The Archibald Smith Plantation Home shows the history of the area over a timespan ranging from the early Georgian colonial period to the middle 20th Century. The family owned the property and lived there for most of that time. The house shows some of the updates that were added by the family, such as the more modern kitchen. However, the family kept nearly everything that they ever owned -- even broken things. This has been a great help to historians, as they have physical evidence of period tools, fashions, etc. The square columns on the main house front show the "plain" plantation style. In contrast, larger plantations might have used a "fancy," or classical revival, style, and often used Greco-Roman columns as an obvious sign of their success. My only concern is that the Archibald Smith Plantation Home does not go into much detail about the practice of slavery there. There are some signs with useful information on this subject, especially in the rebuilt slave quarters. However, anyone wishing a better understanding of how a plantation operated, and thereby better understand the economy of the South before, during, and after the Civil War, will have to do additional reading.