Hobcaw Barony
Encyclopedia
Hobcaw Barony, also known as Bellefield Plantation is a 15560 acres (63 km²) tract on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck
between the Winyah Bay
and the Atlantic Ocean
in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Much of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17. The land was purchased by the investor, philanthropist, presidential advisor, and South Carolina
native Bernard M. Baruch between 1905 and 1907 for a winter hunting resort. Later it was transferred to his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch
. Upon her death in 1964, it was transferred to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation for a nature and research preserve. It consists of over 40 buildings that represent the 18th and 19th century rice cultivation and 20th century winter resorts. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
on November 2, 1994.
Tours of Hobcaw Barony are available.
was given a royal grant of 12000 acres (49 km²) barony
on Hobcaw Point at the southern end of Waccamaw Neck. In 1766 and 1767, the tract was surveyed and sold in several parcels. These were developed into about a dozen rice plantations that contributed to Georgetown County's substantial rice production between the American Revolution
and the Civil War
. After the Civil War, rice production decreased due to freeing the slaves and increased production of rice in Louisiana. Barnard Baruch acquired the tract and additional land in three purchases from 1905 to 1907 to be developed as a winter hunting resort. Although rice was no longer cultivated, the canals and embankments were retained to provide an attractive environment for waterfowl. Starting in 1935, Baruch transferred parts of Hobcaw Barony to his daughter, Belle Baruch. She built a house and stable complex, Bellefield Plantation, and a small airport. She acquired much of the tract in 1943.
In 1956, Bernard Baruch established the Bernard M. Baruch Foundation to perpetuate the Hobcaw Barony as an educational institute for forestry and marine biology
. After Belle Baruch's death in 1964, the foundation's name was changed to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. Bernard Baruch died in June, 1965.
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The Hobcaw House was Bernard Baruch's winter resort home. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the main entrance and overlooked Winyah Bay. It was built in 1930 to replace the Donaldson House, which burned in December, 1929. The red brick, house
was designed by the Columbia, South Carolina
architects Lafaye and Lafaye.
The two-story, rectangular house has a -story service wing at the rear. The house has a gabled, composition shingle roof with three gabled dormers. The main floor has a living room overlooking Winyah Bay, a coat-and-gun room, and two guest rooms. There are four bedrooms and a guest room on the second floor. The service wing has a kitchen, butler's pantry, mud roof, storage rooms, and servant's lounge. Four bedrooms for servants are on the second floor of the service wing.
Other structures in the complex include the generator house, a smokehouse, laundry, storage barn, a playhouse built about 1910, tennis court, the chauffeur's house, the superintendent's house, chicken house, and the kennel. A greenhouse was built in 1955.
Barnard Baruch entertained many friends at Hobcaw Barony. Winston Churchill
and his daughter, Diana
, visited in 1932. President Roosevelt
took a month-long working vacation in Spring 1944 during World War II
. Ralph Pulitzer
, Walter Huston
, Generals George C. Marshall, Omar Bradley
and Mark Clark
, and Senators Robert A. Taft and Harry F. Byrd
were a few of his notable guests.
s and pines. The chief landscape architect was Umberto Innocenti of New York and New Jersey.
The Bellefield Garage, also design by Murgatroyd and Ogden, had parking for four vehicles, a laundry, and two rooms for servants. The Bellefield Stable, which was considered essential by Belle, was designed by John D. W. Churchill of New York and built in 1937. The kennel for hunting dogs and the fowl coop are nearby.
The Bellefield Gatekeeper's House is about 0.3 mile (0.482802 km) north of the Bellefield Complex. The Stable Cottage is about 0.15 mile (0.241401 km) north of the stable. The Vereen house is about 0.3 mile (0.482802 km) south of the Bellefield House on the site of the original Bellefield Plantation. The old Bellefield Kitchen Garden is near the Vereen House. The Hobcaw Barony Gate Cottage, design by Marie Glinn of New York, was built at the entry from Highway 17.
