Tombee Plantation - St Helena Island Beaufort County South Carolina SC

Tombee Plantation – St Helena Island – Beaufort County



Tombee Plantation Exterior 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Tombee Plantation © William Means Real Estate —

Basic Information

  • Location – Station Creek (a branch of the Beaufort River), St. Helena Island, St. Helena Parish, Beaufort County

    21 Whooping Crane Lane

  • Origin of name – Named for founder "Tom B." Chaplin or his grandson, who had the same name (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 396)

  • Other names – Palmetto Point, T.B. Chaplin Place, Tom Chaplin Place

  • Current status – Privately owned

    The plantation was listed for sale with asking price of $3,250,000.00 as of December 2011. Click here to view the real estate listing.

Tombee Plantation Bedroom 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Tombee Plantation Bedroom © William Means Real Estate —

Timeline

  • 1790 – Earliest known date of existence

  • 1795 – House built by Thomas Benjamin Chaplin (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 396). It is the oldest existing house on St. Helena Island.

  • ? – Saxby Chaplin inherited the plantation from his father, Thomas Benjamin Chaplin (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 396).

  • 1828 – Saxby's son, also named Thomas Benjamin Chaplin, inherited the plantation upon his father's death. Thomas was a young child so his uncle, Benjamin Chaplin, managed Tombee until he was of age (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 396).

  • 1861 – The Chaplins left Tombee with the advancement of Union troops (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 398).

  • 1863 – The federal government purchased the plantation as part of the Port Royal Experiment (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 398).

    Tombee was divided into tracts during this time, with much of the land being owned by the descendants of freed slaves until 1971 (National Register, p. 3).

    Althea Natalga Sumpter shares, "... listed in Beaufort County property records, those formerly enslaved on the plantation bought and still own the land surrounding the main house since the 1860s. We call it Tombee Community. As one of those descendants and current property owner of land bought by my formerly enslaved forbearers during Reconstruction Era, the community is still strong as descendants continue to maintain land ownership throughout St. Helena Island."

  • 1890 – Title to the house and 300 acres were returned to Thomas B. Chaplin a few months prior to his death (Story of Sea Island Cotton, p. 398).

  • Circa 1937 – A map of the area by Arthur Christenson shows Tom B. Chaplin as owner (National Register, p. 3).

    [ ? – We are uncertain which generation owned the main house of Tombee in 1937, but we assume it was the fourth-generation Thomas Benjamin Chaplin. ]

  • 1971 – James A. Williams was owner and restored the house (National Register, p. 1).

    Jim Williams restored a number of historic homes but will be most remembered as the only person ever to be tried four times for the same crime in the state of Georgia. The book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil traced this period of Williams' life.

  • 2010 – The house was restored to its original floor plan.

Tombee Plantation Parlor 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Tombee Plantation Parlor © William Means Real Estate —

Land

Owners

  • Chronological list – Thomas Benjamin Chaplin (1795-?), Saxby Chaplin (?-1828), Thomas Benjamin Chaplin, grandson (1828-1863), Federal Government (1863-1890), Thomas Benjamin Chaplin, grandson (1890), Thomas B. Chaplin, probably fourth generation (1937), James A. Williams (1971)

Slaves

Tombee Plantation Cottage 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Tombee Plantation Cottage © William Means Real Estate —

Buildings

  • The main house has been restored at least twice. It is a two-story clapboard house on a tabby foundation (National Register, p. 2). There is also a guest cottage with two bedrooms and three baths.

Web Resources

Print Resources

Tombee Plantation View from Garden 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— View from Garden at Tombee Plantation © William Means Real Estate —

Tombee Plantation Rear of House 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Rear of Main House at Tombee Plantation © William Means Real Estate —

Tombee Plantation Cottage Interior 2011 - Beaufort County, South Carolina
— Interior of Cottage at Tombee Plantation © William Means Real Estate —





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Flower photographs by Virginia Saunders, Columbia, SC. Please click flower for more info.

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