— Bossis Plantation House After Being Relocated to Hopkins, SC © Lori Wilhoit —

Basic Information

• Location – Eastern branch of the Cooper River, Huger, Berkeley County

• A Day on the Cooper River, 1969, reference 6 says at Bossis there is a very neat and efficient machine for thrashing rice, put up last spring upon an original and new principle, by William Ferrel. The machine will thrash fifty bushels of rice per hour, when well attended; it is attached to the pestle-shaft of a Rice Mill, (previously erected) working by two adhesion wheels. The machine was built for the moderate sum of $300.
  

• Origin of name – Its name has been accounted for, from once having belonged to a Mr. Bosse, pronounced Boce; the early settlers in the neighborhood, to signify their intention of going to this spot, used to say they were going to Boss's place - hence, the name Bossis!
  

• Other names – Boss's

• Current status – The house built in 1910 was moved to Hopkins, South Carolina in 2000 when it was purchased from Westvaco.
  

— Bossis Plantation View from Pond © Lori Wilhoit —

Timeline

• 1736 – Earliest known date of existence

• 1736 – House built by Nicholas Harleston

• 1909 – House burned

• 1910 – House rebuilt by St. Clair White

• 1920s – George A. Ellis, Jr., who had other holdings in the area including Richmond Plantation, purchased Bossis
  

• 1962 – Westvaco purchased the property from the estate of George A. Ellis, Jr.
  

• 2000 – House moved to Hopkins, SC
  

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – Rice

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Bosse, George A. Ellis, Jr. (1920s-1962), Colonel John Harleston, Nicholas Harleston (1930), Mr. & Mrs. Olney Harleston, Westvaco (1962-?), St. Clair White
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• St. Clair White built a two-story frame Colonial Revival style house in 1910 after the original had burned the year before. The house would be moved to Hopkins, SC in 2000.
  

Web Resources

• 2002 Cooper River Historic District National Register nomination

• Cooper River Historic District National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet - PDF

Print Resources

• Initial references: 6, 15