Description

A remnant of a tabby outbuilding that was part of Riverside Plantation sits on Landsend Woodland property on St. Helena Island, SC. The standing wall has two windows.

History

Riverside Plantation belonged to Daniel Jenkins, who married Isabella Field in 1805. Isabella inherited the plantation after her husband’s death, and through her four marriages, she acquired five plantations. In the 1920s Gullah natives of St. Helena purchased the property and formed the Landsend Woodland Club. Riverside Plantation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 (see South Carolina Department of Archives and History).

Location

GPS: N 32°18.982 and S 80°38.623

Address: Lands End Woodland Beach, St. Helena Island, SC 29920. Lands End Woodland is an unpaved road that extends from Lands End Road to the shoreline.

Accessibility: Landsend Woodland is private property that is occasionally open to the public, most notably during the annual Lands End Woodland River Festival. For more information, see Landsend Woodland.

Description

The tabby ruins of Bleak Hall Plantation are part of the Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area located on Edisto Island, SC. There are three Gothic Revival architectural ruins: a white wooden ice house constructed on tabby foundations, a tabby gardener shed, and a tabby barn.

History

The plantation property belonged to the Townsend family from 1798-1933 and was named after Charles Dickens’ novel, Bleak House. After the Civil War, a fire destroyed much of the plantation, but the three tabby outbuildings survived. Constructed in the 1840s, they feature characteristics of Gothic Revival architecture, including spires, gable roofs, dentil molding, and mock arched doors and windows (although a fire in the 1970s destroyed much of the ornamentation of the barn). The property was eventually acquired by John Meyer, who deeded it to the state. Consequently, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources opened Botany Bay Plantation to the public in 2008. In addition to Bleak Hall, the brick ruins of Sea Cloud Plantation and other historic structures are on the preserve, which consists of pine-hardwood forests, agricultural fields, coastal wetlands, and a boneyard beach.

Location

GPS: N 32°33.513 and W 80°15.276

Address: 1066 Botany Bay Rd., Edisto Island, SC 29438 (Botany Bay Rd. is an unpaved road that permits cars to drive through the preserve. Maps are available at the entrance.)

Accessibility: Free and open to the public, except closed on Tuesdays and for scheduled hunts. For more information, visit http://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/charleston-county/botany-bay.html.