— Snee Farm Plantation 2011 © Jamie DuMont —

Special thanks to Ms. Elizabeth McConnell for providing a great deal of the information on this page.

Basic Information

• Location – Boone Hall Creek, Mount Pleasant, Christ Church Parish, Charleston County

  Located eight miles north of Charleston. Follow US 17 and turn onto Long Point Road.
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – The house and 28 acres of surrounding land are owned and operated by the US Park Service as Charles Pinckney National Historic Site. The remainder of the land has been developed as a country club and residential neighborhood.
  

— Shed at Snee Farm Plantation 2011 © Jamie DuMont —

Timeline

• 1698 – Earliest known date of existence

  Nathaniel Law received a King's Grant on April 22, 1698 for 1,055 acres.
  

• 1738 – 715 acres were transferred from Benjamin Law to John Allen Mays.
  

• 1754 – John Allen Mays' widow had married John Savage. Savage sold the property to Colonel Charles Pinckney on September 17, 1754.
  

• 1754 – House was built by Colonel Pinckney.
  

• 1782 – Colonel Pinckney died and bequeathed the farm to his son, also named Charles Pinckney, who signed the Constitution and served as the governor of South Carolina, a US senator, and a US representative (Historic Resource Study, p. 9).
  

• 1791 – George Washington had breakfast at Snee Farm, Mr. Pinckney's country estate, during his Southern Tour (Historic Resource Study, p. 31).
  

• 1816 – Pinckney was forced to turn over Snee Farm to trustees in an effort to settle his debts (Historic Resource Study, p. 31)

• 1817 – Pickney's trustees sold Snee Farm to Francis G. Deliesseline. Pinckney died a few years later, in 1824 (Historic Resource Study, p. 52)
  

• 1828 – Deliesseline sold Snee Farm to William Mathews on May 24 (Historic Resource Study, p. 52)
  

  Mathews razed the house and built a new one, which is the house that exists today (Historic Resource Study, p. 29).
  

• 1848 – Mathews left the property to his daughter (Historic Resource Study, p. 52).
  

• 1853 – The property was sold by the estate of William Mathews to William and Mary Jane McCants.
  

• 1859 – Sold by William McCants to Lockwood A. McCants
  

• 1870 – Sold by Lockwood A. McCants to William Jervey
  

  During this long succession of owners, the main house remained largely unchanged.
  

• 1900 – Frederick Weiters purchased Snee Farm on February 21, 1900 from William Jervey.
  

• 1910 – In February 1910, Thomas J. Hamlin purchased Snee Farm from Frederick Weiters.
  

• ? – Osgood Darby Hamlin purchased the plantation from Thomas J. Hamlin.
  

• 1931 – Osgood Darby Hamlin died and left Snee Farm to his wife.
  

• 1936 – Thomas Ewing purchased Snee Farm from Mrs. Osgood Darby Hamlin and proceeded to enlarged the house (Historic Resource Study, p. 47).
  

• ? – Alexandra Ewing Stone purchased the plantation from Thomas Ewing.
  

• 1968 – The property was sold by the estate of Alexandra Ewing Stone to S. Guilds, Joyce Holowell, R. Gordon Darby, and Charles P. Darby jointly.
  

• 1988 – Friends of Historic Snee Farm, Inc. took posession from R. Gordon Darby and Charles P. Darby.
  

• 1990 – Snee Farm Plantation transferred ownership from Friend of Historic Snee Farm, Inc. to the National Park Service and is today operated as the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site.
  

— Side of House at Snee Farm Plantation 2011 © Jamie DuMont —

Land

• Number of acres – 1,055 in 1698; 715 in 1738; 28 currently

• Primary crop – Indigo, rice, timber (Historic Resource Study, p. 31)
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Nathaniel Law (1698-?), Benjamin Law (?-1738), John Allen Mays (1738-?), John Savage (?-1754), Charles Pinckney (1754-1816), Frances G. Deliesseline (1817-1828), William Mathews (1828-1848), William and Mary Jane McCants (1853-1859), Lockwood A. McCants (1859-1870), William Jervey (1870-1900), Frederick Weiters (1900-1910), Thomas J. Hamlin (1910-?), Osgood Darby Hamlin and wife (?-1931), Thomas Ewing (1936-?), Alexandra Ewing Stone (?-1968), Joyce Holowell (1968-?), S. Guilds (1968-?), Charles P. Darby (1968-1988), R. Gordon Darby (1968-1988), Friends of Historic Snee Farm, Inc. (1988-1990), National Park Service (1990-current)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 40 in 1787; 43 in 1817 (Historic Resource Study, p. 28)
  

Buildings

• The current clapboard house was built in 1828 replacing the original house. In addition to the main house, a barn (built 1944), corncrib (built 1910), and caretaker’s house (built 1936) are also on the property (Historic Resource Study, p. 54).
  

Web Resources

• Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Historic Resource Study: PDF
  

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1973
  – Photographs, architectural overview
  

Print Resources

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

• SC Highway Historical Marker Guide - online database by the SC Department of Archives & History
  

• Hamlin family records
  

Contact Information

• Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
  1254 Long Point Road
  Mount Pleasant, SC 29464
  

  Telephone: 843-881-5516
  Website: Click here
  

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.