Basic Information

• Location – Seven miles below Hardeeville, along the Savannah River, Jasper County
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Upper Delta, Lower Delta

• Current status – Has been subdivided with the Savannah College of Art and Design owning much of Lower Delta, the house built by Hudson is privately owned, and another portion of the land has been developed into a residential housing development called Telfair Plantation (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

Timeline

• 1829 – Earliest known date of existence

  Langdon Cheves purchased two plantations, Inverary (1,250 acres), which he called Upper Delta, and Telfair (835 acres) or Lower Delta (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 1852 – By this time Cheves's plantation was simply called Delta Plantation. Upon Cheves's death, the property was again divided into two, a portion going to of each of his sons. Langdon Cheves Jr. would inherit Lower Delta with Upper Delta going to Dr. Charles Cheves (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 1921 – Upper Delta would be owned by the descendants of Dr. Charles Cheves until it was sold to Frederick M. Eslick (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 1924 – Frederick M. Eslick sold Upper Delta to J. Byron Glover (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 1929 – Upper and Lower Delta were once again joined with the purchase of both sections by H. Keirstede Hudson. Total size of the two combined pieces was 2,700 acres (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

  Hudson would soon have a large house built at Delta and would continue to grow the land size of his plantation increasing it to 6,444 acres by 1938. Among these purchases were Cane Knoll Plantation, Bellinger Hill Plantation, and Hardee Plantation (Northern Money Southern Land, pp. 138-140).
  

• 1938 – James and Martha Denham purchased the large Delta Plantation (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

  Shortly after the Denhams purchased, they sold 2,940 acres to the Salem Investment Company (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• ? – Harry C. Haskell Jr. purchased the tract from Salem Investment Company (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 1972 – Carolina Taylor, daughter of James and Martha Denham, inherited 3,544 acres upon the death of her parents (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

  Soon after Carolina Taylor took posession in 1972, the two separate tracts were for the third time adjoined and conveyed to the Delta Plantation Development Corporation (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

• 2009 – John E. Cay III was owner of the house built by Hudson. (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 140).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 2,085 in 1829; 2,700 in 1929; 6,444 in 1938

• Primary crop – Rice

Owners

• Chronological list – Langdon Cheves (1829-1852), Langdon Cheves Jr. (1852-?), Dr. Charles Cheves (1852-?), Frederick M. Eslick (1921-1924), J. Byron Glover (1924-?), H. Keirstede Hudson (1929-1938), James and Martha Denham (1938-1972), Salem Investment Company (1938-?), Harry C. Haskell Jr. (?-1972), Carolina Taylor (1972), Delta Plantation Development Corporation (1972-?), John E. Cay III, Savannah College of Art and Design
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• A large brick, manor house was built by Hudson in 1931. Along with the house, a garage and stables were also constructed (Northern Money Southern Land, pp. 138-139).
  

Web Resources

• Jasper County Plantations

Print Resources

• Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, editors, Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2009)