Boone Hall facts for kids
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Boone Hall Plantation
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The main house at Boone Hall
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1235 Long Point Rd Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |
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| Area | 738 acres (298.7 ha) |
| Built | 1936 (reconstruction) 1681 (settled) |
| Architect | William Harmon Beers |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 83002187 (original) 93001512 (increase) |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 14, 1983 |
| Boundary increase | January 21, 1994 |
Boone Hall Plantation is a famous historic place in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. It's one of the oldest working farms in America. For over 320 years, people have grown crops here. Today, you can visit Boone Hall and take tours to learn about its long history.
The plantation has a large house built in 1936. It's designed in a style called Colonial Revival. One of the most amazing parts of Boone Hall is its long road lined with southern live oak trees. People believe these trees were first planted way back in 1743!
Contents
History of Boone Hall
Early Years (1600s-1700s)
The story of Boone Hall Plantation began in 1681. A man named Theophilus Patey gave 470 acres of land to his daughter Elizabeth and her new husband, Major John Boone. This land became known as Boone Hall Plantation. We don't know exactly when the first house was built there.
John Boone was one of the first people to settle in the colony of South Carolina in 1672. The Boone family later became ancestors of important American leaders like Edward Rutledge and John Rutledge.
John Boone was involved in local government in the 1680s. He held offices like tax assessor. After John Boone passed away, his land was divided among his wife and five children. His oldest son, Thomas, made Boone Hall his home.
Changes in the 1800s
The Boone family owned the plantation until 1811. That year, John Boone's widow, Sarah Gibbes Boone, sold the property for $12,000. Soon after, brothers Henry and John Horlbeck bought Boone Hall.
The Horlbeck brothers used many of the people forced to work on the plantation to make bricks. These bricks were used to build many houses and public buildings in downtown Charleston. The enslaved workers had amazing skills in carpentry, math, and building. By 1850, they were making 4 million bricks by hand each year! You can still see their fingerprints in some of the old bricks today.
The Horlbeck family also planted the famous "Avenue of Oaks." Enslaved gardeners and field workers planted each of these oak trees in 1843 using hand tools. The Horlbecks also had workers plant pecan trees. By the end of the 1800s, Boone Hall was one of the biggest pecan producers in the United States.
In 1842, the Horlbeck brothers officially bought the plantation. It was described as having a "Wooden Dwelling House," brick stables, barns, and brick kilns on 1,442 acres.
The 1900s and Beyond
In 1935, a Canadian man named Thomas Stone bought Boone Hall. The old wooden house on the property didn't fit his idea of a grand Southern plantation. So, he and his wife, Alexandra, tore it down. They built a new, modern house in 1936 that looked like older Colonial homes. The Stones focused on growing pecans on 200 acres of the farm. They even built a power plant that used the tides from nearby rivers to create electricity for the plantation!
In 1940, the Stones sold Boone Hall to Prince Dimitri Jorjadze and his wife, Audrey Emery. The prince was famous for racing thoroughbred horses. His horse, Princequillo, was the fastest distance runner in the U.S. in 1943. The Jorjadzes sold the plantation in 1945.
In 1955, Harris M. McRae and his wife Nancy bought Boone Hall. The McRaes continued farming, but they started growing peach trees. In 1956, they opened the plantation for public tours.
Today, the McRae family still owns Boone Hall. They work hard to protect the old buildings and gardens. Because of its important role in the history of the South and because its brick slave cabins still stand, Boone Hall is recognized as one of the African American Historic Places in South Carolina.
The Main House and Gardens
The Mansion's Design
The main house at Boone Hall Plantation is not as old as you might think. It was built in 1936. Thomas Stone hired architect William Harmon Beers to design a large, modern home in the Colonial Revival style. The house was built using materials from old farm buildings and bricks from a nearby brickyard.
The house faces south and has two and a half stories. It has a grand entrance with six tall columns. Inside, the house is very large, covering about 10,000 square feet. It has many rooms, including a library and a dining room. The interior design looks like homes from the 1700s.
Beautiful Grounds and Other Buildings
Boone Hall Plantation covers 738 acres. It has fields where crops are grown, as well as wetlands and ponds.
The most famous part of the grounds is the "Avenue of Oaks." This beautiful road is lined with 88 live oak trees and one magnolia tree. It stretches for three-quarters of a mile from the plantation entrance to the main house. When visitors arrived in the 1800s, they would have driven through this tunnel of oaks, passing many small cabins where enslaved people lived.
The first cabins for enslaved workers were probably made of wood. The brick cabins you see today were built between 1790 and 1810. These small, one-story buildings are 12 feet by 30 feet. They have simple fireplaces and dirt or plank floors. These cabins were used by enslaved workers and later by sharecroppers until the 1940s. This means they were lived in for almost 150 years! They are very important for understanding the history of the site.
Near the main house, there are two pergolas built in 1993. There's also a brick smokehouse from 1750. To the southeast of the house is a large Cotton Gin house, built in the 1850s. This building used to process cotton. It has been used as a guest house, restaurant, and gift shop. It was damaged by Hurricane Hugo and is waiting to be fixed.
Boone Hall Today
Boone Hall Farms
The farming part of Boone Hall Plantation is called Boone Hall Farms. In the spring and summer, they grow strawberries. They even host an annual Low Country Strawberry Festival! Visitors can pick thousands of pounds of strawberries from the fields.
Boone Hall Farms also grows other produce like tomatoes, squash, and watermelons. They sell these fresh foods to over 35 local businesses and restaurants. You can also buy their produce, prepared foods, and fresh seafood at their Roadside Produce Stand.
Slave Quarters and History
The brick slave quarters at Boone Hall are still standing because they were built with strong, lasting materials. Many other slave homes were made of wood and were easily removed from plantations later on.
At Boone Hall, you can learn a lot about the enslaved workers who lived and worked there. The history of these workers is also connected to Gullah culture. You can experience this through special presentations that include songs and storytelling. It's important to remember that the main house was built in 1936, long after slavery was made illegal. However, the history of the enslaved people is a crucial part of Boone Hall's past.
Images for kids
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The oldest southern live oak at the plantation.
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Avenue of oaks
See also
