Hillsborough Plantation – West Ashley – Charleston County

— Hillsborough Plantation © Brandon Coffey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Ashley River, West Ashley, St. Andrews Parish, Charleston County

  Original plantation lands were located on both sides of St Andrews Boulevard. Part of the land is present-day Maryville Community.
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Hillsboro Hills

• Current status – Part of the plantation is now the Maryville Community. The rest of the property has been developed.
  

— Oaks at Hillsborough Plantation © Brandon Coffey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

  Capt. John Godfrey had a tract of land on the south bank of the Ashley River (5, p. 191).
  

• ? – Capt. Godfrey's property was divided and given to his children (5, p. 191).
  

• 1715 – Descendant Elizabeth Godfrey married Charles Hill and her portion of the original tract was then called Hillsborough Plantation (5, pp. 191-192 and 6, pp. 436).
  

• 1739 – Sarah Hill, Charles and Elizabeth's daughter, married John Lining. They settled on Hillsborough Plantation and increased the plantation's size by purchasing portions of Sarah's brother's property (7, p. 206).
  

• 1752 – The Lining family owned the plantation (4).
  

• 1834 – Edward H. Fishburne purchased Hillsborough from the Lining family (3, p. 5).
  

• 1853 – Alexander H. Brown owned the plantation at this time. He purchased about 90 acres of marshland and added it to the plantation lands.
  

• 1870 – Alexander H. Brown conveyed the plantation to his daughter, Alice M. Legare. The plantation consisted of 550 acres.
  

• 1879 – Alice M. Legare sold the plantation to C.C. Bowen, a "sometime Sheriff of Charleston County."
  

• ? – The plantation lands were divided up.
  

• 1887 – Mary Just purchased several hundred acres of the plantation and founded Maryville, an African-American community. Her son, Ernest Everett Just, was a noted scientist.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 550 in 1870

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – C.C. Bowen (1879-?); Alexander H. Brown (?-1870); Edward H. Fishburne (1843-?); Capt. John Godfrey; Charles and Elizabeth Godfrey Hill (1715); Mary Just (1887-?); Alice M. Legare (1870-1879); John and Sarah Hall Lining (1739); Lining (?-1834); McBurney
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

  We are actively seeking information on the slaves who lived and worked at this plantation. If you find a resource that might help, please fill out this form. Thank you.
  

References & Resources

1. Ernest Everett Just

2. Henry A. M. Smith, The Historical Writings of Henry A.M. Smith (Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1988)
    Order The Historical Writings of Henry A.M. Smith
   

3. Rosina Sottile Kennerty, Plantations on the South Side of Ashley River (Charleston, SC: The Nelson Printing Corporation, 1983)
    Order Plantations on the South Side of Ashley River

4. Information contributed by Erik Giajnorio as found in the January 22, 1752 issued of the South Carolina Gazette
   

5. The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, Volume 20
   

6. Anne King Gregorie, Records of the Court of Chancery of South Carolina 1671-1779 (Washington, DC: American Historical Association, 1950)
    Order Records of the Court of Chancery of South Carolina 1671-1779

7. Robert Croom Aldredge, Weather Observers and Observations at Charleston, South Carolina, 1670-1871 (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1940)
    Order Weather Observers and Observations at Charleston, South Carolina, 1670-1871