellison, the largest black slaveowner in SC, in 1835.

He was also a slave breeder, selling female children for an average of $400 a piece. He kept most of the male children to work in his factory.

Soon after the outbreak of the Civil War, Ellison died. His sons and daughter took over his farm and factory and supported the Confederacy with the production of corn, fodder, bacon, and cotton. His grandson, John Buckner, served in the 1st S.C. Artillery and was wounded in 1863.

Later, the sons sold the property to James G. Simons who sold it to Mrs. Virginia Saunders White who also owned the Boroughs Plantation.

The Miller- Ellison Home is now owned by the esteemed wildlife sculptor, Grainger McKoy, and his wife, Floride. Grainger, a Clemson biology graduate, interrupted his work to take us on a tour of his workshop. For 30 years he has sculpted life- size birds in wood, feather by feather. Occasionally, he creates molds from the wood to fashion birds in bronze or sterling. Recently, he began creating small pieces and jewelry. (http://www.graingermckoy.com/home_main.html)

This sign greets visitors of the Miller- Ellison House in Stateburg.

The grand finale of the visit was the unveiling of McKoy's ivory- billed woodpecker. It was so realistic, we felt like the last ivory- bill had just flown into McKoy's workshop.

(Next week:

Goodwill Plantation)

Sculptor Grainger McKoy gives the Explorers a brief glimpse into the creative center of his workshop.