17 Nov Former Lowcountry Plantation
23.96 +/- Acre MASTERFULLY RESTORED Turnkey Waterfront Antebellum Estate Complete With Guest House, Boat Dock with Lift, And In Close Proximity To Downtown Beaufort. Circa 1795-
I’ve been following Nashvillian Lisa Beasley’s Instagram account for quite some time and love her style so when I ran into her recently, I asked her about her vacation home in South Carolina. She told me it’s for sale so since I can’t travel there right now, I’m relying on her realtor and a local reporter from Beaufort, South Carolina to provide all the details on this magnificent property, a former plantation. All credit goes to Lana Ferguson with the Island Packet News who wrote the article below. All I can say is I’d love to see it in person one day and walk the grounds under the towering live oaks and float on the surrounding creek. Alas, I must live vicariously through the gorgeous photos provided by Brown Land + Plantation Advisors. Thanks to Lana for the lovely article on Tombee.
Another historic Lowcountry plantation is on the market.
Tombee Plantation on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County is listed for $3.5 million. The 23.96 acre property is less than 20 minutes from downtown Beaufort, Fripp Island and Hunting Island.
Sitting along the Tombee Creek, the land overlooks nearby St. Philips Island that was once media mogul Ted Turner’s private island retreat but is now owned by South Carolina and available for nature tours.
The main house and guest house are surrounded by live oaks, massive pines, palms and ancient magnolias.
The main house was originally built in the 1790’s by Thomas Benjamin “Tom B.” Chaplin and is a Georgian-style construction. It was among the first residences on the island, according to the listing. It sits atop a tabby foundation and has a large sitting and dining rooms, modern kitchen, three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and an expansive basement.
The guest house includes a large great room, kitchen, two bedrooms, three bathrooms and screened porches.
In front of the house is a fire pit sitting under a large live oak.
“This is truly a four-season property and a very manageable historic estate,” this listing says, noting the screened verandas and covered porches among other features.
The plantation has a launching pad into Station Creek that feeds into the Saint Helena Sound and Atlantic Ocean. Secluded waters also provide an opportunity to harvest oysters, crabs, flounder and redfish.
The original plantation was 376 acres and a hub for shipping sea island cotton to Charleston, utilizing slave labor. One report says the plantation had 65 enslaved workers in 1790 and 25 in 1850. The same report noted the federal government purchased the plantation in 1863 as part of the Port Royal Experiment and the property was divided into tracts, “with much of the land being owned by descendants of freed slaves until 1971.”
St. Helena Island was the epicenter of emancipation and Tombee was among the first to do so,” the listing says. “Tombee home was kept by the government and used as an agricultural school to educate Freedmen. The 750+ square foot basement of the grand home was a local “juke joint” for the Gullah Geechee (community) for many years.” The residence is one of the few remaining Antebellum structures still standing in the Lowcountry today.
Nationally recognized restorer James Williams, whose life is documented in the book, “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” by John Berendt, purchased the property and began restoring the home to its “original grandeur” in the 1970’s. This project and his efforts to restore other historic buildings was written about in Dorothy Williams Kingery’s book “More Than Mercer House: Savannah’s Jim Williams & His Southern Houses.”
Years later the house was in need of repair and the current owners, who are also acclaimed restorers, completely renovated and restored it.
They “spared no expense modernizing and bringing back to life this special place,” the listing says.
Isn’t it incredible??? All I can add is the main house is 2-thousand square feet with 800 square feet of porches and 12 foot ceilings. The guest house is also 2-thousand square feet. And for bird lovers, there’s this; blue wing teal, whooping crane, bald eagle and dozens of song birds make an annual appearance. Monarch butterflies gather here in huge numbers to begin migration. So there’s that too. If you’re interested in this unique coastal property, contact CJ Brown, Founder and Broker of Brown Land + Plantation Advisors. 803-480-1260
No Comments