Palmetto Plantation – North Charleston – Charleston County

Basic Information

• Location – Cooper River, North Charleston, Charleston County

  Along the Cooper River where Goose Creek meets the river
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Palmettoes, Palmettos, Parmenters (1, VII: 6)
  

• Current status – A portion is part of Joint Base Charleston the rest is part of the South Carolina State Ports Authority (4, p. 221)
  

Timeline

• 1672 – Earliest known date of existence (4, p. 220)
  

  John Coming was issued a grant for the property (4, p. 220).
  

• 1698 – The deed was transferred to Landgrave Robert Daniel (4, p. 220).
  

• ? – James Risbie acquired the property from Landgrave Robert Daniel (4, p. 220).
  

• Prior 1715 – House built (4, p. 220)

  There was a brick house built along the river in the 1700s and would later be lost to fire (2, p. 14) (4, p. 220).
  

• Early 1700s – Dr. George Smith acquired the 638 acre tract (2, p. 15) (4, p. 220).
  

• Circa 1753 – Dr. George Smith's son, Archar Smith, inherited the plantation from his father. It contained 810 acres at that time (2, p. 15) (4, p. 220).
  

• Circa 1760 – Archar Smith died leaving Palmetto to son George Smith II (4, p. 220).
  

• Circa 1786 – George Smith II passed away with son Archar Smith II inheriting Palmetto Plantation (4, p. 220).
  

• Circa 1804 – Archar Smith II died (4, p. 220).
  

• ? – George A.Z. Smith would be the plantation's owner. He purchased a large tract of neighboring marshland to increase the plantation' size to 1,644 acres (4, p. 221).
  

• 1826 – Charles T. Brown purchased Palmetto Plantation from the Smith family (2, p. 15) (4, p. 221).
  

• 1918 – Leize Fishburne Brown Lockwood was the last individual to own the plantation. The US Government wanted the property since it was located on the river to construct warehouses and port terminals for the Charleston Army Depot (today called Joint Base Charleston). Mrs. Lockwood reluctantly sold the planation (2, p. 15) (5).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 638 in early 1700s; 810 in 1753; 1,644 in 1826 (4)
  

• Primary crop – ?

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 19 mid-1700s (4, p. 220)
  

  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. 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
   

2. John Beaufain Irving, A Day on Cooper River (1842) (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010)
   
   

3. 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
   

4. Michael J. Heitzler, Goose Creek: A Definitive History - Volume One: Planters, Politicians and Patriots (Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2005)
   
   

5. Charleston Port Terminal - The Charleston Museum Collections