Built in 1858

The Wilhite House, in the colonial tradition, is on the corner of South McDuffie and River Streets in Anderson. Built by Dr. P.A. Wilhite about 1858, the house is still a handsome residence and is currently occupied by Mr. & Mrs. J. W. Monroe, its fifth owner and only the third owner to occupy. It is interesting to note the capitals on the columns of the mansion which do not conform to any of the classic models, but seem to have been a design of the builder.

Dr. Philip A. Wilhite was a native of Georgia but graduated from the medical college in Charleston in 1852 and the next year located in Anderson. Several years earlier he had married Miss Cora Hillis. They lived for a few years in the old Towers house on Whitner Street before building on McDuffie. The family occupied the magnificent Wilhite House for about eighty years. A daughter, Miss Mary Wilhite, lived there until her death.

Dr. Wilhite soon became a popular physician in the town and also operated a drug store with a succession of partners and then his sons, Frank T. Wilhite and Dr. J.O. Wilhite.
Dr. Philip A. Wilhite was a member of the U.S. Medical Association and at one meeting of that body he was acknowledge to be the discoverer of anesthesia (ether) and it was determined that his services ought to be recognized by the government, but this was never done. He participated, along with Dr. Long, in the first surgery every performed using ether as anesthesia. When he died in 1892 he was the last member of the original Board of Health for South Carolina.

In 1939, John Donald Brown purchased the house where he and his wife, Frances Harper of Greenwood, lived until the late 1980s. The Browns are descendants of George and Rachel Felton Brown who migrated to the Pendleton District from North Carolina in 1805, influenced by their friend, Arthur Gentry. They purchased a 408 acre tract of land for $1.75 per acre from an original land grant made to Peter Keys by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney when he was governor of the state eight years earlier. John Donald Brown's forefathers were farmers until shortly before the Dexter Grocery Company was established in 1903. The Chamber of Commerce brochure of 1909 stated that the company was owned and operated by Dexter Brown, a wholesale dealer in groceries and supplies of all kinds.

The third owner, Mr. Scott Seaborne, purchased the house from the Brown family and owned it for only a short time before selling it to Keith Ballington. Mr. Ballington had dreams of running The Wilhite House as a banquet hall and began doing significant structural restoration to the prestigious manor in an attempt to meet stringent City Building codes. Unfortunately, he owned the house for only a short time before he was forced to sell the house at auction.

Before purchasing the house in December of 2004, Jim & Lori Monroe had spent nine years exploring the west coast of North America and Mexico aboard their 65 foot sailboat "Chrokeva". Deciding it was time for a change they embarked on what would be a 10,000 mile journey in their motor home looking for a growing historic district in which to relocate.

After purchasing The Wilhite House they began working around the clock to bring back the original beauty and elegance to the 6000+ square foot mansion. Their first intentions were to occupy the house as a private residence, then, realizing just how big it was for only the two of them, considered leasing the lower floor as office space. While in the escrow period of the purchase, Lori suggested to Jim that they share the house with the community and open as a banquet hall. Jim decided that the idea was interesting enough to pursue.

Today weddings, receptions, parties, teas, and events of every kind, both private and business take place under the same roof where people, for nearly 150 years, have held parties. Downstairs, in the sitting room where the original 1858 floors are still in tact, hang portraits of Mr. Philip Wilhite and his wife Cora.