Page 17 - Robeson Living Fall 2020

in Lumberton including owning a mercantile business with Frank grants from the State of North Carolina totaling nearly 1300
Gough. He served as president of Bank of Lumberton and vice acres. The first home was built in the 1770s and was razed in the
president of the Jennings and Mansfield Cotton Mills. The Whites 1980s. The second planation home was thought to be built in the
had one daughter, Vashti, who married first Dr. Russell S. Beam 1830s by Gilbert Sellers and his wife Catherine McKay and was
and they had one son, Russell S. Beam, Jr. After the death of her later to their son William and his wife Julia Franklin Bethea. It
husband and son she married James Hall. was destroyed by fire in the 1980s.

The home was purchased by the Chestnut Street United Method- It is not too late to save the Robeson County’ remaining histori-
ist Church in 1970 and used as a youth center for several years. cal structures. There are homes and buildings scattered thought
The home was demolished around 1973 and the land turned into the county that are in danger of being demolished or left in ru-
a parking lot. ins until time robs them of their usefulness. A prime example is
the old Lumberton City Hall and fire department on the corner
Sellers Homes of Elm and Second streets in downtown Lumberton. A petition
Located just outside of Maxton is the former Sellers Plantation effort led to the building be spared when the city officials voted
still owned by descendants of Archibald Sellers and his wife to tear it down, but it sits empty waiting to be given a new life.
Mary McMillan. Over the years Archibald received thirteen land I urge you as you travel the county to be on the lookout from
these endangered buildings. While it isn’t going to be possible
to save all of them please photograph them and gather as much
of their history as possible. Remember it is the job of all of us to
preserve our history.

Editor’s Note About Author:
Growing up in North Carolina, Blake Tyner was surrounded by
history and great Southern cooking, spending countless hours
with his great-grandparents. The busy kitchen and large family
dinners gave a perfect settling for hearing about the people of
the past. As he learned the history of the area and her citizens,
he developed a craving to bring the people of the past alive and
share their stories.

He has published four books as well as numerous articles in re-
gional newspapers and magazines. He served as Executive Di-
rector of the Maxton Historical Society and the Robeson County
Original Seller’s History Museum. More of his writings and projects can be found
Colonial Plantation Home at blaketyner.com

The Seller’s Antebellum
Plantation Home

Robeson Living ~ Summer 2020 Page 17