4101 McCords Ferry Road
Kensington Mansion
Colonel Richard Singleton, a wealthy cotton planter, lived at the 1853 Italianate plantation home overseeing the production of cotton, rice, potatoes, wheat, corn, rye and oats. The sprawling mansion’s details reveal international elements of wealth and luxury reflective of the original owner’s tastes. In addition to the main house, there once existed 54 buildings on the property, which included 40 cabins for enslaved workers and 13 farm buildings. In 1981, Union Camp Corporation, later superseded by International Paper, purchased 4,000 acres in Richland County, which included Kensington Mansion, to build a wood pulp and paper mill. The paper company restored the house and partnered with the Scarborough-Hamer Foundation six years later and offered tours of the mansion on select days of the week. Today, the site retains several extant buildings including the original kitchen building and one slave cabin; however, International Paper dissolved its partnership with the Scarborough-Hamer Foundation and the future of Kensington Mansion remains unknown.
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Descendants of M.R. and Martha Singleton pose in 1892, shortly after Martha's death. Image courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library
