— Brookland Plantation, 1987 © National Register of Historic Places —

Basic Information

• Location – St. Pierre Creek, Edisto Island, St. John's Colleton Parish, Charleston County

  Located off Laurel Hill Road, southwest of SC 174
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Hill Tract, Brooklands, Brooklines
  

• Current status – Privately owned
  

— Brookland Plantation, 2013 © Gazie Nagle —

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence
  

• Circa mid-1700s – Brookland was a pre-Revolutionary indigo plantation owned by Joseph Jenkins family (1, p. 2).
  

• ? – House built
  

  There was a house on the property when Joseph Jenkins owned Brookland (1, p. 2)

• 1800-1807 – Current house built (1, p. 2)
  

  Builders and exact date of construction unknown (1, p. 2)
  

• 1846 – Property passed to Henry Seabrook.
  

• 1868 – Henry Seabrook became bankrupt as a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
  

• 1872 – Samuel L. Bennett, county auditor, sold the house and 300 acres to H.E. Young and James Lowndes.
  

• 1928 – Mary P. Bailey purchased the eastern portion, including the house, from Arthur R. Young and Joseph R. Young.
  

• 1958 – The Reverend Ralph Wentling bought the property and started a boys' home. It was known as the Brookland Home for Boys.
  

• 1968 – The Brookland Home for Boys was moved to a 212-acre tract near Orangeburg.
  

• 1968 – Dr. Charles C. and Betty T. Wannamaker bought the plantation.
  

• 2001 – Brookland Plantation, LLC (owned by Robert Chesnut, Pat Barber, and Cas Danielowski) bought the property and restored the house.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 16.7 acres in 1987(1, p. 2)

• Primary crop – Indigo during the Revolutionary War period then Sea Island cotton after the Civil War (1, p. 2)
  

• The well-preserved gravestones of Joseph Jenkins, his wife Martha Grimball Jenkins, and their infant son, Joseph, remain standing in the woods on the property (1, p. 2).
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Joseph Jenkins (Circa 1750-?); Henry Seabrook (1846-1868); H. E. Young and James Lowndes (1872-?); Arthur R. and Joseph R. Young (?-1928); Mary P. Bailey (1928-?); Reverend Ralph Wentling (1958-?); Dr. and Mrs. C. C. Wannamaker (1968-?); Brookland Plantation, LLC (2001-?)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• Two-story framed house with weatherboard siding (1, p. 1).
  

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1987
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   

3. Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
    Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
    Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII
   

More about Charleston

• Learn more about historic Charleston County including the port city of Charleston. We have helpful guides to Charleston history and Charleston libraries and museums – plus Charleston restaurants, Charleston bed & breakfasts, Charleston hotels, Charleston real estate, and Charleston jobs.