Beech Hill Plantation – Ritter – Colleton County

— Beech Hill Plantation © Miles Sanders —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Jono Creek (a branch of the Ashepoo River), Ritter, St. Bartholomew's Parish, Colleton County

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned
  

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

• ? – Paul Jenys [Jenneys] owned the plantation (6).
  

• 1817 – A plat dated November 27, 1817 shows Reverend Gates as owning the Beech Hill Plantation consisting of 331.5 acres (6).
  

• ? – Burrell Sanders acquired the plantation.
  

• 1825 – Burrell Sanders began construction of a large two story house (4, p. 32).
  

• 1860 – Burrell Sanders owned 125 slaves and was considered a successful planter. He served in the South Carolina House of Representatives and was a trustee of the Walterboro Academy (4, p. 32).
  

• ? – Several times during the Civil War Beech Hill was raided. Ann Sanders, Burrell's wife, managed to keep the plantation together and prevented it from being confiscated and burned (4, p. 32).
  

• 1883 – Burrell Sanders died. His son, Archibald Campbell Sanders, took over the management of the plantation. Like his father, Archibald Campbell Sanders also served in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He also served in the South Carolina Senate from 1890-1898 (4, p. 32).
  

• 1965 – E.B. Sanders, Jr. was in possession of the plantation (5, bk. 1, vol. 12, p. 11).
  

• 2006 – The plantation is still owned by the Sanders family. Miles Sanders is the current owner.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 331.5 in 1817 (6)
  

• Primary crop – ?

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Paul Jenys [Jenneys]; Reverend Gates; Lloyd; Archibald Campbell Sanders; Burrell Sanders; E.B. Sanders, Jr.; Miles Sanders
  

• Other names indexed as associated with Beech Hill: Daniel Blake; Nathaniel Bradwell; Job Chamberlaine; John Diamond; Samuel Hamlin; John Norman; James Smith (6)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 125 in 1860 (Sanders)
  

Buildings

• Plantation house – The house is two stories with piazzas on three sides. The first story is made of brick and masonry and the second is made of heart pine and cypress (4, p. 32). Click here for 2005 picture.
  

References & Resources

1. Sanders Geneaology - scroll down to Generation Four
   

2. Layton Wayne Jordan and Elizabeth H. Stringfellow, A Place Called St. John's (Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1998)
   
   

3. Lucius G. Fishburne, Plantation Notes, St. Bartholomew's Parish, 1960, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   

4. Nina Burke, Plantations of St. Bartholomew's Parish, South Carolina (Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing Company, 2005)
   
   
   

5. 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
   

6. Information contributed by John W. McKenzie from South Carolina State Archives, Series: L10005, Reel: 0012, Plat: 06433