Oakland Plantation – Mount Pleasant – Charleston County

— Oakland Plantation • National Register of Historic Places, 1977 —

Basic Information

• Location – Copahee Sound, Mount Pleasant, Christ Church Parish, Charleston County

  Off Porchers Bluff Rd between Highway 17N and Rifle Range Road (4).
  

• Origin of name – John Perrie, an Irishman, named his plantation Youghall for his birthplace in Cork County, Ireland. The name was changed to Oakland about 1850 because of the majestic "cathedral" type of oak avenue leading to the house.
  

• Other names – Gregorie, Youghall

• Current status – The plantation house is privatey owned. A large portion of the remaining property is being developed for commercial use with 132.6 acre parcel held in a conservation easement.
  

Timeline

• 1696 – Earliest known date of existence (5)
  

  Captain George Dearsly received a grant for 1300 acres (5).
  

• 1696 – Thomas Hamlin purchased the land shortly thereafter and conveyed it in 1704. A portion of this land became Hamlin Plantation (5).
  

• 1704 – John Perrie acquired 982 acres and named it Youghall in honor of his birthplace in Ireland (1, p. 3).
  

• 1713 – Perrie died leaving the property to his daughter Mary (1, p. 3).
  

• 1740 – Mary's husband, John Cleland, conveyed land to Captain George Benison (1, p. 3).
  

• 1741 – Captain George Benison gave the 982 acres to son George Benison Jr. (3, p. 43).
  

• 1748 – George Benison Jr. gave the plantation to his son William Benison (3, p. 43).
  

• Circa 1750 – House built (1, p. 3).
  

  It is believed Benison built a house on the property (1, p. 3).
  

• 1755 – Charles Barksdale acquired the property from the provost after William Benison had died. The plantation would remain in the Barksdale family for more than 100 years (1, p. 3).
  

• ? – Mary Barksdale and her husband James McBeth inherited the plantation from Mary's father Charles Barksdale. It is believed that James McBeth is the one that changed the name to Oakland (1, p. 3).
  

• 1859 – Philip E. Porcher became owner of Oakland (1, p. 3).
  

• 1977 – Mrs. Ferdinand Gregorie, descendant of Philip E. Porcher, was the plantation's owner (1, p. 1).
  

• 2004 – The Gregorie family and Avtex Commercial Properties, Inc. broke ground at Oakland Plantation. Seventy-five acres are intended for commercial use and 236 acres have been set aside for a conservation easement and will be placed with the Mount Pleasant Open Space Foundation (in 2013 was renamed East Cooper Land Trust and as of 2015, only 132.6 acres had been placed under the easement).
  

— Oakland Plantation Pond © Fran Huser, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 1300 in 1696; 982 in 1704; 311 in 2004; 132.6 in 2015 under conservation easement protection
  

• Primary crop – ?

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• The clapboard house was the center of a thoroughly equipped plantation and is probably the oldest house in Christ Church Parish.
  

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1977
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

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

3. William P. Baldwin Jr., Plantations of the Low Country (Westbrook, ME: Legacy Publishing, 1994)
   
   

4. Oakland Plantation land trust, held by the East Cooper Land Trust
   

5. Information contributed by Elizabeth McConnell.