Oakley Park Plantation – Edgefield – Edgefield County

Basic Information

• Location – Edgefield County
  

  Located at 300 Columbia Road off US 25
  

• Origin of name – Named for the oak trees on the land
  

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Open to the public for tours
  

Timeline

• 1835 – Earliest known date of existence

  Daniel Bird, owner of the property, built a house (2, bk. 1, vol. 11, p. 25).
  

• ? – Sometime after the Civil War General Martin Witherspoon Gary owned the plantation.
  

  He vowed never to surrender to the Union and became instrumental in the formation of the Red Shirts (2, bk. 1, vol. 11, p. 25).
  

• ? – Miss Mary Evans was in possession of the house. At the time of her death, her brother, Governor John Gary Evans, bought the house.
  

• 1941 – Governor Evans presented Oakley Park with 40 acres to the Town of Edgefield. The deed stipulated that "Oakley Park" was to be a memorial to Martin Witherspoon Gary and was to be taken care of by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (2, bk. 1, vol. 11, p. 25).
  

  The house is open to the public for tours.
  

Land

• Number of acres – 40 in 1941

• Primary crop – Cotton

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• Photo of house: Click here
  

References & Resources

1. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   

2. 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
   

Contact Information

• Oakley Park Museum
  300 Columbia Road
  Edgefield, SC 29824
  

  Telephone: 803-637-4027
  Website: Click here