The purpose of this thesis is to document the existence, appearance, and (if applicable) destruction of pre-1861 plantation residences within the antebellum boundaries of Burke County (including the upper portion of Jenkins County, established 1905). A poor rate of survival, shortage of records, and absence of significant research has allowed for the majority of these structures to fall from human memory. Much of the information found in these pages was the product of extensive research through primary sources, including several newspapers (with dates surveyed): the Augusta Chronicle (1800-1865), Waynesboro True Citizen (1882-1938), Waynesboro Expositor (1872-1873), Waynesboro News (1858-1859), and Waynesboro Independent South (1860-1863), as well as diaries, military records, and personal papers. It is hoped the result will serve the cause of preservation by providing a context for the interpretation of plantation dwellings and by advocating the conservation of surviving structures.