Brookgreen Gardens
National Register Listing
Street Address:
18 mi. (28.8 km) NE of Georgetown on U.S. 17, Georgetown, SC City Vicinity (Georgetown County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817722013
Description and Narrative:
Brookgreen Gardens is known today as a botanical and sculpture garden. The nominated portion of the Gardens covers 1600 acres and includes three 18th and 19th century plantation sites, old plantation rice fields, and garden areas complete with sculpture. The property has significance in multiple areas, including art, archeology, agriculture, landscape architecture, military, politics, cemeteries, and social history. The Brookgreen Gardens property was part of an early rice plantation system that developed on the banks of the Waccamaw River in the 18th century. William Allston (1738-1781) developed the land into a plantation ca. 1760. He was the father of internationally noted artist Washington Allston, born here in 1779. Joseph Allston, Governor of South Carolina from 1812 to 1814 is buried here. Robert F.W. Allston, born here in 1801, was Governor of South Carolina from 1856 to 1858. Other persons associated with the plantations on the Brookgreen property include Joshua Ward, a noted agriculturist who developed long-grain rice, and Pulitzer Prize winning author Julia Peterkin. Brookgreen Garden’s founders, Archer Milton Huntington and Anna Hyatt Huntington, purchased the property in 1930 and developed it into a garden and sculpture museum. Anna Hyatt Huntington was a well-known sculptor, and some of her work is included in the gardens she designed. The site is considered to be the largest outdoor museum of sculpture in the United States. Listed in the National Register April 15, 1978; Designated a National Historic Landmark October 5, 1992.
Period of Significance:
circa 1760
Level of Significance:
National
Area of Significance:
Politics/Government;Archeology;Agriculture;Art;Engineering;Landscape Architecture;Literature;Military;Social History
National Register Determination:
National Historic Landmark
Date of Certification:
April 15 1978
Date of Certification as a National Historic Landmark:
October 5 1992
