Perched on a rise over looking the flood plain of the Green River mansion called the Green River Plantation. The home is located in Western, North Carolina. Joseph McDowell Carson who is the builder of the oldest section of the home first arrived at the lushly fertile and enchanting countryside on the banks of the Green River between 1804-1807. It was for his wife Rebekah that he built the sprawling four-story house. It is composed of three major architectural periods. It was first constructed as a Federal-style house facing west. During the Greek Revival period of the pre-Civil War days (circa 1820-1840), a separate structure of similar proportions was built slightly to the rear of the original house. It was built by Joseph's half-brother Samuel Price Carson.
Samuel was a Senator for North Carolina and fought one of the most famous duels between he and Dr. Lance Vance. The duel left Mr. Vance mortally wounded from just one shot. Following the war, the two structures were united with a center hall which today contains the mansion's main staircase. Sixteen hand carved mantels from Philadelphia, scores of millwork patterns and crown molding, hand glazed window panes and intricately designed door hinges and window latches were also included in the construction of the "big house."

Joseph McDowell Carson was a distinguished lawyer and represented Rutherford County in the North Carolina House of Commons in 1813 and 1814. He was elected to the state senate in 1832, 1836, and 1838. The plantation is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In the tradition of landscaping grand homes of the 19th century, an English garden was designed, including a maze of boxwoods, for the plantation's front lawn. Surrounding the "big house" were various structures including a smoke house, ice house, plantation kitchen, stables, and slaves cabins. Following the Civil War, the plantation was bought by Frank Coxe, husband of Mary Carson Mills, who was a granddaughter of the original owners and had lived there as a child. They spent most of their time in Asheville and used Green River as a summer home. Coxe was an investor in real estate and railroad interests and a leader in the development of Asheville as a health resort and vacation center.

The plantation later became the property of Miss Maude Coxe, daughter of Frank and Mary Coxe. Miss Maude lived there for 30 years and after her death bequeathed the property to her niece, Mrs. Daisy Coxe Forbes, whose sons later
inherited the property. Those sons, who were the great-great-great-grandsons of the original builder, sold the property in 1958, and thus for the first time in six generations ownership of the property passed out of the original family. Since then the house has passed from owner to owner and eventually sat uninhabited for a period of over five years before Eugene and Ellen Cantrell purchased the plantation in 1987. The house had fallen into a serious state of disrepair, and the restoration project which the Cantrells undertook to return the mansion to its former glory was an extensive one. Great pains were taken in trying to recreate original paint colors and floor finishes. Window treatments and accessories were carefully chosen in the interior design of the mansion, as the Cantrells worked to recapture the era in which the home was built.

© This site is copy written. Site created by: Amanda Cantrell of The Green River Plantation
All rights reserved © Any use of information from this website for print, photographs or otherwise is the sole ownership of The Green River Plantation and must have permission to reproduce.

These black and white images were recently uncovered by a Ms. Rebecca Redding. Her mother purchased a book of images at a flea market in the early 1980's. Rebecca decided to do a little research to try to find where the photographs were taken, but there was not any information in the book except the photographers name. Without her hard work we would not have these images to show of the the way this home looked around the early 1900's. Please note the size of the wonderful cedar trees. This year we lost two of these beautiful marvels to a bad storm. They were estimated to be approximately two hundred years old, and they were over 80 feet tall.