The John Peters plantation, on Gunwaleford Road in Florence, sat across a total of 6,620 acres. During the 1850s (at a time when most local planters concentrated more than ever on on the production of cotton) the Peters Plantation was unusually diversified and self-sufficient. It produced such items as corn, oats, wheat, wool, Irish potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas, beans, butter, and more. He also had nearly 100 cattle of which half were milk cattle, a large herd of swine, and 150 sheep.
This diversification allowed him to feed his large labor force and his many work animals from his own land. In 1860, John Peters owned 313 slaves, the largest number ever recorded in Lauderdale County. He housed them in 98 slave cabins, none of which still exist today.