Cotton Hope Plantation – Hilton Head Island – Beaufort County

— Cotton Hope Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Hilton Head Island, St Helena Parish, Beaufort County

  280 Squire Pope Road
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned and leased to Spinnaker Resorts (1)
  

— Ruins of Cotton Hope Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence
  

  Thomas Henry Barksdale accumulated 2,600 acres on the island that he called Skull Creek Plantation (2).
  

• ? – House built of tabby
  

• 1788 –Thomas Henry Barksdale died and Skull Creek Plantation was divided. Squire Pope purchased the western 1,000 acres and called it Cotton Hope (2).
  

• ? – Robert W. Barnwell became owner of Cotton Hope. Mr. Barnwell is a direct slave descendant of the plantation (1).
  

• ? – Tom Barnwell acquired the property and as of 2010 had leased this property for 50 years to Spinnaker Resorts (1).
  

— Cotton Hope Plantation Tabby Construction © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 1,000 in circa 1788 (2)

• Primary crop – ?

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Goats Graze on Cotton Hope Plantation © Bill Segars, 2010 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. Information contributed by owner Tom Barnwell who is a direct slave descendant of Cotton Hope Plantation
   

2. Information on Seabrook Plantation posted by the Heritage Library Foundation of Hilton Head Island – click here
   

3. Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
    Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
    Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII
   

4. Sankofa's Plantation Data Collection
   

5. Lawrence S. Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C. Rogers, Jr. The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861 (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1996)
    Order The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861

More about Beaufort County

• Learn more about historic Beaufort County, including the lovely town of Hilton Head as well as Beaufort SC. We have helpful guides to Hilton Head history and Hilton Head libraries and museums - plus Hilton Head restaurants, Hilton Head bed & breakfasts, Hilton Head hotels, and Hilton Head real estate.