Hobcaw Barony facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Hobcaw Barony
|
|
_5a31131r.jpg)
Rear view of the Hobcaw House
|
|
 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Roughly bounded by U.S. Route 17, Winyah and Mud Bays and Jones Creek, near Georgetown, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Built | 1930 (Hobcaw House) 1936 (Bellefield Plantation) |
| Architect | Lafaye and Lafaye (Hobcaw House) Murgatroyd and Ogden (Bellefield Plantation) |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival (Hobcaw House) |
| MPS | Georgetown County Rice Culture MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 94001236 |
| Added to NRHP | November 02, 1994 |
Hobcaw Barony is a huge 16,000 acres (6,475 ha) piece of land in Georgetown County, South Carolina. It sits on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck, between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17.
A famous investor and advisor named Bernard M. Baruch bought this land between 1905 and 1907. He wanted it as a winter getaway for hunting. Later, his oldest daughter, Belle W. Baruch, started buying parts of the property from him in 1936. By 1956, Belle owned all of Hobcaw Barony.
When Belle passed away in 1964, the land became the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. Today, it's a special place for nature and research. Hobcaw Barony has more than 37 old buildings and structures. These show what life was like during the 1700s and 1800s when rice was grown, and in the 1900s when it was a winter retreat. Hobcaw Barony was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1994.
The Belle W. Baruch Foundation and the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve work together. They run the Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center, offering tours and special programs for visitors.
| Top - 0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
The History of Hobcaw Barony
In 1718, a nobleman named John, Lord Carteret received a large royal land grant. This grant was for 12,000 acres (49 km2) on Hobcaw Point. Later, in 1766 and 1767, this land was divided and sold.
Many rice plantations were built here. These plantations helped Georgetown County produce a lot of rice before the Civil War. After the Civil War, rice farming slowed down because there were no longer enslaved workers. Also, more rice was being grown in Louisiana.
Bernard Baruch bought the land in three steps between 1905 and 1907. He wanted to turn it into a winter hunting spot. Even though rice wasn't grown anymore, the old canals and banks were kept. This made the area perfect for attracting waterfowl like ducks.
Starting in 1935, Bernard Baruch began selling parts of Hobcaw Barony to his daughter, Belle Baruch. Her first purchase was 5,000 acres in the northern part of the property. She built her own house and stable area, called Bellefield Plantation. She also built a small house for her stable manager and a small airport hangar.
Before Belle Baruch died in 1964, she created the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. Her goal was for Hobcaw Barony to remain an educational place. It would be used for studying forests and marine biology (the study of ocean life).
Hobcaw House: A Famous Retreat
_5a31132r.jpg)
The Hobcaw House was where the Baruch family spent their winters. It's about 4 mi (6.4 km) south of the main entrance and looks out over Winyah Bay. The original house burned down in 1929, so this new one was built in 1930.
The house is made of red brick and has a Colonial Revival style. It was designed by architects Lafaye and Lafaye from Columbia, South Carolina.
Bernard Baruch often invited many important friends to Hobcaw Barony. Winston Churchill, a famous British leader, visited with his daughter Diana in 1932. President Roosevelt even took a month-long working vacation here in 1944 during World War II. Other notable guests included generals like George C. Marshall and Omar Bradley, and senators.
Bellefield Plantation Complex
The Bellefield House Complex is about 1.25 mi (2.0 km) south of the main entrance. Belle Baruch had this house built in 1936. It was designed by Murgatroyd and Ogden from New York.
The house is two stories tall with four smaller wings and a brick service area at the back. It has a sloped roof. The house sits on a raised area surrounded by live oak trees and pines. A landscape architect named Umberto Innocenti designed the beautiful outdoor spaces.
Near the house, Bellefield also had a garage for four cars. It included a laundry room and two rooms for servants. The Bellefield Stable was very important to Belle, who loved horses. It was built in 1937. There was also a kennel for hunting dogs and a coop for fowl (birds).
