Boone Hall Plantation

There are vast plantations all over the world, but perhaps the most famous one in America is Boone Hall.

The magnificent moss-draped oak tree branches above the mile long drive up to the house instantly takes the visitor back to a time before the American Civil War when plantation owners grew cotton and owned African slaves. If the place looks familiar, it is because it was used in the filming of several movies including “North and South.”

Before the time of the American Revolution and their separation from England, it was common for a man to gain land by way of a land grant and there is some evidence Boone was originally from Barbados. However, he may have received the land as a wedding present from his father-in-law. Details about this particular parcel of land are confusing, but it is agreed the land came into Major John Boone’s hands around 1681 and originally consisted of 470 acres (1.9 km2). Before the use of street addresses, it was common for a property to take on the name of the first owner and for subsequent owners to identify the property in that manner. Therefore, although it has had several owners since, it remains “Boone Hall.”

Aside from cotton, the plantation once had a large pecan grove and also produced bricks, some of which can still be seen in Charleston, South Carolina’s older homes. The home as it stands now is not how it was originally. Originally, it was a wooden house built in 1790. However when it was sold to the Canadian Thomas Stone in the early 1900s it was rebuilt into a more lavish home according to the grander styles of other plantation houses.

Located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (about ten miles north of Charleston), the Boone Hall Plantation still includes one of the few remaining exhibits of original slave cabins, gardens, a smoke house and, of course, the cotton gin house where the cotton was separated from the seed, baled and then sent down river on barges. It is said that for many years after the Civil War, the slave quarters became the home of poor sharecroppers.

The plantation still grows crops and has for over 320 years. Strawberries are now the main crop and visitors might want to plan their vacation around the annual Low Country Strawberry Festival. Other crops include tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and sweet corn.

Boone Hall Plantation is a fascinating place to see if for nothing more than the moss-draped oak trees.

More Information — wonderful video.

By Marti Talbott, Author

Marti Talbott’s Highlander Series: Anna – Rachel – Charlet (Volume 1)
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