Brookgreen Gardens facts for kids

Brookgreen Gardens
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property
Fighting Stallions – by Anna Hyatt Huntington at garden park entrance.
Nearest city	Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, U.S.
Area	9,100 acres (37 km2)
Architect	Anna Hyatt Huntington
Architectural style	Sculpture gardens
Part of	Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens (ID84002045)
NRHP reference No.	78002510
Quick facts for kids Significant dates
Added to NRHP	April 15, 1978
Designated NHLDCP	October 5, 1992

Brookgreen Gardens is a special place in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. It's a huge area that combines a beautiful sculpture garden with a wildlife preserve. The property is about 9,100 acres (37 km²) big!

Here you can find many themed gardens filled with amazing American sculptures. There's also the Lowcountry Zoo and trails that go through different natural areas. Brookgreen Gardens was started in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington and his wife, Anna Hyatt Huntington. They wanted to show off sculptures by Anna and other American artists. The gardens were built on land that used to be four old rice plantations. It got its name from the former Brookgreen Plantation.

Discovering Brookgreen's Past

The land where Brookgreen Gardens now stands was once four separate rice plantations. These were called The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, and Laurel Hill. The main gardens you see today are on what was once Brookgreen Plantation.

Not many things from those old plantations are left. You can still find the Alston family cemetery at The Oaks plantation. Joseph Alston, a former governor, is buried there. There's also a memorial to his wife, Theodosia Burr Alston, who was lost at sea. Some say her ghost still looks for her father along the coast. At Laurel Hill, only the old rice mill remains. During the American Civil War, soldiers built a dirt fort here to stop ships from coming up the rivers.

The Huntingtons' Vision

Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington from Redding, Connecticut, bought these four plantations. They wanted to create a special garden to display Anna's sculptures. Brookgreen Gardens is located on the Waccamaw Neck in Georgetown County, South Carolina. It's the very first public sculpture garden in the United States. It also has the world's largest collection of sculptures by American artists displayed outdoors. It's also a place that protects nature and history, with a small zoo and a nature center.

The Huntingtons first visited this area in 1929. They loved its beauty so much that they bought nearly 9,100 acres (37 km²) of forests, swamps, old rice fields, and beachfront. They planned to have a winter home here. But Anna saw the amazing potential of the land. They then started to create her dream of a place to show her sculptures. Archer and Anna were very generous people. They donated land and supported arts and culture in many states. For example, Anna's sculpture of Joan of Arc is a famous sight in New York City's Riverside Park.

Exploring the Gardens

Amazing Sculpture Gardens

The Tortoise Fountain by Janet Scudder

Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in garden fountain setting

Brookgreen Gardens, with old gate and sculpture

Dionysus by Edward Francis McCartan

Wood Nymph by Henry Hering

The Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington Sculpture Garden displays about 1,445 works of American sculpture. Many of these are by Anna Hyatt Huntington herself, but you'll also see art by many other talented artists. Paths and garden trails connect the sculptures. Each sculpture is placed in a unique garden, fountain, or landscape setting. This allows you to enjoy the art and the beautiful scenery around it.

A large part of Brookgreen Gardens, about 1,600 acres (650 ha), was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The sculpture garden part, which is 551 acres (223 ha), was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1984. This means it's a very important historical site. Nearby, you can also find Atalaya Castle, which was also part of the Huntingtons' property.

The sculpture gardens feature works by many artists, including:

The Lowcountry Trail

The Lowcountry Trail is a special boardwalk that won the South Carolina Heritage Tourism Award. It goes over a hillside that looks out onto Mainfield, an old rice field from the Brookgreen Plantation. This hill was an important path for enslaved African Americans on the plantation. It connected their daily work to their homes. Life on the rice plantation changed with the seasons, from planting to harvesting.

Archaeologists have found the remains of four old buildings on this hillside. These include the overseer's house, its kitchen, a smokehouse, and another building. Along the trail, there are signs that explain what life was like on a rice plantation. You'll also see four stainless steel figures. These figures represent the Plantation Owner, the Overseer, an Enslaved African Male, and an Enslaved African Female. These sculptures, made by Babette Bloch, help visitors understand the roles each person played in the plantation's system.

Lowcountry Trail Audio Tour

You can take a free audio tour of the Lowcountry Trail with your garden admission. This tour teaches you about the history of the area. As you walk, you'll listen to a 30-minute story about life on Brookgreen Plantation.

Zoo and Plantation Sites

Brookgreen Gardens also has the Lowcountry Zoo and the Lowcountry Center. You can take "Trekker tours" on the old roads of the former plantations. Recent archaeological digs have found the foundations of several buildings at The Oaks plantation. Some ponds have also been created from the sites of the old Brookgreen plantation houses.

Natural Wonders

The part of the property closest to the Atlantic Ocean is now Huntington Beach State Park. From here, you can take boat tours to see Sandy Island. There's also a self-guided nature trail. This trail shows off over 2,000 different kinds of plants and animals. You'll see tall longleaf pines, Spanish moss hanging from live oaks, and views of the river and nearby marshland. The gardens work hard to protect this beautiful natural environment.

Nights of a Thousand Candles

Every year, Brookgreen Gardens hosts a magical event called "Nights of a Thousand Candles." During this time, the gardens are lit up with more than 2,700 candles and countless lights. These lights shine among the plants, trees, and sculptures. Tickets for this popular event are available each year.

Awards and Recognition

Brookgreen Gardens has received many awards for its beauty and importance:

• Named one of the Top 10 Public Gardens in the US by Coastal Living Magazine.
• Received the American Public Gardens Association Award for Garden Excellence in 2019.
• Awarded the Gari Melchers Memorial Medal from the Artists’ Fellowship in 2018.
• Ranked #9 in the Best Botanical Garden category by USAToday 10Best in 2018.
• Nights of a Thousand Candles was named a Top 10 Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights event by USAToday 10Best in 2018.

Images for kids

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  Fountain of the Muses - by Carl Milles (1949-1955)

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  Resident alligator named Cowboy at Lowcountry Zoo

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  Rice mill 'trunk' site in Lowcountry plantations area

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  Athlete - sculpture in garden by Rudulph Evans (1915)