Wampee Plantation in the Berkeley County community of Pinopolis survived both the Civil War and the creation of Lake Moultrie during the early 1940s. The home was built around 1822 and was the third constructed on this property. In 1939 many homes – including historic plantation sites – were submerged when Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state electric and water utility, flooded much of the Pinopolis area to develop the hydroelectric power that Lake Moultrie generates today.
The property that became Wampee Plantation dates back to 1696 when John Stuart was granted 1,000 acres in what is now Berkeley County by Lord Proprietor Sir John Colleton. Stuart subdivided much of the land in the subsequent years, including more than 300 acres granted to Reverend William Screven in 1698. Reverend Screven was the first Baptist minister to arrive in South Carolina. He established Somerset Plantation with his grant, which was adjacent to Wampee Plantation and is now submerged in Lake Moultrie.
The property continued to change hands and be subdivided over the following decades. The current home was built by Charles MacBeth for his widowed mother, and it remained under the ownership of MacBeth descendants – the Cain family – until Santee Cooper purchased it for use as a conference center. Only 33 acres of the original 1,000 remain since the flooding.
“Wampee” is thought to be an Indian word for pickerelwood (Pontederia), a type of plant eaten by birds. This plant was prevalent in the area, which the natives used as their traditional hunting ground. (Today, wampee is the name for Clausena lansium, an unrelated species native to Asia.) Indian mounds can still be seen on the property, and legend has it that Wampee Plantation is replete with tribal ghosts.
The current house (built in 1822 by Charles Macbeth for his widowed mother) looks literally exactly like the “Koger-Murray-Carroll House” in Upper Dorchester County (added to National Historic Register as the “Old Carroll Place” circa 1974 while my maternal grandparents still owned it). The Koger-Murray-House sits on the Old Wire Road. The Quaker Road running from St. George to the Wire Road, dead ends in front of the Koger-Murray-House. Amazing similarities between the two houses. The Koger-Murray-Carroll house was built circa 1780 by ? Campbell. Joseph Koger II, Soule Murrary, and James Parson Carroll all owned the house at some point. All three men also served in the S.C. General Assembly prior to the Civil War. James Parson Carroll also signed the Ordinance of Succession. Granddaddy Fitzugh Lee Sweatman purchases the Koger-Murrary-Carroll House (Old Carroll Place) in 1946. My mom grew up in that house. The Upper Dorchester County Historical Society restored the house and now owns it.
Any change the Wampee Plantation House was built prior to 1822?
I live in the area but never went to the plantation. I have seen it from a far and it looks beautiful. I’d love to go fishing there but I believe it’s not allowed. If it is please let me know if not can you tell me a good place to go around that area?
Hello! We would like to hold a Neuroscience Retreat at the Wampee house if it is available on Feb 15, 2014. Please let me know if it is open and if you can hold our group. Thank you!! Katy
Hi, Katy! I recommend contacting Santee-Cooper, as they own the property and can tell you more. Here is a link to their site: https://www.santeecooper.com/ Good luck!