Somerton Plantation – Lake Moultrie – Berkeley County

Basic Information

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

• Origin of name – ?

• 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

• 1696 – Earliest known date of existence
  

  John Stuart received a grant for 1,000 acres in return for his work reviewing the Fundamental Constitution at the request of Sir James Colleton. Stuart had difficulty obtaining his promised land but would eventually receive it in small increments. He also added additional lands to his holdings and ended up with several thousand acres (4). (Learn more about John Stuart's land grant.)
  

• 1698 – Stuart conveyed 804 acres to Reverend William Screven. Screven named his property Somerton Plantation (1).
  

  Rev. Screven founded the first Baptist Church in South Carolina and perhaps in the South (2, p. 130).
  

• 1700 – Screven added 300 additional acres to his holdings.
  

• 1708 – Screven conveyed the property to Renè Ravenel (1).
  

• 1736 – Paul Ravenel conveyed Somerton to his brother Daniel (2, p. 132).
  

• ? – Through marriage, Somerton became owned by the Mazyck family (2, p. 132).
  

• 1827 – The plantation was purchased by Isaac M. Dwight and William Cain. The men may have subdivided the property with Cain keeping the part with the house (2, p. 132).
  

• 1854 – The house was remodeled by William Cain (2, p. 132).
  

• 1930s – The plantation remained in the Cain family until it was purchased and flooded by Santee-Copper for the development of Lake Moultrie (2, p. 132).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 804 in 1698; 1,104 in 1700

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Chronological list – John Stuart (1696-1698); Reverend William Screven (1698-1708); Renè Ravenel (1708-?); Paul Ravenel (?-1736); Daniel Ravenel (1736-?); Mazyck (?); Isaac M. Dwight and William Cain (1827-?); Cain (?-1930s); Santee-Cooper (1930s-present)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• ?

References & Resources

1. The South Carolina Historical Magazine, Volume 9, Issue 2

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

3. Norman S. Walsh, Plantations, Pineland Villages, Pinopolis and Its People (Virginia Beach, VA: Donning Company Publishers, 2007)
    Order Plantations, Pineland Villages, Pinopolis and Its People

4. Information contributed by Dee Green