Basic Information

• Location – Back River (a branch of the Cooper River), Goose Creek, St. James Goose Creek Parish, Berkeley County

  Located three miles east of US 52 on Medway Road
  

• Origin of name – Wanda W. Smith shares, "It has always been my understanding that the plantation was named "Medway" after the Medway River that flows near Exeter, England, the home of Thomas Smith, the first Landgrave [a Landgrave was the head of a territory]."
  

• Other names – Jan Van Arrsen's House

• Current status – Privately owned, not open to the public; timber business and home to many bird colonies

Timeline

• 1686 – Earliest known date of existence

  John D'Arsens was granted land and all the rights of Barony by the Lords Proprietors (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1686 – House built by John D'Arsens (National Register, p. 3)
  

• ? – John D'Arsens died a short time after acquiring the grant and his land holdings were granted by the Lords Proprietors to Thomas Smith, Landgrave (a Landgrave was the head of a territory) (National Register, p. 3).
  

• 1704 – House burned

• 1705 – House replaced by Elizabeth and Edward Hyrne.

• ? – "Carolina Grey" brick was produced at Medway, and was used to help build Fort Sumter.
  

• 1930s – The Legendres added extensively to the outbuildings and improved the interior. House still stands today.
  

• Has been declared an Important Bird Area by Audubon for the Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Bald Eagles, Wood Ducks, and wintering Ring-necked Ducks that make Medway Plantation their home.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 6,700

• Primary crops – Rice until 1865. It then became a cotton plantation.
  

• An old race track can still be traced on the grounds.
  

• The graves are very close to the old house, which is now shaded by giant oaks and climbing ivy. Many ghosts are said to walk inside the low-ceiling rooms with the large fireplaces and narrow windows. At one of the windows, it is said, one can see the shadowy image of a lady who sits and waits for the return of her husband. Some have claimed to have seen an old gentleman seated in front of the fireplace smoking his pipe.
  

• The plantation contains a formal garden laid out in 1930.
  

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Ball, Chapman, John D'Arsens (1686), DeVignon, DeWeivnhoudt, Thomas Drayton, Theodore Samuel Dubose, Durant, Frank, Fripp, James Hasell, John Bee Holmes, Elizabeth and Edward Hyrne (1705), Bokara Legendre, Sidney and Gertrude Legendre (1930), Aaron Loocock, Theodore Samuel Marion (1797), Philbrick, Prioleau, Abraham Satur, Thomas Smith, Thomas Smith, Jr., Thomas Smith II, Spears, Stevens, Peter Gaillard Stoney (1833), Samuel Gaillard Stoney (1906), Sabina de Vignonm (1686), James Wathen, John Wright
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• The plantation contains a number of 19th century auxillary buildings, including a plantation school and servants' houses.
  

Web Resources

• Medway Plantation: Click here

• Audubon Site Profile: Click here

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1970
  – Photographs, architectural overview
  

Print Resources

• Initial references: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 11, 16, 19, 21