Ruinville Plantation – Sandy Island – Georgetown County
Basic Information
- Location – Waccamaw River, Sandy Island, All Saints Waccamaw Parish, Georgetown County
Original plantation lands were located on Sandy Island and bordered Beaver Creek and the Waccamaw River.
- Origin of name – ?
- Other names – ?
- Current status – The island has remained undeveloped except for descendants of freed slaves that still live there. Accessible only by boat.
Timeline
- 1736 – Earliest known date of existence
Captain Nathaniel Broughton received a land grant (2, p. 223).
An alternate source indicates the original grant was issued to Nathaniel's brother Andrew Broughton in 1735 (3).
- ? – After Nathaniel's death, it appears his son Alexander Broughton became the plantation's owner (2, p. 224) (3).
- 1819 – Alexander's daughters Charlotte Broughton and Mary Broughton Motte sold the property to Joseph Percival LaBruce. A note of this transfer has been found on the original grant (2, p. 225) (3).
- ? – House built
It appears Joseph LaBruce built a house at Ruinville (2, p. 225).
- 1827 – Joseph LaBruce died leaving a wife and three young children. Son Joshua Ward LaBruce inherited Ruinville when he became of age (2, p. 226).
- After the Civil War, Sandy Island was no longer being farmed by white planters. Former slaves had developed a community on the island which was called by the name Ruinville (2, p. 226).
Land
Slaves
References & Resources
- George C. Rogers, Jr., The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina
(Spartanburg, SC: Reprint Company, 1990)
Order The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina - 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)
Order Historical Atlas of the Rice Plantations of Georgetown County and the Santee River - Information contributed by Nancy Hart Shepack, a LaBruce family descendant.
