Cruising down the river is a step or two back in time

By MILDRED BROWDER-HUGHES

Correspondent

CONWAY —A group of about 30, mostly northerners who have moved to the area  departed from Wachesaw marina on a large pontoon boat on a one-day excursion down the Waccamaw River and the Intra Coastal Waterway.. We made our way slowly in order to give the guide or interpreter, Ben Burroughs, ample time to point out the places of interest along the way. Some insights are included here.

Wachesaw Plantation on the east side of the Waccamaw River was a place of importance to the Native Americans of this area. Some say the name means “place of the great weeping.” Skeletons and artifacts were unearthed here in the 1930s. They included Venetian beads thought to have come from the Spanish coast.

The property eventually became a colonial rice plantation and was owned by one of the Allston families. By 1825 it was owned by Rev. James L. Belin, for whom the Belin Methodist Church at Murrells Inlet is named. It then passed to Belin’s nephew, Dr. Alllard Flagg. The “summer home” for Wachesaw Plantation was the “Hermitage” in Murrells Inlet, the home of the famous ghost of Alice Flagg. The Hermitage was moved further inland at the Inlet a few years back to make way for an upscale development. It has been restored in its new location west of Business Hwy 17.

It is not known for sure if Alice’s ghost moved with the house.

An Episcopal church was built at Wachesaw in 1855 and named St. John the Evangelist. It was commonly known as the “Upper Church.”

The original house burned in 1890. William A. Kimbel of New York City purchased Wachesaw in 1930. It was as the Kimbels were having a hunting lodge built on the property that remains of the Indian burial site was discovered. Today, there is an upscale restaurant, Kimbels, located there.

Located just south of Wachesaw is Richmond Hill, owned by Dr. John D. Magill in 1851. An old Revolutionary War fort once stood here overlooking the river. An archaeological dig to determine the location of the plantation house was conducted here in the early 1990s by Coastal Carolina University’s archaeologist Jim Michie. A summary of that project is in the Kimbel Library at CCU.

This was a beautiful fall day with the water ever so smooth, birds flying here and there and long Spanish moss swaying in the gentle breeze. It was the kind of setting that calls for a lot of make believe in order to place oneself back among the old homes in this period of time. It was fun, just to let the boat glide along, set back and dream.

The Waties family owned Laurel Hill Plantation until 1750, when it was bought by Gabriel Marion, relative of Gen. Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox). Plowden Westen bought this plantation in 1775. During the Revolution the plantation provided supplies to Col. Peter Horry and his troops.

In those days Brookgreen extended all the way from the coast to Waccamaw River. A home was built there on the river as early as 1763, and probably earlier, by Capt. William Allston (1738-81), son of John Allston. Captain William Allston was also known as “Gentleman Billy”. Capt. Allston served under Gen. Francis Marion. Washington Allston (1779-1843), famous American painter and poet, was born here. He has been called “our first full-scale romantic artist.” George Washington stayed at Brookgreen on April 28, 1791.

The plantation passed from the Allstons to the Withers to the Wards. Col. Joshua John Ward was born at Brookgreen in 1800 and educated in Scotland. He went on to become the “King of the Rice Planters”, producing 3,900,000 pounds of rice with 1,092 slaves on his six plantations in 1850. The house that Washington stayed in burned in 1901. The property was later acquired by Archer M. Huntington as a place to showcase his wife’s sculptures. It eventually became Brookgreen Gardens in 1931. Brookgreen actually encompasses four old rice plantations. These include Laurel Hill, Springfield and The Oaks, which was the home of Gov. Joseph Alston and his wife, Theodosia Burr Alston.

Moving along to the Great Pee Dee River, we passed Arundel Plantation (1841). John Julius Pringle sold Arundel to Dr. William Allston in 1806. In 1841 Allston sold the property to Frederick Shaffer of Philadelphia. Shaffer built the present house that year to replace an earlier one that had burned. Still standing are two of the 50 slave cabins, the overseer’s cottage, the smoke house and the ration house. These buildings were built in the gothic style and have been carefully preserved. In 1859, Shaffer, with the labor of 97 slaves, produced 270,000 pounds of rice at Arundel. In 1860 Shaffer’s heirs sold Arundel to Charles Allston of Bellefield Plantation.

Exchange Plantation was originally known as Asylum and was purchased in 1819 by Davison McDowell, an Irishman who came to this country in 1819. The house is believed to date from 1819-1825. The Allston, Weston and LaBruce families have also owned the property. The Ragsdale family of Lake City now owns it. The plantation now also contains part of Rose Bank Plantation (Ditchfield) to the south and Breakwater Plantation to the north. In 1850, Exchange produced 180,000 pounds of rice with the labor of 46 slaves.

With no provisions for lunch, we meandered back to the landing at Wachesaw. Perhaps we’ll pick up the remainder of the trip in a later issue