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A number of old slave settlements are extant. Friendfield Village is between Kings Highway and Hobcaw Road. It has five unused houses, a church and a dispensary. There are several antebellum
slave cabins built prior to the Civil War. One is deteriorated. Two others were remodeled in 1905. The Friendfield Church, which was built between 1890 and 1900, is a rectangular building with board-and-batten siding, a gabled metal roof, and a pyramidal spire. This was remodeled under the direction of Bernard Baruch. It is typically of South Carolina lowcounty
, freedmen's chapels. The Friendfield Dispensary was built under the direction of Bernard Baruch as school on Bellefield Plantation for the children of white employees. About 1935, it was moved next to Fairfield Church. Two additional cottages in Friendfield Village were built around 1935.
Barnyard Village is also on the old Friendfield Plantation. There is one antebellum cabin that was remodeled in the period from 1890 to 1905. Two residences for employees of Hobcaw Barony were constructed in 1925.
Strawberry Village is 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) north of the Hobcaw Barony Complex in an isolated area. The Strawberry School was built in 1915 for the African-American children at Hobcaw Barony. It was expanded in 1935. One house, built in 1915, remains.
One cabin of Oryzantia Plantation's slave village remains in very poor condition.
. Although the majority has not been timbered since Baruch's purchase, some harvesting was done in 1944 and 1945 to support war mobilization. Portions of the King's Highway
remain as a dirt road from near Highway 17 to Frasers Point on Winyah Bay south of the Hobcaw House Complex.
Bellefield Airport was constructed for two planes used by Belle Baruch. The field was leased to the US Army in 1942 for the war effort.
The ruins of many of the former plantation houses remain including Alderly, Bellefield, Marietta, Friendfield, Masters, and Donaldson. There are ruins of seashore houses. Some of these were shown in the 1825 Mill's Atlas of South Carolina
.
Portions of the Friendfield Plantation Rice Mill remain. The brick building with chimney and a winnowing house were probably built in the 1870s.
There are Confederate
fortifications at Frasers Point that were built in 1862 and equipped with light artillery in 1864. The troops and goods left Waccamaw Neck prior to the advance of the Union Army
.
There are old cemeteries including the Calais Cemetery at Frasers Point, the Fairfield or Donaldson Cemetery, the Alderly Cemetery, and the Marietta/Bellefield Cemetery.
operates the Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences. and Clemson University
has its Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science
Waccamaw Neck
The Waccamaw Neck is a long narrow peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and the Waccamaw River in Georgetown County, South Carolina. The town of Pawleys Island is located on the Waccamaw Neck, as well as the mainland area, incorrectly called Pawleys Island, which is unincorporated. The entire area...
between the Winyah Bay
Winyah Bay
Winyah Bay is a coastal estuary that is the confluence of the Waccamaw River, the Pee Dee River, the Black River and the Sampit River in Georgetown County in eastern South Carolina...
and the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Much of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17. The land was purchased by the investor, philanthropist, presidential advisor, and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
native Bernard M. Baruch between 1905 and 1907 for a winter hunting resort. Later it was transferred to his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch
Belle W. Baruch
Belle W. Baruch was the daughter of financier Bernard Baruch.Her legacy is preserved in the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences and the Belle W...
. Upon her death in 1964, it was transferred to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation for a nature and research preserve. It consists of over 40 buildings that represent the 18th and 19th century rice cultivation and 20th century winter resorts. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on November 2, 1994.
Tours of Hobcaw Barony are available.
