Litchfield Plantation – Pawleys Island – Georgetown County

— Litchfield Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Waccamaw River, Pawleys Island, All Saints Waccamaw Parish, Georgetown County

  Original plantation lands were located north of Waverly Creek and stretched from the Waccamaw River to the Atlantic Ocean (1).
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – House is operated as a special events venue with the plantation lands having been developed into an upscale neighborhood (2018)
  

— Litchfield Plantation Entrance © Gazie Nagle, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1710 – Earliest known date of existence

  The first of three land grants from King George II through his Lords Proprieters to Thomas Hepworth (1)
  

• ? – Peter Simons acquired the property (1)
  

• 1740 – House built

  Peter Simons built the house that still stands today (1).
  

• 1794 – Peter Simons died and his property was divided between his two sons. John Simons inherited what was known as Litchfield (1).
  

• 1796 – John didn't own the plantation long and sold it to Daniel Tucker (1).
  

• 1797 – John Tucker inherited Litchfield from his father Daniel (1).
  

• 1859 – After John Tucker's death, Litchfield passed to his son Dr. Henry Massingberd Tucker (1).
  

• 1897 – Dr. Tucker sold the plantation to Louis Claude Lachicotte (1).
  

  Lachicotte founded the first canning factory for vegetables and seafood in South Carolina at Litchfield Plantation (1).
  

• 1911 – Arthur Herbert Lachicotte and Joshua John Ward purchased the plantation from Louis Lachiotte (1).
  

• 1926 – The pair sold the plantation to Dr. Henry Norris (1).
  

  Dr. Norris restored the house and added wings on both sides of the house. He also extensively landscaped the property (1).
  

• 1942 – Litchfield was owned by Harry Edmond Parker, J. Philip Booth and Thornwell Hay Parker.
  

• 1966 – Louise Price Parsons owned the plantation.
  

• 1969 – The property was sold to the Litchfield Plantation Company which developed it into a upscale, residential neighborhood. The house operates as a special events venue (1).
  

— Litchfield Plantation Guest House © Gazie Nagle, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 500 in 1710; 1,420 in 1712 (1)
  

• Primary crop – Rice (1)
  

• There is a slave cemetery on the property. A survey cataloged 150 possible graves, but only two are marked (1).
  

— Litchfield Plantation Kitchen © Gazie Nagle, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 155 in 1859 (7)
  

Buildings

• Today, the house is the home of Litchfield Plantation Special Events venue.
  

— Litchfield Plantation Abbey © Gazie Nagle, 2015 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. Litchfield Plantation history: Click here

2. Suzanne Cameron Linder and Marta Leslie Thacker, Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of Georgetown County and the Santee River (Columbia, SC: South Carolina Department of Archives and History, 2001), pp. 141-144.
    Order Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of Georgetown County and the Santee River

3. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   –  Research Guide
   

4. William P. Baldwin Jr., Plantations of the Low Country (Westbrook, ME: Legacy Publishing, 1994)
   

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. George C. Rogers, Jr., The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina (Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1990)
    Order The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina

7. Compiled by lowcountryafricana.net, Slaves at Litchfield Plantation in 1859
   

Contact Information

• Litchfield Plantation
  PO Box 290
  Pawleys Island, SC 29585
  

  Telephone: 843-455-7119
  FaceBook: Click here