Basic Information

• Location – Western branch of the Cooper River, Moncks Corner, St John's Berkeley Parish, Berkeley County
  

  Located at the end of Cypress Gardens Road east of US 52
  

• Origin of name – Named for Dean, Scotland, the homeland of the first owner
  

• Other names – Nesbitt House

• Current status – Cypress Gardens is located on the original rice fields of Dean Hall Plantation.
  

Timeline

• 1720 – Earliest known date of existence

  Alexander Nesbitt was given 3,100 acres on the east side of the Cooper River. At this time he was living in England.
  

• 1725 – Alexander Nisbett came to the Carolinas and began to build a house on his property. He named the plantation Dean Hall after his homeland Dean, Scotland (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1732 – Alexander Nesbitt married Mary Rutherford. They had three children: Henry, John, and Alexander.
  

• 1744 – Alexander and Mary decided to return to England. The plantation was conveyed to Anthony White. It is assumed that he was to take care of plantation matters while they were gone.
  

• 1750 – Alexander and Mary Nesbitt returned to the Carolinas.
  

• 1753 – Alexander Nisbett died. He was buried in St Phillip's churchyard. His will stated that his real and personal property were to go to his eldest son, Henry. However, Henry did not live to inherit the property and it was divided between Alexander's two other sons, John and Alexander (Cross, p. 88).
  

  It appears that neither son lived on the plantation. However, their mother, Mary, continued to live on the plantation (Cross, p. 89).
  

• 1778 or 1779 – John Nesbitt died and his two sons went to live with their grandmother at Dean Hall (Cross, p. 89).
  

• 1782 – With the Revolutionary War still going, the Nesbitt's property was confiscated because of their allegiance to the British crown. It was placed on List No. 1 of Confiscated Estates (Cross, p. 89).
  

• 1783 – Dean Hall was removed from the Confiscated list (Cross, p. 89).
  

  Around this time the two grandsons, John and Alexander, were sent off to school in England (Cross, p. 89).
  

• 1821 – John Nesbitt, the grandson, sold the plantation consisting of 3,100 acres to William Augustus Carson (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1827 – A new house was built at Dean Hall. It was made of brick manufactured at Medway Plantation. William Carson also dramatically improved the rice fields (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1841 – William Augustus Carson married Caroline Petigru. They had two children: William and James.
  

• 1842 – Dr. John Irving wrote a book about the families and plantations along the Cooper River. He described Dean Hall as follows:
  

  "It resembles a well ordered village more than that of a single plantation. The residence of the proprietor - the condition of the fields - the banks - the white and cleanly appearance of the negro houses - the mill and thrashing machine in complete order, all excite a strong feeling of admiration, and stamp at once the proprietor as an experienced and skillful planter" (Irving, p. 25).
  

• 1856 – William Agustus Carson died. The plantation was sold to Elias Nonus Ball. Ball later sold it during the Civil War for Confederate Securities (National Register, p. 3).
  

• ? – Caroline Petigru Carson, William Carson's widow, filed a law suit to recover Dean Hall. Apparently, Elias Ball did not have the money to pay for the plantation (Irving, p. 27).
  

  Her sons, William and James, returned to the plantation from time to time and attempted to plant there, but nothing really came of their endeavors (Irving, p. 27).
  

• 1909 – Benjamin Rufus Kittredge purchased the plantation from James Carson. He modernized the house and created what is known today as Cypress Gardens (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1932 – Benjamin Kittredge opened Cypress Gardens to the public.
  

• 1951 – Benjamin Kittredge died and was buried in Cypress Gardens. His son, Benjamin Kittredge, Jr., inherited the plantation and gardens.
  

• 1957 – Cooper River Industrial Park Company bought the Carson plantation house along with 1,325 acres.
  

• 1963 – Benjamin Kittredge, Jr. sold the 162 acre Cypress Gardens to the City of Charleston for $1.00.
  

  In the early 1990s, Cypress Gardens was turned over to Berkeley County. The County still owns the gardens and continues to maintain them for public use.
  

• 1967 – The house built by Alexander Nesbitt was discovered in the woods. It was relocated to Old House Tract Plantation on Highway 52 in Moncks Corner. Restoration was completed in 1968. Today, the building is used by the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce.
  

• 1971 – E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company owned the house built by William Agustus Carson along with 2,000 acres. Their plan was to raze the house in order to build an industrial complex (National Register, p. 3).
  

  In January, a nomination was submitted to place the house on the National Register. It was hoped that this status would help preserve the house. However, Commodore Charles C. Baggs purchased the house and decided to relocate it to his property. It was dismantled, loaded onto trucks, and delivered to Tommy John Plantation in Beaufort County (Cross, p. 90).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 3,100 in 1720; 1,325 in 1957

• Primary crop – Rice

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Cooper River Industrial Park Company; E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company; Elias Nonus Ball; Caroline Petigru Carson; James Carson; William Augustus Carson; Benjamin R. Kittredge; Alexander Nisbett; John and Alexander Nisbett
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

• Mortgage of Slaves

Buildings

• ?

Web Resources

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in January 1971, removed from the National Register in October 1971.
  – Photographs, architectural overview
  

• Nesbitt Family - scroll down to the Nesbitts of South Carolina
  

• History of Cypress Gardens - video

Print Resources

• Initial references: 1, 2, 3

• Russell J. Cross, Historic Ramblin's Through Berkeley (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Co., 1985).
  

• John B. Irving, A Day on Cooper River (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1969).
  

Contact Information

• Cypress Gardens
  3030 Cypress Gardens Road
  Moncks Corner, SC 29461
  

  Telephone: 843-553-0515
  Website: Click here