Badwell Plantation – Willington – McCormick County

Basic Information

• Location – Buffalo Creek (a branch of Little River), Willington, Abbeville District, McCormick County
  

  Original plantation lands were located off SC 28 on SC Secondary Road 61, about three miles north of the town of McCormick.
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Property is in the boundaries of the Sumter National Forest
  

Timeline

• ? – Earliest known date of existence

  Reverend Jean Louis Gibert owned Badwell. He was responsible for leading a group of French Huguenot immigrants to South Carolina in 1764.
  

• ? – The plantation was eventually owned by the Reverend's grandson, James Louis Petigru.
  

  James was a diplomat who traveled around the world for the United States. On his travels he collected acorns which he planted in two rows along the borders of the long driveway to his home. The White Oak Avenue was just one of many improvements he made to the plantation (Neuffer, bk. 3, vol. 20, p. 36).
  

  Years later a paper company bought the land and cut down all these ancient oaks in favor of pine trees.
  

• 1843 – Jane Petigru North was running the plantation for her brother while he attended to his law practice in Charleston (Correspondence, 1831-1848. Subseries 1.6.).
  

  Jane Petigru North led a solitary life at Badwell. Letters to her daughter and others address her efforts as a woman planter (Correspondence, 1849-1853. Subseries. 1.7.).
  

• 1837 – William Pettigrew, father of Jane and James Louis, died at Badwell on January 23 (Pettigrew Family Tree).
  

• 1863 – James Louis Petigru died March 9 in Charleston. He was buried in St Michael's churchyard. His sister, Jane, died November 5 and was buried at Badwell (Pettigrew Family Tree).
  

• ? – Joseph Blythe Allston acquired the plantation through the marriage of Mary North, a niece of James Louis Petigru.
  

• 1920s – The plantation house was destroyed by fire (Neuffer, bk. 3, vol. 20, p. 36).
  

• 2007 – The plantation lands are now in the boundaries of the Sumter National Forest. A springhouse is the only remaining structure. The family cemetery is intact but has been severely vandalized the last couple of years.
  

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – Cotton

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Joseph Blythe Allston; Reverend Jean Louis Gilbert; James Louis Petigru
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

Buildings

• ?

References & Resources

1. Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through the Civil War - Series J: Selections from the Southern Historical Collection - Part 2: The Pettigrew Family Papers
   

2. Inventory of the Pettigrew Family Papers, 1776-1926: Collection Number 592
   

3. Leaves from the Pettigrew Family Tree
   

4. Badwell Cemetery Historical Marker
   

5. Revival of Badwell Cemetery
   

6. Who is buried in Badwell Cemetery and Pictures

7. Inscription of grave of James Louis Petigru
   

8. James Louis Petigru

9. Joseph Blythe Allston

10. Katherine H. Richardson, Pawleys Island Historically Speaking (Pawleys Island, SC: Pawleys Island Civic Association, 1995)
     Order Pawleys Island Historically Speaking

11. 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
    

12. SC Highway Historical Marker Guide - online database by the SC Department of Archives & History
    

Contact Information

• Long Cane Ranger District
  Sumter National Forest
  810 Buncombe Street
  Edgefield, SC 29824
  

  Telephone: 803-637-5396
  Website: Click here