Pooshee Plantation – Lake Moultrie – Berkeley County

— Pooshee Plantation 1939 © Library of Congress —
(Prints & Photographs Division HABS SC.8-PINOP.V2-1)

Basic Information

• Location – Submerged under Lake Moultrie, Pinopolis, St. John's Berkeley Parish, Berkeley County

  Plantation lands were originally located near present-day Bonneau

• Origin of name – Name is of Native American origin and was first used in reference to the swamp located there (3, XII: 35)
  

• Other names – ?

• Current status – In 1939, work began on the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric and Navigation Project. This project displaced many families and communities, and many historic homes were lost as the area was flooded.
  

Timeline

• 1705 – Earliest known date of existence (2, p. 287) (4)
  

  Land grant of 1,000 acres to Pierre de St. Julien de Malacare (2, p. 287) (4)
  

• ? – Pierre de St. Julien de Malacare sold Pooshee to his brother-in-law, Henry Le Noble (2, p. 287) (4).
  

• 1714 – Henry Le Noble deeded the plantation to his son-in-law, René Louis Ravenel (2, p. 287) (4).
  

• 1716 – House built by René Louis Ravenel (2, p. 287) (4).
  

• 1804 – Second house built by another René Ravenel (2, p. 287) (4).
  

• 1852 – Dr. Henry Ravenel owned the plantation and added a western wing to the house (2, p. 287) (4).
  

• 1939 – Pooshee Plantation was owned by brothers P. R. and R. D. Porcher, descendants of both Pierre de St. Julien de Malacare and René Ravenel, at the time the plantation was flooded during the Santee Cooper Hydroelectric and Navigation Project (4).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 1,000 in 1705; 4,000 in 1939 (2, p. 287) (4)
  

• Primary crops – Indigo, rice, and Santee long cotton (a hybrid between Upland cotton and Sea Island cotton) (4)
  

• A family cemetery for the St. Juliens and Ravenels was located at Pooshee (4).
  

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Pierre de St. Julian de Malacare; Mazyck; Henry Le Noble; Dr. Henry Ravenel; Rene Louis Ravenel (1714); P. R. Porcher; R. D. Porcher; St. Julien; Steward
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

References & Resources

1. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   

2. J. Russell Cross, Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1985)
    Order Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley

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. Waterman Report of 1939