This federal plantation housed was built between 1786 and 1815 for John Simpson (1751-1815), merchant and planter. Simpson came to S.C. from England in 1786 and named Belfast after his birthplace in Ireland. A post office here was called Belfast by 1804. Simpson was the first of four generations representing Laurens County in the S.C. House of Representatives from 1797 to 1886.
John Simpson’s grandson William Dunlap Simpson (1823-1890), born here, was a state representative and senator 1854-1863, and a Confederate officer and Congressman 1861-1865. Simpson was Lt. Governor 1878-1879, then Governor 1879-1880, and was chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court at his death. Belfast was acquired by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources in 2008.