In colonial and antebellum days, this site was the planter's residence of the Ark, a large indigo plantation. On July 18, 1765, John Bartram recorded that he lodged here, at Peak's, "on ye west end of long bay." A property re-survey for John M. Tillman in 1838 recorded that the property consisted of 3,194 acres at that time and showed several dwellings north of the main house. The plantation stood at the southwestern end of the Long Bay Road, an alternate route for travelers going north or south who wished to travel along the ocean shore instead of on the Broad Road in the area of present-day U.S. Hwy. 17. The home was used as an inn for travelers heading north who wanted to time their journey along the shore road at low tide.