— Wavering Place © Steve Purcell, photographer - Julian Adams II, contributor —

Basic Information

• Location – Eastover, Richland County

  Located at 427 Adams Hayne Road, Eastover, on US 378 southeast of Columbia
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Magnolia

• Current status – Privately owned garden and nursery business

— Wavering Place Porch © Steve Purcell, photographer - Julian Adams II, contributor —

Timeline

• 1760 – Earliest known date of existence when Joel Adams was issued a land grant fron the fork of the Congaree and Wateree rivers to Cedar Creek (Lower Richland Planters)

• 1854 – House built

  Isaac Tucker, a wealthy planter, built the house at Wavering Place as a wedding present for his daughter Mrs. Fannie Tucker Hopkins. Fannie called her home Magnolia Plantation.
  

• ? – Magnolia was lost in a bet by Fannie's son, Edward Hopkins, to James Pickett Adams after the Civil War. Hopkins had pledged 50 slaves to cover a $34,000 gambling debt. Since slaves were no longer considered property, the issue of substituting other property for the slaves was taken to the South Carolina Supreme Court. The court declared in 1869 that real property must be used for debt repayment as freed slaves could no longer be owned. Edward Hopkins owned Magnolia and Minerva plantations at the time and Magnolia was turned over to James Pickett Adams. Family lore suggests the plantation became known as "Wavering Place" after Adams took position as its ownership was in doubt.
  

  James Pickett Adams also owned nearby Beulah Plantation (now the site of McEntire Air National Guard Base.)
  

• ? – James' daughter, Elizabeth 'Lillah' Adams, inherited the plantation from her father. She was married to Theodore Brevard Hayne.

• ? – Elizabeth passed Wavering Place to her son Dr. James Adams Hayne.

• ? – Lillah Adams Hayne would be the next family member to own the plantation. She inherited Wavering Place along with two other family plantations, Beulah and Minerva.

  Minerva Plantation was sold during The Depression to raise funds to be able to keep the other two properties. Beulah Plantation was taken by the government during World War II to build what is now McEntire Joint National Guard Base.

• ? – Lillah Adams Hayne left all her holdings to her children, with son Adams Hayne to occupy Wavering Place.

• ? – Wavering Place was sold to Dr. Julian Adams keeping it in the same family since its founding. When it was sold, the funds were distributed among Lillah's heirs.

— Columns of Wavering Place Plantation © Julian Adams II —

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – Cotton (Wavering Place Gardens and Nursery)

Owners

• Chronological list – Joel Adams (1760-?), Fannie Hopkins, James Pickett Adams, Elizabeth 'Lillah' Adams Hayne, Dr. James Adams Hayne, Lillah Adams Hayne, Dr. Julian Adams
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 50 under Edward Hopkins
  

— Wavering Place Front Walk © Steve Purcell, photographer —
— Julian Adams II, contributor —

Buildings

• Greek Revival house and outbuildings that has been restored (Wavering Place Gardens and Nursery).

Web Resources

• Wavering Place Gardens and Nursery: Click here

• Laura Jervey Hopkins, Lower Richland Planters: Hopkins, Adams, Weston, and Related Families of South Carolina (Self published, 1976)
   Order Lower Richland Planters: Hopkins, Adams, Weston, and Related Families of South Carolina

Contact Information

• Wavering Place Gardens and Nursery
  427 Adams Hayne Road
  Eastover, SC 29044
  

  Telephone: 803-783-1682
  Website: Click here
  

More about Richland County

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