— Belfair Plantation Avenue of Oaks © Gazie Nagle —

Basic Information

• Location – Colleton River, four miles north of Bluffton, St. Helena Parish, Beaufort County
  

• Origin of name – Thought to be a combination of the names Bellinger and Telfair, a married couple who owned the plantation (1)
  

• Other names – It was called Barnwell Plantation under the ownership of William Wigg Barnwell (2, p. 12).
  

• Current status – Residential community

Timeline

• 1718 – Earliest known date of existence

  Sir John Colleton was granted 12,000 acres which he called Devil's Elbow Barony (2, p. 12).
  

• 1777 – Sir John Colleton died. The large land holding had remained together up until his death. (2, p. 12).
  

• ? – The Colleton family sold 6,000 acres of the barony (2, p. 68).
  

• 1811 – William Telfair married Betsey Bellinger and it is believed they combined their names to form Belfair when they made the plantation their home (1).
  

• ? – William Wigg Barnwell was an owner in the nineteenth century (2, p. 12).
  

• 1920s – William Mosely Swain owned Belfair. He planted the oaks which still stand along the avenue today, and he built a magnificent tabby home which has since crumbled. Swain purchased approximately 2,000 acres which included Belfair Plantation, Glover Plantation, and the H.A.M. Smith place (2, p. 11).
  

• 1994 – Belfair Plantation, LLC purchased the property and developed it into a private golfing community (1).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 2,000 in the 1930s when Swain was the owner (2, p. 11).
  

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Chronological list – Sir John Colleton (1718-1777), William Telfair and Betsey Bellinger (1811-?), William Wigg Barnwell, William Mosely Swain, Belfair Plantation, LLC (1994-present)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?
  

Buildings

• The tabby Swain used for construction of his four-story house consisted of local oyster shells and a small amount of concrete. Unfortunately, the mixture contained too much saline which lead to the disintegration of the tabby (2, p. 9).
  

References & Resources

1. History of Belfair: Click here

2. Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, editors, Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2009)
   
   

Contact Information

• Belfair
  200 Belfair Oaks Blvd
  Bluffton, SC 29910
  

  Telephone: 843-757-0701
  Website: Click here
  

More about Beaufort County

• Learn more about historic Beaufort County, including the lovely town of Beaufort SC as well as Hilton Head. We have helpful guides to Beaufort SC history and Beaufort SC libraries and museums – plus Beaufort SC restaurants, Beaufort SC bed & breakfasts, Beaufort SC hotels, and Beaufort SC real estate.