Huston House at Butler Plantation

Huston House at Butler Plantation

Take a 360-degree look around the historic Huston House at Butler Plantation in Georgia with the panoramic virtual tour below.

Click here to view it in fullscreen.

About the Huston House

Butler Island Plantation was a large rice plantation with hundreds of enslaved Africans working under extreme conditions in the difficult environment. They were forced to dig canals, irrigate ditches, build tide gates, and cultivate and harvest rice. In March of 1859, 439 men, women and children were sent to Savannah to be sold so Major Pierce Butler could pay off debts. This was the largest sale of humans in the history of the United States and is known as the “Weeping Time”. After the Civil War, some of the former enslaved peoples came back to the Butler Plantation to work for a wage.

In 1926, the property was purchased by Colonel T.L Huston. He built the house that currently site on the property in 1927. During the time that Mr. Huston owned the property, he operated a dairy and lettuce farm. When Mr. Huston pasted away in 1938, the property was bought by  R.J. Reynolds, Jr, the famous tobacco heir. Currently, the property is owned by the Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division.

The Huston House is currently not occupied and there is no plans for use or even maintaining the property. Since there is not plan to even maintain the building, it is important to document it and help preserve the history of the property. Each year, the building is threatened by the climate and is vulnerable to hurricanes that might hit the area. Learn more and donate to help preserve this property by visiting the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation website.

You might also find this abandoned Florida mansion interesting. The Neff House, in Jacksonville is located down the street from the Kingsley Plantation. Another interesting historical landmark is the Disston Sugar Mill Ruins in St. Cloud, Florida.

A 360-degree panoramic view outside the historic Huston House at Butler Island Plantation in Georgia.