Oaks Plantation – Goose Creek – Berkeley County
Basic Information
- Location – Goose Creek (a branch of the Cooper River), Goose Creek, St. James Goose Creek Parish, Berkeley County
130 The Oaks Avenue
- Origin of name – Probably named for the live oak avenue Edward Middleton had planted at the plantation in 1680 (8, p. 208)
- Other names – ?
- Current status – The Oaks Plantation Golf and Country Club
Timeline
- 1678 – Earliest known date of existence
Land grant of 1,630 acres was issued to to Edward and Sarah Middleton (1) (4, p. 51).
- 1685 – Middleton died and the plantation was left to wife Sarah. Sarah would later convey it to son Arthur Middleton (1) (4, p. 51) (8, p. 208).
- Circa 1700 – House built (8, p. 208)
- 1737 – Arthur Middleton passed away. Son Henry Middleton inherited The Oaks Plantation. Henry and his wife Mary Williams Middleton used Middleton Place as their main residence (4, p. 52).
- 1784 – Thomas Middleton inherited the plantation after his father, Henry's death (4, p. 52) (8, p. 210).
- 1796 – Thomas Middleton sold The Oaks to James Gairdner (4, p. 52) (8, pp. 210-211).
- ? – James Gairdner sold the plantation to Adam Tunno (8, p. 211).
- Circa 1824 – Isiah Moses acquired The Oaks Plantation (8, p. 211).
- 1840 – The brick house was destroyed by fire (1) (4, p. 52) (8, p. 212).
- 1841 – The Charleston Jewish Congregation of Beth Elohim obtained the property from a foreclosure and immediately sold the plantation to Charles P. Shier (8, p. 211).
- 1842 – Charles P. Shier sold The Oaks to George M. Cannon (8, p. 211).
- 1850 – John Wilson bought the plantation for $1,650 (8, p. 211).
- Circa 1853 – Carlton Vose purchased The Oaks Plantation (8, p. 211).
- 1859 – Carlton Vose sold the plantation to Edward R. Miles for $2,450 (8, p. 211).
- ? – Edward R. Miles's widow, Mary Peronneau Miles, inherited the property upon her husband's death (8, p. 211).
- 1892 – Edwin Parsons purchased the plantation for $2,500 from Mary Peronneau Miles. Parsons had the present house built on the same site as the previous house constructed by the Middletons. The new house was designed by famed architect Ernest Flagg (3, p. 16) (8, pp. 211-212).
- 1930 – Mrs. Parsons sold The Oaks to Charles Sabin for $58,500. Sabin extensively renovated the house and had the elaborate Georgian woodwork stripped and the six two-story Corinthian columns removed (3, p. 16) (8, p. 213).
- Late 1940s – Hurst Waterman Conant purchased the plantation with the intent of raising cattle (8, p. 213).
- Circa 1950 – The Sun Oil Company bought the property in hopes of finding oil (8, p. 213).
- ? – Mr. and Mrs. Charles Jones owned the plantation. The Jones also owned Exeter Plantation (4, p. 52).
- 1956 – The Oaks was purchased for $125,000 by Charleston business men Nathaniel W. Cabell, Timothy Street, Lewis H. McClain and William M. Schram who formed the Oaks Company, Inc with the intent of developing it into a residential community (8, p. 213).
- 1959 – Oaks Company, Inc. sold the property to the North Charleston Country Club.
- 1964 – Became part of The Oaks Golf & Country Club when Harold L. Mims purchased 40 acres which included the golf course and house (1)
- 2008 – An early morning fire on February 6 severely damaged the house (6).
Land
- Number of acres – 1,630 in 1678; 1,800 in 1790; 790 in 1824; 717 in 1850; 419 in 1930; 140 in 1956; 40 in 1964; 39 in 2008 (1) (8, pp. 132, 211, 213) (9)
- Primary crop – Rice (1)
- The avenue of the oak trees leading to the house that was planted by Edward Middleton in 1700s has suffered because of their age. Lots were sold under the trees in 1950.
Slaves
- Number of slaves – 60 in the early 1700s; 10 in 1790; 19 in 1824 (8, pp. 132, 208, 211)
References & Resources
- Historical Marker
- 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
- John Beaufain Irving, A Day on Cooper River (1842)
(Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010)
- J. Russell Cross, Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley
(Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1985)
Order Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley - The Post and Courier, 'The Oaks' was a Stately Mansion, February 21, 2004
- The Gazette, Oaks Ravaged by Fire, February 6, 2008
- Newspaper Article, New Life Planned for Old Plantation, no paper or date listed
- Michael J. Heitzler, Goose Creek: A Definitive History - Volume One: Planters, Politicians and Patriots
(Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2005)
- Arthur Middleton - PBS
Contact Information
- The Oaks Golf & Country Club
130 The Oaks Avenue
Goose Creek, SC 29445
Telephone: 843-553-4141
