Delta Plantation – Hardeeville – Jasper County

— Delta Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2017 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Seven miles below Hardeeville, along the Savannah River, Jasper County
  

  2230 Bellinger Hill Road

  Delta Plantation was originally in Beaufort County but now lies inside the limits of Jasper County; county lines were redrawn in the early 1900s.
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Upper Delta, Lower Delta

• Current status – Delta Plantation has been subdivided with the Savannah College of Art and Design owning much of Lower Delta. The house built by Hudson is privately owned, and another portion of the land has been developed into a residential housing development called Telfair Plantation (1, p. 140).
  

— Grounds of Delta Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2017 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1830 – Earliest known date of existence

  Langdon Cheves purchased Inverary Plantation for $52,420. He also purchased neighboring Smithfield Planation and renamed the combined 1,132 acres Delta Plantation (1, p. 140) (4, p. 319).
  

• 1852 – Upon Cheves's death, the property was again divided into two, a portion going to each of his sons. Langdon Cheves, Jr. inherited Lower Delta, while Upper Delta went to Dr. Charles Cheves (1, p. 140).
  

• 1921 – Upper Delta was owned by the descendants of Dr. Charles Cheves until it was sold to Frederick M. Eslick (1, p. 140).
  

• 1924 – Frederick M. Eslick sold Upper Delta to J. Byron Glover (1, p. 140).
  

• 1929 – Upper and Lower Delta were once again joined with the purchase of both sections by H. Keirstede Hudson. Total size of the two combined tracts was 2,700 acres (1, p. 140).
  

  Hudson had a large house built at Delta in 1931; he continued to amass neighboring lands until his plantation reached 6,444 acres in 1938. Among these purchases were Cane Knoll Plantation, Bellinger Hill Plantation, and Hardee Plantation (1, pp. 138-140).
  

• 1938 – James and Martha Denham purchased the large Delta Plantation (1, p. 140).
  

  Shortly after the Denhams purchased Delta, they sold 2,940 acres to the Salem Investment Company (1, p. 140).
  

• ? – Harry C. Haskell Jr. purchased the tract from Salem Investment Company (1, p. 140).
  

• 1972 – Carolina Taylor, daughter of James and Martha Denham, inherited 3,544 acres upon the death of her parents (1, p. 140).
  

  Soon after Carolina Taylor took posession in 1972, the two separate tracts were for the third time adjoined and conveyed to the Delta Plantation Development Corporation (1, p. 140).
  

• 2009 – John E. Cay, III owned the house built by Hudson.(1, p. 140).
  

— Stable at Delta Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2017 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 1,132 in 1830; 2,700 in 1929; 6,444 in 1938

• Primary crop – Rice

— Delta Plantation Pool House © Gazie Nagle, 2017 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 103 in 1830; 180 in 1840; 289 in 1860 (1, p. 320) (5)
  

— Rear of House of Delta Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2017 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• A large brick, manor house was built by Hudson in 1931. Along with the house, a garage and stables were also constructed (1, pp. 138-139).
  

— Gate at Delta Plantation © Gazie Nagle, 2014 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

References & Resources

1. Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, editors, Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin (Columbia, SC: The University of South Carolina Press, 2009)
    Order Northern Money, Southern Land: The Lowcountry Plantation Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin
   

2. Jasper County Plantations

3. 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
   

4. Lawrence S. Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C. Rogers, Jr. The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861 (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1996)
    Order The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina: Volume 1, 1514-1861

5. Information contributed by Mary Blackburn from:
   – 1860 Slave Census Schedule of Beaufort County - Transcribed by Tom Blake, August 2001