Hampton Plantation

 

 

     

DESTINATION AWAITS:

Today's adventure brought me to Hampton Plantation in McClellanville, SC off Old Georgetown road AKA kings highway). This sits on the on the Wambaw Creek which is a branch of the South Santee River.  Here are the points of interest for this plantation. 

ADDRESS:

1950 Rutledge Road, McClellanville, SC

JUST THE FACTS (BRIEF HISTORY):

* Location: 1950 Rutledge Road, just off US 17 and not far from the Old brick Church. Read about the church here.

*MAKE SURE YOU BRING BUG SPRAY. The mosquitos are so bad. 

* Several sources give the plantation a few different names: Horry Plantation or now known as Hampton but its main crop was rice.

*Established 1735 by Daniel Horry and has been owned by his descendants until sold to the SC parks service in 1971 when Archibald Rutledge died.

* House was built in the Georgian style and later wings on the two sides were added. 

*To keep it even there are windows on the second floor that were not functional but were added for symmetry of the structure. The wing rooms included a dining room and a ballroom. 

*Daniel married Judith when she died, he then married Harriott Pinckney. Charles Pinckney will be discussed in a future post. I will link it here. 

*During the revolutionary war it was search twice by the British soldiers. The second time They took Daniel and made him pledge his loyalty to the crown. He did so to protect his family and the home. 

* After the war he was considered a traitor which would have made his property (land and slaves) confiscated. His in-laws helped him keep his property and he had to pay a Amercement tax or fine. Its nice have "famous" people to help you out, but Daniel (name changed to Charles Lucas Pinckney Horry) lived in England and never came back.

*Harriott, his mother, continue to care for the plantation, again adding onto the house with an impressive portico aka porch. This made the back of the house the front of the house. 

*George Washington came to visit on his southern tour 1791. This was between his two terms. Guess he was going out to seek the vote.

*During the visit he was asked about a live oak that was in the now front yard. He replied with something about liking the tree and keeping it there. Well, it's still there 300+ years later.

*1797, Harriott the daughter married Frederick Rutledge. They had 8 children. 

*Poor Harriott was a widow after 27 years of married. Like her mother she was left to run the plantation.

*Ghost story: there is a story about a child believed of Frederick, John Henry Rutledge, 21, was not allowed to marry a certain woman and he killed himself in the upstairs room. Our tour guide, Ann, refused to go upstairs with us. If you go on a tour, ask about her story.

* Grandson, Henry Middleton Rutledge, inherited the house and shortly after entered into battle.

*Civil War, Henry Middletown Rutledge went to war, becoming the youngest Colonel, and was gone for the entire war. Being shot and injured several times. 

*There are 20 former slave families at the plantation who stay on and Henry made a contract to have the head of the household work one day a week a payment of rent. He incouraged them to seek out employment at other plantations and then they would be able to buy land. Most of these families did just that and purchased land by the Hampton Plantation.

*Archibald Rutledge was the next owner of the house. He was the first Poet Laureate of South Carolina. He was a professor at a college in Pennsylvania. He came home and restored the old mansion. To help with the cost he gave tours.

The bones of the house

TIPS TO KNOW BEFORE GOING:

I can't say it enough, bug spray is NOT a suggestion but a requirement. 

Explore the website to find out the prices and times for tours

The Washington live Oak

WHAT TO DO:

* Take a tour of the  mansion. Go on the website to see what time for the tours. 

* get a map and hike the various trails. 

* explore the cemeteries. 

*just sit on one of the rocking chairs and take in the beauty of the grand old live oak and the silence of the place.

The kitchen for the plantation

I just want to thank Ann the tour guide for all the inside knowledge. This is mostly what she told us. I will be going back in December for the holiday tour.

See you at the next bend in the road,

Kelli