Boone Hall
Encyclopedia
The Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens is an antebellum
plantation
located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
and listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house (1933–35) that replaces the lost original house on the site, a number of slave cabins (which were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century), several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks": a nearly one mile drive up to the house with live oak
s on either side, originally planted in 1743. Boone Hall plantation sits on Wampacheeoone Creek in Christ Church Parish about 10 miles (16.1 km) from historic downtown Charleston
.
house that stands there today. However, the bricks in the house were taken from the Horlbeck brickyard.
On the grounds today, besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, a smoke house dating back to 1750, the Cotton Gin
house (1853) and the grand Avenue of Oaks that was created in 1743 and completed in 1843. The live oak trees run 3/4 of a mile long from the entrance to the front house gates.
The plantation was named one of the African American Historic Places in South Carolina.
Owners over the years are as follows: Theophilus Patey, Major John Boone (founder), Fenwick, Hickman, Thomas Vardell (1811), John and Henry Horlbeck (1817), Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stone (1935), Georgian Prince Dimitri Djordjadze
(1940), Dr. Henry Deas and his wife Adele Deas (1945), and Harris M. McRae and his wife, Nancy Thomas (1955). The McRaes opened the plantation to the public in 1957 and have made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens.
(as Mont Royal) and the movies Queen
and The Notebook
.
The house, gardens, and other places of interest are open to the public for tours all year round.
Other films of note:
History of the United States (1789–1849)
With the election of George Washington as the first president in 1789, the new government acted quickly to rebuild the nation's financial structure. Enacting the program of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, the government assumed the Revolutionary war debts of the state and the national...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant is a large affluent suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is a member of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area, for statistical purpose only, as designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget....
and listed on 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...
.
The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house (1933–35) that replaces the lost original house on the site, a number of slave cabins (which were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century), several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks": a nearly one mile drive up to the house with live oak
Live oak
Live oak , also known as the southern live oak, is a normally evergreen oak tree native to the southeastern United States...
s on either side, originally planted in 1743. Boone Hall plantation sits on Wampacheeoone Creek in Christ Church Parish about 10 miles (16.1 km) from historic downtown Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
History
The earliest known reference to the site is of 1681. It originated from a land grant given to Major John Boone. The land grant of 470 acres (1.9 km²) was given by Theophilus Patey as a wedding present to his daughter, Elizabeth and Boone. The original wooden house was constructed in 1790. The house that stands now was built by Thomas Stone, a Canadian who purchased the land in the early 20th century. He wanted a "grander style" home than what was there, so he built the Colonial Revival-styleColonial 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...
house that stands there today. However, the bricks in the house were taken from the Horlbeck brickyard.
On the grounds today, besides the house, sit nine of the original slave cabins which date back to 1790-1810, a smoke house dating back to 1750, the Cotton Gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...
house (1853) and the grand Avenue of Oaks that was created in 1743 and completed in 1843. The live oak trees run 3/4 of a mile long from the entrance to the front house gates.
The plantation was named one of the African American Historic Places in South Carolina.
Owners over the years are as follows: Theophilus Patey, Major John Boone (founder), Fenwick, Hickman, Thomas Vardell (1811), John and Henry Horlbeck (1817), Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stone (1935), Georgian Prince Dimitri Djordjadze
Dimitri Djordjadze
Prince Dimitri Jorjadze was a Georgian nobleman, Ambassador Hotel executive and race car driver. He was a member of the nobility of the province of Tiflis, who became exiled after the overthrow of Tsarist Russia and the subsequent Bolshevik takeover.The 6'3" Prince was probably best known in...
(1940), Dr. Henry Deas and his wife Adele Deas (1945), and Harris M. McRae and his wife, Nancy Thomas (1955). The McRaes opened the plantation to the public in 1957 and have made great efforts to preserve the original structures and gardens.
Boone Hall Farms
Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest still working plantations...continually growing crops for over 320 years. Boone Hall Farms is the present day agricultural arm that operates this part of the plantation. April to June, strawberries are the centerpiece at Boone Hall Farms. The annual Lowcountry Strawberry Festival caps off the peak of each season and thousands of pounds of strawberries are picked from Boone Hall Farms U-Pick fields. Spring planting annually includes tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, and sweet corn. These crops are harvested throughout the summer months during the peak of the South Carolina growing season. Plans are presently underway to expand the tomato crop rotation that will produce deep into the fall growing season along with the pumpkin crop. Boone Hall Farms Market opened its doors in 2006 as an outlet for crops that come off the farm as well as featuring other fresh local South Carolina grown produce. This market is open throughout the year and additionally features a variety of other food products, a market cafe, fresh local seafood, and a floral/gift shop.In popular culture
While there is no photographing or filming of the house allowed on the tours, the house and grounds have appeared in the mini-series North and SouthNorth and South (TV miniseries)
North and South is the title of three American television miniseries broadcast on the ABC network in 1985, 1986, and 1994. Set before, during, and immediately after the American Civil War, they are based on the 1980s trilogy of novels North and South by John Jakes. The 1985 first installment, North...
(as Mont Royal) and the movies Queen
Queen: The Story of an American Family
Queen: The Story of an American Family is a 1993 partly factual historical novel by Alex Haley and David Stevens. It brought back to the consciousness of many White Americans the plight of the children of the plantation: the offspring of black slave women and their white masters, who were legally...
and The Notebook
The Notebook
The Notebook is a 1996 romantic novel by American novelist Nicholas Sparks, based on a true story. The novel was later adapted into a popular romance film by the same name in 2004.-Background:...
.
The house, gardens, and other places of interest are open to the public for tours all year round.
Other films of note:
- Bin Yah: There's No Place Like Home (2008) (Directed by Justin Nathanson, produced by ChasDOC)