— Brookgreen Gardens © SCIWAY.net —

Basic Information

• Location – Waccamaw River, Murrells Inlet, All Saints Waccamaw Parish, Georgetown County

  Located off US 17 between Murrells Inlet and Pawleys Island

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Part of Brookgreen Gardens
  

Timeline

• Circa 1760 – Earliest known date of existence (National Register, p. 3)
  

  William Allston developed a rice plantation along the banks of the Waccamaw River (National Register, p. 3).
  

• Mid 1700s – House built by William Allston (National Register, p. 2)
  

• 1825 – Joshua John Ward acquired all or part of the Brookgreen Plantation land (National Register, p. 2).
  

• After 1865 – The plantation was sold to Dr. Louis C. Hassell sometime after the Civil War (National Register, p. 6).
  

• ? – Dr. Hassell's brother-in-law and wife become owners of Brookgreen (National Register, p. 6).
  

• 1930 – Archer Milton Huntington purchased the plantation from Dr. Hassell's brother-in-law and wife (National Register, p. 6).
  

  Archer and his wife Anna Hyatt Huntington developed the property into gardens and sculpture museum. Learn more about their love story here.

• ? – Brookgreen Gardens, a Society for Southeastern Flora and Fauna became owners of the property (National Register, p. 2)
  

Land

• Number of acres – 4,500 in 1978

• Primary crop – Rice

• Brookgreen Gardens consists of 4,500 acres which once were part of four seperate plantations, Brookgreen Plantation, Laurel Hill Plantation, Oaks Plantation, and Springfield Plantation. None of the houses are still standing.
  

  The Alston family cemetery, once part of Oak Plantation, remains on the Brookgreen Gardens' property (National Register, p. 2).
  

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Allston; Brookgreen Gardens, a Society for Southeastern Flora and Fauna; England; Flagg; Dr. Louis C. Hassell; Archer Milton Huntington; Mood; Joshua John Ward; Withers
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• The house no longer exists. The sculputure gardens now sit on the old homesite (National Register, p. 2)
  

Web Resources

• National Register of Historic Places
  – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1978
  – Photographs, overview
  

• Brief history of Brookgreen Plantation: Click here

Print Resources

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

• Sharon A. Carlisle, George Washington's Guide to the Waccamaw Neck and Georgetown (Rice Told Tales) (Self published: 2004)
  
  

• George C. Rodgers, Jr., The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina (Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1990)
   Order The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina

• Suzanne Cameron Linder and Marta Leslie Thacker, Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of Georgetown County and the Santee River (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 2001)
   Order Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of Georgetown County and the Santee River

Contact Information

• Brookgreen Gardens
  P.O. Box 3368
  Pawleys Island, SC 29585
  

  Telephone: 800-849-1931
  Website: Click here
  

More about Georgetown County

• Learn more about historic Georgetown County, including the lovely town of Georgetown SC. We have helpful guides to Georgetown SC history and Georgetown SC libraries and museums – plus Georgetown SC restaurants, Georgetown SC bed & breakfasts, Georgetown SC hotels, and Georgetown SC real estate.