The Laurel Hill Plantation, also known as Laurel Hill Farm was a historic Southern plantation located on Lady's Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The area is now called Coosaw Point, a upscale community with clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, and dock. The area is known for its woodlands, parks, wetlands, and the Coosaw River.

History

The history of the Laurel Hill Plantation in South Carolina goes back to the early 1800s when the island was used as farmland with enslaved

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

living and working on the property. Fugitive slaves from the plantation were advertised in ''The Charleston Daily Curior'' with a $10 reward for their capture. In 1830 there were 23,199 people counted in the Beaufort district, 84.9% were black; while in 1850 the population had risent to 38,805, with 84.7 being black (93.2 were slaves). In terms of agriculture, in 1860, Lady's Island produced less cash value than Saint Helena Island. The plantations on Lady's Island had insufficient capital to make planting profitable. Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams (1787–1855) had many plantations on Ladys Island. Several miles north on the Coosaw River was Laurel Hill Plantation. When he died on March 15, 1855, he gave Laurel Hill to his son Clement Sams. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Union forces occupied the islands under the direction of General T. W. Sherman. All of the plantations gave way to military occupation. The major post on Lady's Idland was "Coosaw" or "Sams' fort on the northeaster point of the Island. At this time there were about 30 plantations on the Ladys' Island. The Laurel Hill Plantation, also known as Laurel Hill Farm, once owned by

Girard B. Henderson Girard B. Henderson (February 25, 1905 – November 16, 1983) was an American business man and philanthropist. He was a director of Avon Products and the founder of the Alexander Dawson Schools. The author Donald Porter described him ...

in the 1940-1980s, was on Sam's Point Road on Lady's Island. It consisted of approximately of land. Truck Farming for to produce fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops was done on the plantation. The land has a small grass air field, once called Laurel Hill Plantation Airport, residences, and an assortment of non-historic buildings and mobile homes. Henderson died, at age 78, on November 18, 1983. Services were held at Laura Hill Chapel on Lady's Island. In 1977, Laurel Hill Experimental Mariculture Farm on Lady's Island constructed and managed

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from th ...

s for prawn culture under a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

research agreement with the Marine Resources Center on James Island. The Laurel Hill Plantation was sold in 1997 to Homestake Realty Company and is now called Coosaw Point.

References

External links

Coosaw Point
{{authority control Plantations in South Carolina Towns in Beaufort County, South Carolina Islands of Beaufort County, South Carolina Islands of South Carolina South Carolina Sea Islands

History

See also

References

External links