Bulow Plantation – Red Top – Charleston County

Basic Information

• Location – Rantowles Creek, Red Top, Charleston County

  Located off US 17

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Savannah Plantation under the ownership of John Drayton (2)
  

• Current status – Residential development with Ducks Unlimited Conservation Easement with the County of Charleston owning part of the land and operating it as Bulow County Park (2)
  

Timeline

• 1700s – Earliest known date of existence
  

  John Drayton was the plantation's first owner. He called the plantation Savannah (2)
  

• 1818 – John Joachim Bulow purchased the plantation plus adjacent land on Rantowle's Creek. He would rename the plantation Bulow Plantation (2).
  

• 1860 – The plantation remained in the Bulow family until the death of Thomas Lehre Bulow in 1860 when it was abandoned (2).
  

• 1867 – Property sold to to William L. Bradley (2).
  

  Bradley owned a fertilizer factory in Boston and used the land of Bulow Plantation as a washing station. He also ran a store, called Bulow Store, that served the employees of his mine. Special tokens were issued to purchase items from the store. Bulow ceased mining operations after the earthquate of 1886 (2).
  

• 1894 – William L. Bradley died leaving the land to Peter and Robert, his two sons (2).
  

• Mid 1990s – Property leased for farm use (2).
  

• 2003 – 650 acres purchased by Bulow Land Company LLC with 250 acres deemed as a Ducks Unlimited conservation easement (2).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 650 in 2003

• Primary crop – Rice and corn (2)
  

Owners

• Chronological list – John Drayton, John Joachim Bulow (1818-?), Thomas Lehre Bulow (?-1860), Peter and Robert Bradley (1894-?), Bulow Land Company LLC (2003-present); Charleston County
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• Bulow Store operated on site of former plantation c. 1870s; served mining employees
  

References & Resources

1. Bulow Landing: Click here
   

2. History of Bulow Plantation: Click here
   

3. William L. Bradley's Bulow Store 10 Cents Token

4. Jason Hardin, Bulow Plantation Grants Easement (Post & Courier Newspaper: February 10, 2004) - source no longer available online
   

Contact

• The Lake House at Bulow
  926 Hughes Road
  Johns Island, SC 29455
  

  Telephone: 843-795-4386
  Website: Click here