Fish Haul Plantation – Hilton Head Island – Beaufort County

Basic Information

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

  Original plantation lands were located off Beach City Road in the vicinity of Mitchelville Road and Fish Haul Road.
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Fish Hall, Drayton's House
  

• Current status – ?

Timeline

• 1717 – Earliest known date of existence

  Colonel John Barnwell received a Proprietary land grant of 500 acres (5, p. 26).
  

• 1724 – Colonel Barnwell died. He was buried at St Helena Episcopal Church.
  

• 1767 – Samuel Green was in possession of the plantation. He made his will at this time whereby he left Fish Haul and Coggins Point Plantation to his three children: Samuel, Susannah, and Sarah. Sarah was the only child to survive. She inherited both properties upon the death of her father (4, bk. 3, vol. 19, p. 42).
  

• 1785 – Sarah Green Tucker, widow, married William Pope. They had one child together, William Pope, Jr. (4, bk. 3, vol. 19, p. 46).
  

• ? – Sarah Green Tucker Pope died.
  

• 1798 – William Pope married Sarah Scott. Their sons would eventually inherit Fish Haul (4, bk. 3, vol. 19, p. 46).
  

• 1832 – Emma Catherine Pope married General Thomas Fenwick Drayton. They never owned the plantation (4, bk. 3, vol. 19, p. 39).
  

• 1861 – General Drayton used Fish Haul as his headquarters during the defense of Hilton Head Island from the Union (4, bk. 3, vol. 19, p. 39).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 700 in 1770

• Primary crop – Sea island cotton

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Colonel John Barnwell (1717-1724); Edmund Ellis; Samuel Green (1767); John Edward Pope; William and Sarah Green Pope
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

• In the nearby tabby ruins are remains of fireplaces of slave cabins. There were also graves of African Americans until 1950 when they were moved to Drayton Cemetery.
  

Buildings

• ?

References & Resources

1. Yemassee Indians - Colonel John Barnwell's role in the Yemassee War
   

2. News & Courier Newspaper (predecessor to the Charleston Post & Courier) February 26, 1933 issue reprint of Free South April 4, 1863 listing of St. Helena Island plantation sales prior to the Civil War
   

3. 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

4. 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
   

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

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.