Pebble Hill Plantation

This is a hidden gem that is opened to the public. I had a great time, beautiful place, and definitely worth a visit!

Absolutely amazing!!! We had our wedding here after another plantation canceled our event last minute and PHP was so accommodating. I have no complaints, the grounds are stunning, the museum is wonderful, the staff was professional and pleasant. I highly recommend it!

Worth stopping by!
Came with a friend on recent daytrip to Thomasville. We only did the self guided grounds tour. But there are paid guided tours and you can go inside the main house if you take that tour. I’ve toured much more impressive old houses/​mansions in Rhode Island so I opted to not do this one.
The staff is super friendly. He gave us a history lesson about the plantation and pointed out interesting spots for us to check out. We watched a short video at the visitor center then went on to explore on our own.
It is a beautiful place to walk around and spend a couple of hours. Learning the history was quite interesting to me. You should check it out if you haven’t been!

Out and about exploring Thomasville with the family and decided to visit Pebble Hill Plantation. Really, all we wanted to see was the Main House BUT we had two younger kids and without being asked their ages, we were instantly told we could NOT see the Main House. We watched the short 10 minute video about the history realizing the kids were of age 6/​8years old so I asked again about the Main House. This time the response was its too late. The last tour was at 430pm and we were there around 4pm! From the moment we walked through the door we felt judged. Left angry and felt cheated from the greeting we received. What little we saw was not worth the money spent. Would not recommend this place!!!

Incredible piece of history that has something for everyone. Beautiful grounds to stroll and take pictures, self guided tours of the grounds with well placed placards that describe the particular building you are visiting and a gorgeous main house with a guided tour that also has a multi million dolls art collection. That’s why no pictures are allowed in the main house. Our docent Ann was wonderful and very humorous. The tour might be a little long for the younger ones but my 12 year enjoyed and the 8 year old was a little restless towards the end. The docents made it a little easier by giving small toys to the children and engaging them in conversation. All in all an awesome, educational and enjoyable day.

We considered only walking the grounds but thankfully paid for the tour. This mansion is unlike others I have visited here in the US and abroad. The motif is amusing. The house tour is not for children or folks who can’t stand for an hour. Such a great trip, be sure to devote 3 or more hours in your day. Worth the drive from Tallahassee if that’s where you’re staying.

Here is what I got from our mature lady guide.
«The first owner of Pebble Hill Plantation, Thomas Jefferson Johnson, built the first house on the property that became Pebble Hill Plantation in 1827. After about 40 years later, the plantation was sold to northerner, Howard Melville Hanna form Cleveland, Ohio. Then, five years later, passed on to his daughter, Kate Benedict Hanna Ireland. In 35 years, she expanded the acreage of the plantation and all the buildings that still stand.
Two years after the devastating fire, Kate died, and her daughter, Pansy, who was a great animal lover and an inveterate collector, became the plantation owner and lived in a portion of the Main House till her death in 1978.
Pansy numerous collections were all pointed out to her passion for the sporting life. She was an accomplished horsewoman and became one of the country’s outstanding polo players and brought her horses to her mother’s barn and made into stables. Then, Pebble Hill Plantation became a hunter plantation.
Tomboy (so the guide said) Pansy was married in 1946 to a beautiful man, Parker Poe. They did not have any children. Pansy continued to invite many of mother’s impressive guests, President Dwight Eisenhower and Mrs. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, the Duke & Duchess of Windsor were among other notable visitors (there are photos to prove them!) and artists friends.»
The lady guide blurredly mentioned but clearly Pansy and Parker were a gay couple and collected beautiful things and they were fantastic. Enjoyed very much of the many paintings, especially of hunting dogs. Each dogs were very expressive, facial and movements and the hunting felt real. Other I liked was the American Indian room, full of stone tools but there were nothing on the brochures to share with you but the rest I posted here, take a look at them!
I don’t know why they don’t allow taking any pictures of the inside of this beautifully well-​preserved house. Only you can see a part of them from the local Christmas issue magazines. It would be a good advertisement to this sleepy mansion comparing to the winter retreat mansion in south Florida, Villa Vizcaya.
Although the Vizcaya was build about the same time but the architecturally and visually, the Vizcaya was impressive to me, vast usage of Italian marble to the floors to the bathrooms with a gold colored brass faucets and hinges through out the mansion, the wall to ceilings tiled blue-​green pool that was connected to outside and the garden with the shell ornaments, and not surprised if there were gondolas, the Venetian port by the ocean were all exquisite.
Regardless of other fantastic mansions, the Pebble Hill Plantation was worth visiting. It was educational to see how south was like back then.
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Admission into Plantation:
Adults $ 5.00
Children (2 — 12 yrs.) $ 2.00
Children (under 2 yrs.) Free

Main House Tour and Admission:
Adults $ 15.00
Children (6 – 12 yrs.) $ 6.00
*Sales tax, at the current local rate of 7%, will be added to all fees shown below. [Fees are subject to change.]