History
In 1718, John, Lord CarteretJohn Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville
John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, 7th Seigneur of Sark, KG, PC , commonly known by his earlier title as Lord Carteret, was a British statesman and Lord President of the Council from 1751 to 1763.-Family:...
was given a royal grant of 12000 acres (49 km²) barony
Barony (administrative division)
Tenure by barony was the higher feudal tenure of a lord who had subordinate knights. Originally, a barony was the land subject to a baron and could, in England after the Norman Conquest, consist of estates scattered throughout the country or in several regions (Not to be confused with...
on Hobcaw Point at the southern end of Waccamaw Neck. In 1766 and 1767, the tract was surveyed and sold in several parcels. These were developed into about a dozen rice plantations that contributed to Georgetown County's substantial rice production between the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. After the Civil War, rice production decreased due to freeing the slaves and increased production of rice in Louisiana. Barnard Baruch acquired the tract and additional land in three purchases from 1905 to 1907 to be developed as a winter hunting resort. Although rice was no longer cultivated, the canals and embankments were retained to provide an attractive environment for waterfowl. Starting in 1935, Baruch transferred parts of Hobcaw Barony to his daughter, Belle Baruch. She built a house and stable complex, Bellefield Plantation, and a small airport. She acquired much of the tract in 1943.
In 1956, Bernard Baruch established the Bernard M. Baruch Foundation to perpetuate the Hobcaw Barony as an educational institute for forestry and marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
. After Belle Baruch's death in 1964, the foundation's name was changed to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. Bernard Baruch died in June, 1965.
Hobcaw House complex
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
was designed by the Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
architects Lafaye and Lafaye.
The two-story, rectangular house has a -story service wing at the rear. The house has a gabled, composition shingle roof with three gabled dormers. The main floor has a living room overlooking Winyah Bay, a coat-and-gun room, and two guest rooms. There are four bedrooms and a guest room on the second floor. The service wing has a kitchen, butler's pantry, mud roof, storage rooms, and servant's lounge. Four bedrooms for servants are on the second floor of the service wing.
Other structures in the complex include the generator house, a smokehouse, laundry, storage barn, a playhouse built about 1910, tennis court, the chauffeur's house, the superintendent's house, chicken house, and the kennel. A greenhouse was built in 1955.
Barnard Baruch entertained many friends at Hobcaw Barony. Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and his daughter, Diana
Diana Churchill
Diana Spencer-Churchill was the eldest daughter of Sir Winston Churchill and Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill .- Personal life :...
, visited in 1932. President Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
took a month-long working vacation in Spring 1944 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Ralph Pulitzer
Ralph Pulitzer
Influential publisher and socialite Ralph Pulitzer was the son of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer and upon Pulitzer's death acquired control of the New York World, an influential American newspaper...
, Walter Huston
Walter Huston
Walter Thomas Huston was a Canadian-born American actor. He was the father of actor and director John Huston and the grandfather of actress Anjelica Huston and actor Danny Huston.-Life and career:...
, Generals George C. Marshall, Omar Bradley
Omar Bradley
Omar Nelson Bradley was a senior U.S. Army field commander in North Africa and Europe during World War II, and a General of the Army in the United States Army...
and Mark Clark
Mark Clark
Mark Clark or Clarke may refer to:*Mark A. Clark , Arizona state legislator*Mark Wayne Clark , United States World War II general*Mark Clark , Major League Baseball player...
, and Senators Robert A. Taft and Harry F. Byrd
Harry F. Byrd
Harry Flood Byrd, Sr. of Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia, was an American newspaper publisher, farmer and politician. He was a descendant of one of the First Families of Virginia...
were a few of his notable guests.
Bellefield Plantation complex
The Bellefield House Complex is about 1.25 miles (2 km) south of the main entrance. The house was design by Murgatroyd and Ogden of New York and built in 1936 with Lafaye and Lafaye of Columbia providing specifications. It is a two-story frame house with four single-story wings and a brick service wing to the rear. The house has a gabled roof. The house is built on a raised terrace with live oakLive oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
s and pines. The chief landscape architect was Umberto Innocenti of New York and New Jersey.
The Bellefield Garage, also design by Murgatroyd and Ogden, had parking for four vehicles, a laundry, and two rooms for servants. The Bellefield Stable, which was considered essential by Belle, was designed by John D. W. Churchill of New York and built in 1937. The kennel for hunting dogs and the fowl coop are nearby.
