In the late 1850s and early 1860s, William Gist remodeled the house, adding two-tiered back and front porches and stuccoing the brick in order to transform the exterior into the more fashionable Greek revival-style.

According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Rose Hill featured "more refined ornamentation than usually found in upcountry houses of the period."

A spiral staircase led to the second floor, which included a ballroom with two fireplaces so that the space could be converted into two bed chambers to accommodate guests.

[4] Rose Hill was a working plantation of about 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) where enslaved laborers grew cotton, corn, and oats.

A one-and-a-quarter mile nature trail runs through both park and Forest Service property and extends to the Tyger River.