Stephanie Cohen & Nate Johnson
Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site – Historic Site Tour
Join us at Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site to discover what life was like for the people, both enslaved and free, who lived and labored on this upcountry South Carolina cotton plantation. The former home of the Secessionist Governor, William Henry Gist, Rose Hill is a place to explore how slavery and secession led to a war that reshaped this country. As freedpeople forged lives for themselves and their families, they relied on community to define what freedom meant.
In this tour of Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site, you will explore the Secessionist Governor ‘s mansion, see historic ruins, and take a peek in a historic kitchen house as you roam the site with park rangers as your guide.
Session Handouts
1866 Labor Contract for Levia
[Click on the Download button above (gray bar, second from right) to open in a new window—where you can save a copy to your computer.]
1860 Census Listing the 178 People Enslaved by Gov. Gist
[Click on the Download button above (gray bar, second from right) to open in a new window—where you can save a copy to your computer.]
1819 Estate Inventory Listing the 33 People Francis Gist Enslaved
[Click on the Download button above (gray bar, second from right) to open in a new window—where you can save a copy to your computer.]
Stephanie Cohen, JD, has been the park interpreter at Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site for 5 years. She has previously worked at a Holocaust center and a science museum in South Florida. Stephanie’s education includes a BS in Psychology, and she received is Juris Doctor in Law from Florida International University in 2011.
Nate Johnson, MA, (LinkedIn) has served as the park manager of Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site (southcarolinaparks.com/rose-hill) since 2018. He previously supervised the interpretive staff at the historic homes of Frederick Douglass, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Dr. Carter G. Woodson in Washington, DC. Nate has a BA in History and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin and a MA in Public History from the University of South Carolina.