Ainsley Hall was not planning on selling his house, built in 1818, when Col. Wade Hampton I, a hero of the American Revolution came to his door and offered to buy the house on the spot. Hall gave what he thought was a ridiculous high price of $35,000, about $1.008 million today. As one of the wealthiest men in America, Hampton easily met it and took possession in January 1823. Hall would use the money to build a mansion across the street, now known as the Robert Mills House.
This made Hampton’s wife Mary happy as she wanted a town house and she took to landscaping the gardens around it. After Hampton’s death the house passed on to his daughter Carolina and her husband, State Senator (and future Confederate general) John Preston. It remained in the family until 1890.
