Dockon Plantation – Berkeley County

— Dockon Plantation, Circa 1910; Berkeley County Photograph Collection —
— Accession no. 1001.4, Folder 1001 Berkeley (1-22) —

Basic Information

• Location – Western side of the Cooper River, Berkeley County

• Origin of name – The Indian translation of Dockon is peace (3, VII: 12)
  

• Other names – Ferguson's Dockon Plantation (1)

• Current status – ?

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

  Jacques De Bose and Dr. John Thomas each owned land that would become Dockon Plantation (3, XII: 27) (4, p. 111).
  

• ? – Jacques De Bose passed away and his widow, Marie DeGuè, married Dr. John Thomas (3, XII: 27).
  

• ? – Dr. Thomas's will left the plantation to his three step-daughters (3, XII: 27).
  

• Prior to 1742 – Mary, one of Dr. Thomas's step-daughters, married Joseph Wragg (3, XII: 27).
  

• ? – Colonel James Ferguson acquired Dockon Plantation through his mother's family. Ann Wragg was James's mother and the daughter of Mary and Joseph Wragg. Colonel Ferguson farmed Dockon for rice and was well known for his breeding of thoroughbreds at the plantation, including Albine, the fastest horse to ever run Charleston's Washington Race Course (3, XII: 27) (4, pp. 112-113).
  

• 1817 – A 1817 deed notes the Ferguson Family as owning the plantation (6).
  

• Circa 1847 – House built (3, XII: 27)
  

  Colonel Ferguson built the house at Dockon Plantation (3, XII: 27).
  

• After 1865 – The plantation's value severely deteriorated during the Civil War, but Colonel Ferguson was able to retain the plantation (4, pp. 113-114).
  

• Late 1800s – Colonel Ferguson lived to 90. His son, Thomas B. Ferguson, inherited Dockon after his father's death. It appears that Thomas built another house at Dockon (3, XII: 27) (5).
  

• ? – Jennie B. Heyward acquired the plantation (6).
  

• 1906 – Samuel G. Stoney acquired Dockon Plantation from Jennie B. Heyward (6).
  

• Prior to 1932 – Mr. and Mrs. Frederick A. Dallett purchased Dockon Plantation. It seems the original house was on longer standing at that time (4, p. 93).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 2,300 in 1742; 1,666 in 1906 (4, p. 109) (6)
  

• Primary crop – Rice (1)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

References & Resources

1. Information contributed by Ramona Grimsley, Digital Projects Librarian for Berkeley County Library, from:
   Lowcountry Digital Library
   

2. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   –  Online Catalog
   

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. John Beaufain Irving, A Day on Cooper River (1842) (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010)
   
   

5. Information contributed by Ramona Grimsley, Digital Projects Librarian for Berkeley County Library, from:
   Information burned in the rear of a photograph from the Berkeley County Photograph Collection, Accession no. 1001.4, Folder 1001 Berkeley (1-22), housed at South Caroliniana Library.
   

6. Information contributed by John Strobel from: 1906 mortgage document