The Nuckolls-Jefferies House will be open to the public for tours Sept. 7 as a fundraiser for Pacolet Mills Baptist Church. Gene and Nancy Horne are opening their historic Southern mansion for a rare tour over the Labor Day holiday.

Tours of the Wagstop Plantation and Nuckolls- Jefferies House in Cherokee County will be given for $10 on Monday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. All proceeds go towards an effort by the Pacolet Mills Baptist Church to build a family life center.

"The home has not been open to the public since 2004," Nancy Horne said. "We will have music under the old oak tree, old trucks to see and games in the pasture."

The Nuckolls-Jefferies House was built in 1843 on Asbury Road by William Thompson Nuckolls, a lawyer and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1827-1833.

American Revolutionary War Gen. Daniel Morgan camped on the Green River Road a few miles from the home before the military made their way to fight the Battle of Cowpens.

The Nuckolls House was once a gathering place for John C. Calhoun and other South Carolina statesmen from the state's early history. The Hornes purchased the house and restored it in 1998.

The Nuckolls House received a historic marker last December and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The house passed through several owners after Nuckolls' death before it was acquired by Capt. John D. Jefferies, a Confederate veteran and businessman.

The Hornes have done history programs for students and opened the home for Christmas holiday tours since restoring the house in 1998.

The Labor Day church fundraiser will provide another opportunity for people to tour one of the few plantation houses left in the South.

During the Sept. 7 fundraiser, wagon rides and tours of the Nuckolls House on the Wagstop Plantation will take place every 30 minutes.

Hot dogs and drinks will be available for $1 each. There will be a bake sale of old-fashioned goodies.

The Wagstop Plantation is located on 571 Asbury Road in Pacolet, S.C. For directions, call (864) 902-9994.