The Riverfront Plantation Inn is a Pre-Civil War home located on the banks of the Cumberland River. The home and 20 acres...
...are buffered by Ft. Donelson National Battlefield on the west and Ft. Donelson National Cemetery on the southwest.
The original home was constructed in 1859 on a 1257 acre tract of land owned by J.M. Scarborough. J.M. Scarborough was born is 1823 in Stewart County, he attended Dover Academy and at the age of 24 began to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1850. He married Mary Graham in 1852 and they reared 11 children. He served as mayor of Dover and Judge of the County court. In 1871 he served one term in the lower house of the state legislature.
Between 1861 and 1865 the original home was two-thirds destroyed by fire. The surviving portion of the home was used by the Union forces as a field hospital. The home was rebuilt in 1869 and was much as it is today.
Judge Scarborough died in 1893 and the property was purchased by his three older sons at public auction. At this time the house and 400 acres was all that was left of the original plantation.
The home changed hands many times until 1925, when it was purchased by Dr. C.R. Crow. The Crow family lived in the home until 1988 when it was sold at public auction again. The Combs purchased the home in 1993. The home was in poor condition as it had not been lived in for over 5 years. After a 3 year renovation the Combs opened the home as The Riverfront Plantation Inn.
