It was sometimes called Manning's Folly, because of its remote location in the High Hills of Santee section of the state and its elaborate details.

Designated as a National Historic Landmark, it is regarded as one of the finest examples of Greek Revival residential architecture in the United States.

The excellence of Millford's architecture extends throughout the house, from the tall floor-to-ceiling windows to a spectacular circular staircase rising, seemingly without support, in a domed cylindrical chamber on the rear side of the building.

Much of the money to build the Millford mansion (it cost $125,000, an enormous sum in 1840) probably came from Susan Hampton Manning's recent inheritance.

[7] Near the end of the Civil War, the residence was threatened with destruction by Union troops on April 19, 1865, but was saved by the intervention of their commander, Brigadier General Edward E. Potter of New York.

The house, along with 400 acres of surrounding land, was acquired in May 1992 from three of the Clark descendants and was meticulously restored by Richard Hampton Jenrette.

He is one of the founders of the New York investment banking firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, and a collateral descendant of Susan Hampton Manning.

In 2006 he received the Governor's Award for his work on Millford and the Robert William Roper House in Charleston, another National Historic Landmark which he owns and restored.

John and Susan Manning furnished Millford in the then fashionable Grecian style, including a considerable quantity of furniture made by Duncan Phyfe (one of America's most celebrated cabinetmakers).

The use of luxury woods indicates that the double parlors were a space for formal entertaining, a place for the Mannings to display their taste and wealth.

Through research, documentation, and consultations with scholars, carried out over many years, he found and purchased much of the original furniture and returned it to its place.

Millford and its furnishings are remarkable in that the entire house was decorated with furniture commissioned from a single cabinetmaker (something uncommon in those days).