Basic Information

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

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – In 1962, Farmfield Plantation was part of a large land tract purchased by Westvaco Corporation (now called MeadWestvaco Corporation.)
  

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence - Dr. Martine owned a tract of land that included Farmfield Plantation and Richmond Plantation.
  

• 1769 – Colonel John Harleston purchased Farmfield and Richmond from Dr. Martine.
  

• ? – The property was divided with Farmfield becoming in posession of Harleston's daughter Eliza who was married to Thomas Corbett. (South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. XIII January 1912)
  

• 1840s – It is believed that Margaret Harleston Corbett Laurens, the daughter of Eliza and Thomas Corbett, owned Farmfield at this time. Read the letter she penned in 1840 as she talks about new curtains for Farmfield, page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Contributed by John Strobel)
  

• 1900 – J. St. Clair White purchased a total of 4,500 acres which included Farmfield along with Bossis, Richmond, and the Villa plantations (Cooper River Historic District National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet).
  

• Late 1920s – George A. Ellis, Jr. purchased the property to develop into a hunting retreat. At this point, the combined plantations were called simply Richmond Plantation.
  

• 1962 – Westvaco Corporation purchased the property.
  

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – rice - in a 1885 letter Olney Harleston comments on the adversity of planting rice on Farmfield (William Sinkler Manning Papers.)

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Eliza Harleston Corbett (?), George A. Ellis, Jr. (late 1920s-1962), Colonel John Harleston (1769-?), Margaret Harleston Corbett Laurens (1840s), Dr. Martine (?-1769), MeadWestvaco Corporation (1962-present), J. St. Clair White (1900-late 1920s)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• House built – ?

Web Resources

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

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

• South Carolina Historical Magazine, Vol. XIII January 1912

• William Sinkler Manning Papers - South Caroliniana Library
  

Print Resources

• Initial references: 6

Contact Information

• MeadWestvaco Corporation