The Bellefield Gatekeeper's House is about 0.3 mile (0.482802 km) north of the Bellefield Complex. The Stable Cottage is about 0.15 mile (0.241401 km) north of the stable. The Vereen house is about 0.3 mile (0.482802 km) south of the Bellefield House on the site of the original Bellefield Plantation. The old Bellefield Kitchen Garden is near the Vereen House. The Hobcaw Barony Gate Cottage, design by Marie Glinn of New York, was built at the entry from Highway 17.
Slave settlements
Antebellum architecture
Antebellum architecture is a term used to describe the characteristic neoclassical architectural style of the Southern United States, especially the Old South, from after the birth of the United States in the American Revolution, to the start of the American Civil War...
slave cabins built prior to the Civil War. One is deteriorated. Two others were remodeled in 1905. The Friendfield Church, which was built between 1890 and 1900, is a rectangular building with board-and-batten siding, a gabled metal roof, and a pyramidal spire. This was remodeled under the direction of Bernard Baruch. It is typically of South Carolina lowcounty
South Carolina Low Country
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
, freedmen's chapels. The Friendfield Dispensary was built under the direction of Bernard Baruch as school on Bellefield Plantation for the children of white employees. About 1935, it was moved next to Fairfield Church. Two additional cottages in Friendfield Village were built around 1935.
Barnyard Village is also on the old Friendfield Plantation. There is one antebellum cabin that was remodeled in the period from 1890 to 1905. Two residences for employees of Hobcaw Barony were constructed in 1925.
Strawberry Village is 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) north of the Hobcaw Barony Complex in an isolated area. The Strawberry School was built in 1915 for the African-American children at Hobcaw Barony. It was expanded in 1935. One house, built in 1915, remains.
One cabin of Oryzantia Plantation's slave village remains in very poor condition.
Rice fields
The rice fields played a major role in the 19th century life of the area. The canals, banks, and trunks have been maintained on Hobcaw Barony. About 325 acres (1.3 km²) of the Alderley and Oryzantia, 300 acres (1.2 km²) of the Youngfield and Bellefield, 50 acre (0.202343 km²) of the Strawberry Hill, and 800 acres (3.2 km²) of the Michaux and Calais Plantations remain. About 260 acres (1.1 km²) of the Marrietta, Friendfield, and Strawberry Hill Plantations have been altered.Other
Over 7000 acres (28 km²) of forests remain. These are hardwoods and loblolly and longleaf pineLongleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
. Although the majority has not been timbered since Baruch's purchase, some harvesting was done in 1944 and 1945 to support war mobilization. Portions of the King's Highway
King's Highway (Charleston to Boston)
The King's Highway is a route over in length in the eastern United States. It joins Charleston, South Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Charles II of England, who in 1650 directed his colonial governors to build it. It did not become a continuous wagon road until 1735...
remain as a dirt road from near Highway 17 to Frasers Point on Winyah Bay south of the Hobcaw House Complex.
Bellefield Airport was constructed for two planes used by Belle Baruch. The field was leased to the US Army in 1942 for the war effort.
The ruins of many of the former plantation houses remain including Alderly, Bellefield, Marietta, Friendfield, Masters, and Donaldson. There are ruins of seashore houses. Some of these were shown in the 1825 Mill's Atlas of South Carolina
Robert Mills (architect)
Robert Mills , most famously known for designing the Washington Monument, is sometimes called the first native born American to become a professional architect, though Charles Bulfinch perhaps has a clearer claim to this honor...
.
Portions of the Friendfield Plantation Rice Mill remain. The brick building with chimney and a winnowing house were probably built in the 1870s.
There are Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
fortifications at Frasers Point that were built in 1862 and equipped with light artillery in 1864. The troops and goods left Waccamaw Neck prior to the advance of the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
.
There are old cemeteries including the Calais Cemetery at Frasers Point, the Fairfield or Donaldson Cemetery, the Alderly Cemetery, and the Marietta/Bellefield Cemetery.
Modern facilities
Modern, non-contributing properties are on Hobcaw Barony. The University of South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
operates the Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences. and Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
has its Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science