Old House Plantation
National Register Listing
Street Address:
Address Restricted (Jasper County)
Alternate Name:
Daniel Heyward Plantation (38JA72)
NRHP Nomination Form
Record Number:
S10817727005
Description and Narrative:
The significance of Old House Plantation lies in three distinct areas. First, the site, as the seat of Daniel Heyward's 16,000 acres holdings, helps document the role played by rice cultivation in the shaping of South Carolina's history. Second, the site is also significant because of its strong association with Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of South Carolina's four signers of the Declaration of Independence. Thomas Heyward, Jr. was born at Old House Plantation and spent his youth at the site. He is buried on the property. Third, Old House is significant as an archaeological site since it has already yielded and is likely to yield additional, information which is important to our understanding of eighteenth and early nineteenth century plantation development in the South Carolina lowcountry. In particular, the plantation includes an extraordinary array of plantation structures on the high ground overlooking the marsh, including the main house, two probable flankers (one of which is likely a kitchen), and other structures such as a stable and perhaps slave quarters. Associated with the plantation is the Heyward family cemetery and surrounding brick wall. In the adjacent marsh is an impressive collection of features, structures, and man-made works. The plantation was first settled in 1743 and was likely active through the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Listed in the National Register October 6, 1997.
Period of Significance:
1743 – circa 1860
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Agriculture;Archeology: Historic - Non-Aboriginal;Engineering
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
1997-10-06
Date of Boundary Increase:
No Boundary Increase
Location:
Jasper County;Ridgeland
