The land belonged to Sir William Dunbar in the early 19th century; Dunbar had established a larger plantation called The Forest.[2] The house, known as Greek Oak, was built in 1822 for his son-in-law, Henry W. Huntington and his daughter, Helen Dunbar.[2]
By 1836, the house was purchased by John Hutchins, who renamed it Woodbourne.[2] Two decades later, in 1856, it was purchased by Dr. Orrick Metcalfe, an alumnus of Yale College and trustee of Jefferson College.[2] The property came with 100 acres, livestock and enslaved people from Africa.[2] Metcalfe who renamed it Fair Oaks and ran it as a cotton plantation.[2] By 1963, it was purchased by his great-grandson, Bazile R. Lanneau.[2]