[3] In 1856, Colonel Adam G. Summer relocated from Pomaria, SC, to Marion County, where he took up residence on a vast expanse of 1,400 acres known as Watula, or Long Hammock.

The year 1860 saw Colonel Summer's importation of six Brahman calves from the East Indies, a move that also introduced Bremen geese, other poultry, several exquisite horses, and an English Foxhound to the plantation.

Post-Civil War, Colonel Summer was notable for granting each of his former slaves a piece of land and a shack, providing them with a tangible form of independence.

This burgeoning community also boasted a school, blacksmith shop, sawmill, gristmill, cotton gin, Methodist church, an express telegraph office, and a shipping station.

The year 1873 marked the renaming of Watula, Long Hammock, to Whitesville, in honor of Charles H. White, located just three-quarters of a mile west of what is now Summerfield, along the northern shores of Summers Lake.