Prospect Hill

Front: This site was named Prospect Hill by Lemuel J. Alston, an early Greenville resident who acquired the property in 1788. He subsequently had a two-story wooden mansion built near this point. The elevated seat overlooked a sycamore-lined road that led east to the town center. In 1815, Alston sold Prospect Hill and approx. 11,000 ac. covering much of downtown Greenville to Vardry McBee. The mansion served as one of the town’s earliest hotels until McBee took up residence in 1836. Reverse: In 1836, this became the family homestead of Vardry McBee, described by some as “the father of Greenville.” Born in 1775, McBee founded a number of early Greenville businesses and was a leading railroad advocate. He became the county’s largest landowner and one of its largest slaveholders. Several local churches and one of the town’s first schools were built on land donated by McBee. The homestead here included the mansion and several slave houses. None remain. McBee died in 1864.