Kalmia Plantation – Hartsville – Darlington County

— Kalmia Gardens © Melissa Roberts, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Black Creek, Hartsville, Darlington County
  

• Origin of name – The plantation's name is derived from the unusual abundance of mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) that grows here due to an 80-foot-tall bluff along the Black Creek. This bluff served as the ocean's fall line millennia ago, when the sea extended to the Pee Dee.
  

• Other names – Laurel Land, Thomas E. Hart House

• Current status – 22 acres of the original plantation, including the Thomas E. Hart House and Kalmia Gardens, are now owned by Coker College.
  

Timeline

• 1772 – Earliest known date of existence (2)
  

  Benjamin Davis was granted 200 acres by King George III (2).
  

• 1817 – After many intermediate owners, Captian Thomas Edwards Hart purchased the property (2).
  

• Circa 1820 – House built (2)
  

  Hart built the house with lumber cut from the property. He was the area's first postmaster, merchant, justice of the peace, and a leader of the local militia. He was also a planter. The surrounding community experienced significant growth and became known as Hartsville as early as 1837 (2).
  

• Late 1830s – Thomas Hart faced a downturn in his financial standing which lead to him selling some of the plantation's property to son-in-law Thomas C. Law. Hart was able to retain much of the property including the house (1, p. 3).
  

• 1842 – Thomas Hart died. Kalmia was held in trust by his brother-in-law, John W. Lide, for Hannah Lide Hart, Thomas's wife. She resided at the house until 1859 (2).
  

• 1859 – Hannah Hart sold the remaining property and house to son-in-law Thomas C. Law (1, p. 3).
  

  Kalmia passed hands throughout the early 1900s and sadly, became neglected (2).
  

• 1932 – Dr. William Chambers Coker, a noted botanist, obtained the property and gave it to his sister-in-law, Mrs. May Roper Coker (1, p. 2, and 2).
  

  Mrs. Coker was an avid gardner and returned Kalmia to a thriving estate. She also restored the home and built a rear addition (2).
  

• 1935 – Mrs. Coker opened her garden gates to the public (2).
  

• 1965 – Mrs. Coker gave 28 acres of Kalmia to Coker College in memory of her late husband, David Robert Coker (2).
  

— Thomas E. Hart House © Melissa Roberts, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 200 in 1772; 1,223 under Hart ownership; 44 in 1932; 28 in 1965 (1, p. 2-4 and 2)
  

• Primary crops – Cotton, tobacco (2)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Kalmia Gardens Black Creek © Melissa Roberts, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1990
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. History - by Kalmia Gardens of Coker College
   

3. Photos of Kalmia Gardens
   

4. Photos of the Thomas E. Hart House

Contact Information

• Kalmia Gardens
  1624 West Carolina Avenue
  Hartsville, SC 29550
  

  Telephone: 843-383-8145
  Website: Click here