Historic Slave Settlements
_5a31128r.jpg)
Several old slave settlements still exist at Hobcaw Barony. Friendfield Village is located between Kings Highway and Hobcaw Road. It has five unused houses, a church, and a small clinic. Some of these are antebellum slave cabins, meaning they were built before the Civil War. Two others were updated around 1905.
The Friendfield Church was built in 1890. It's a rectangular building with a metal roof and a tall, pointed spire. Two more cottages were added to Friendfield Village around 1935.
Barnyard Village is another settlement on the old Friendfield Plantation. It has one cabin from before the Civil War that was updated between 1890 and 1905. Two homes for Hobcaw Barony employees were built here in 1925.
Strawberry Village is about 0.5 mi (0.8 km) north of the main Hobcaw Barony Complex. The Strawberry School was built here in 1915 for African-American children living at Hobcaw Barony. It was made larger in 1935.
The Rice Fields of the Past
The rice fields were a huge part of life in this area during the 1800s. Many of the old canals, banks, and water gates (called trunks) have been kept up at Hobcaw Barony.
Large areas of former rice fields remain from different plantations. For example, about 325 acres (1.3 km2) from Alderley and Oryzantia, 300 acres (1.2 km2) from Youngfield and Bellefield, 50 acres (0.2 km2) from Strawberry Hill, and 800 acres (3.2 km2) from Michaux and Calais Plantations are still visible. Some other areas, like 260 acres (1.1 km2) from Marrietta, Friendfield, and Strawberry Hill Plantations, have been changed over time.
Forests and Other Features
Over 8,000 acres (32 km2) of forests still stand at Hobcaw Barony. These include different types of trees like hardwoods, loblolly and longleaf pine, and cypress/tupelo swamps. Most of these forests haven't been cut for timber since Bernard Baruch bought the land. However, some trees were harvested in 1944 and 1945 to help with the war effort during World War II.
Parts of the historic King's Highway still exist as a dirt road. It runs from near Highway 17 to Frasers Point on Winyah Bay, south of the Hobcaw House Complex.
The Bellefield Airport hangar was built for two planes that Belle Baruch used. This airfield was rented to the US Army in 1942 to help with the war.
Some parts of the Friendfield Plantation Rice Mill are still there. This brick building with a chimney and a winnowing house (used to separate rice grains) was likely built in the 1870s.
There are also several old cemeteries on the property, including the Calais Cemetery, the Fairfield or Donaldson Cemetery, the Alderly Cemetery, and the Marietta/Bellefield Cemetery.
Since 2013, salt marshes have grown slightly larger at Hobcaw Barony. This is happening because of rising sea levels, which cause saltwater to move further inland and affect the trees.
Return of Stolen Art
In 2003, some valuable art pieces disappeared from Bellefield House. Years later, in 2013, an episode of "Antiques Roadshow" aired, hoping to find clues about the missing art, but no real leads came up.
However, in 2016, a breakthrough happened. Auctioneers John and Patty Ivy were preparing to sell items from an estate. They recognized some of the art and contacted a professor, Frazer Pajak, who had worked for the Baruch Foundation. Pajak immediately knew the artwork belonged to Hobcaw Barony.
The Ivys contacted the director of the Belle Baruch Foundation and the FBI. Thanks to their efforts, the paintings were returned to The Baruch Foundation. The hope is that these important artworks will be restored and put back on display at Bellefield House at Hobcaw. As of 2016, six other paintings by artist Louis Aston Knight were still missing.
Research and Education Today
Today, Hobcaw Barony is home to modern facilities that support its mission as a research and education center. The University of South Carolina operates the Baruch Institute for Marine & Coastal Sciences here. Also, Clemson University has its Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science on the property. These institutes help scientists study the environment and learn more about coastal ecosystems and forests.
Images for kids
-
Rear view of the Hobcaw House
-
The Hobcaw House, a winter retreat for the Baruch family
-
Friendfield Church, part of an old slave settlement
