Edmund Ruffin Plantation
Encyclopedia
The Edmund Ruffin Plantation, also known as Marlbourne, was built in 1843. It was the home of Edmund Ruffin
, a secessionist fire-eater
who fired one of the first shots at Fort Sumter
in 1861. He committed suicide at this home in 1865 upon the collapse of the Confederacy.
Ruffin experimented with agricultural methods and mixed marl
, defined as "a friable earthy deposit consisting of clay and calcium carbonate, used esp. as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime".
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
in 1964.
Edmund Ruffin
Edmund Ruffin was a farmer and slaveholder, a Confederate soldier, and an 1850s political activist. He advocated states' rights, secession, and slavery and was described by opponents as one of the Fire-Eaters. He was an ardent supporter of the Confederacy and a longstanding enemy of the North...
, a secessionist fire-eater
Fire-Eater
Fire-Eater may refer to:* Fire eater, a performer who places flaming objects into their mouth and extinguishes them.* Fire-Eaters pro-slavery politicians who pushed for secession from the United States of America* An episode of the Dragon Ball anime....
who fired one of the first shots at Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in 1861. He committed suicide at this home in 1865 upon the collapse of the Confederacy.
Ruffin experimented with agricultural methods and mixed marl
Marl
Marl or marlstone is a calcium carbonate or lime-rich mud or mudstone which contains variable amounts of clays and aragonite. Marl was originally an old term loosely applied to a variety of materials, most of which occur as loose, earthy deposits consisting chiefly of an intimate mixture of clay...
, defined as "a friable earthy deposit consisting of clay and calcium carbonate, used esp. as a fertilizer for soils deficient in lime".
It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
in 1964.
External links
- Photo at Virginia DHR
- Diary records of Ruffin's son, Edmund Ruffin, Jr., survive and describe events at this and other Ruffin plantations: Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through the Civil War
- Marl defined at www.dictionary.com
- Edmund Ruffin at another encyclopedia, mentioning his use of marl