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McLeod Plantation

SC PICTURE PROJECT 7 Comments

SC Picture Project / Charleston County / McLeod Plantation

McLeod Plantation is located along the Wappoo Creek on James Island in Charleston County. It was named for William Wallace McLeod, who acquired the plantation in 1851.

McLeod Plantation

English Purcell of Charleston, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The 37-acre property has had an especially important past, serving as a hospital for the Confederacy, a camp for the famed 54th and 55th Massachusetts Volunteers, a burial ground for slaves and Union soldiers, and a headquarters office for the Freedmen’s Bureau. Until recently, it has also had a precarious future.

McLeod Plantation Interior

Fredric Durrette of Charleston, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

McLeod is unusual in that it lies in the heart of what is now a busy commercial district. The circa 1855 house, avenue of oaks, slave cabins, and lone remaining field are surrounded by a major highway, several fast food restaurants, a grocery store, and a multi-story medical complex.

McLeod Plantation

Beverly Christ of James Island, 2009 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The last living family member, William McLeod, died in 1990. Having no heirs, he left his property to the Historic Charleston Foundation, hoping that this group would help preserve the plantation’s history and protect the land from development.

McLeod Plantation

Nancy Garvin of Goose Creek, 2018 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

In his will, he asked that the house remain a “single-family home” and that the foundation save “the Oak Avenues, and … provide that as much of the property as possible be restricted to single family residence or residences having the lowest possible density.”

McLeod Plantation House

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2009 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Instead, the foundation decided to sell the property to the American College of Building Arts for use as a campus. The college, which was not financially stable despite receiving a large loan from the City of Charleston, eventually sold the plantation back to the Historic Charleston Foundation (a stipulation of the original sale).

McLeod House

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2009 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Historic Charleston Foundation then tried to sell McLeod Plantation to the College of Charleston, which planned to use the house for entertaining and the land for intramural sports. Strong opposition from Civil War historians, African-American historians, and the people of James Island led the college to forgo the purchase.

McLeod Main House

Bill Segars of Hartsville, 2009 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The plantation was eventually bought by Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission in 2010 for use as an interpretive center and event site. The commission spent $8.4 million purchasing the property, restoring the old buildings, and adding a modern visitors center and pavilion. McLeod Plantation opened to the public as a Charleston County Parks and Recreation site on April 21, 2015.

McLeod Plantation

English Purcell of Charleston, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

McLeod Plantation is listed in the National Register:

Constructed in 1858 by William McLeod, McLeod Plantation has remained in the family since it was built and is still a functioning agricultural enterprise. The oak-line drive to the house recalls the antebellum period, the vestiges of which are fast disappearing on James Island, owing to commercial and suburban development. The plantation still retains many aspects of nineteenth century rural life including five clapboard slave cabins, an additional kitchen/bedroom cabin, indigenous gardens, interesting landscaping, fields, and evidences of Union occupation during the Civil War; there is also an Indian village site on the grounds. The plantation house, built ca. 1858, is a raised two-story clapboard structure with giant order pedimented tetrastyle Roman Doric portico and pilasters at the returns. The present front of the structure was originally the rear; the current portico, constructed in 1926, is supported by a concrete base and is reached by a flight of concrete steps. An intercolumnar balustrade encloses it. The original front porch façade, however, retains all of its original charm and symmetry.

McLeod Plantation – Sea Island Cotton


McLeod was a successful cotton plantation largely due to the success of Sea Island Cotton. Sea Island Cotton, a name given to the variety of cotton grown in the Lowcountry, was particularly desirable for its extra-long and silky fibers. This barn, pictured below, housed machinery that was able to separate cotton fibers from their seeds much faster than manual processing.

McLeod Plantation Cotton Gin

Fredric Durrette of Charleston, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Before the creation of the cotton gin, slavery was said to be declining, as farmers realized it was expensive to maintain enslaved people and cotton was a burdensome crop with the hours of labor it took to separate the seeds from the fibers. Eli Whitney designed the cotton gin and held its first patent. The process created by the gin was intended to make cotton production easier, while it did do that in theory, it catapulted the slave trade even further. It is speculated that the invention of the cotton gin was largely responsible, in part, for the Civil War. With a desirable crop, and enslaved labor, immeasurable wealth was to be made. Cotton became a lucrative crop and one of the major exports of the South. Because of the increased demand for the crop, more slaves were needed to tend to the fields. This in turn made slavery into a fiery national issue leading to the Civil War. At its peak, former owner, William McLeod, “ran one of South Carolina’s largest Sea Island cotton plantations – more than 900 acres yielding 100 bales a year”

McLeod Plantation Barn

Yvette Lewis-Wilson of Charleston, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

McLeod Plantation – Slave Cabins


Willis Ellis McLeod, the last of the McLeod family to live on the property, was born in 1885 and became owner of the plantation in 1918. McLeod lived in the main house until his death in 1990 at the age of 105. The slave cabins here are thought to date to the early 19th century, making them some of the oldest in the country.

McLeod Plantation Slave Cabin

Fredric Durrette of Charleston, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Long after the Civil War, the McLeod family rented slave cabins to descendants of the enslaved people who once worked here. Some cabins underwent changes as the style of living changed over the decades. Breaker boxes and electrical outlets can be found in some of the cabins as some descendants resided here well into modern times, around 1990. This also marks some of the longest periods of time that descendants of the formerly enslaved resided in their ancestors former homes.

McLeod Plantation Slave Cabin

Fredric Durrette of Charleston, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Six slave cabins remain on the property and were restored before the site opened to the public. Visitors to the plantation are able to tour the main plantation house, as well as the houses for the enslaved, to get a complete picture of all who worked and lived here, something most historic sites have never offered in this context. At McLeod Plantation, every person, both free and enslaved, black and white, young and old, male and female, all have their stories interpreted offering one of the most complete plantation tour experiences in the South.

McLeod Plantation Slave Cabin

Fredric Durrette of Charleston, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Reflections on McLeod Plantarion


Contributor Beverly Christ writes, “I grew up on James Island and many times as I passed this historical landmark, the word respite comes to mind – an interval of relief, or rest, as from pain, work, duty. The land is full of history with the earliest recordings in 1671.”

Yvette Lewis-Wilson says of her above photo, “This old barn belongs to the property of ‘Friends of McLeod Plantation’ off Folly Road. Of all the barns, sheds, living quarters and the plantation house alone, I felt this was the prettiest area of all. There was such a serenity to be able to sit and admire the history.”

Add your own reflections here.

Plan Your Trip: McLeod Plantation

Where is McLeod Plantation located?
Address: 325 Country Club Drive, Charleston, SC 29412
GPS Coordinates: 32.762757,-79.972471
Website: https://www.ccprc.com/1447/McLeod-Plantation-Historic-Site
What else should I see?
Wappoo Creek Bridge 0.4 mile
H.W. Frampton House 1.9 miles
Ashley River Bridges 2.6 miles
Charleston City Marina 2.6 miles
Show me more like this!
  • James Island Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina Military
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • See other South Carolina Plantations
    McLeod Plantation Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Patricia Foxworth says

      February 13, 2015 at 7:56 PM

      I am of the McLeod descent and no one looked for me. I believe this a relative of my mother and family. Need to know more about the Mr. McLeod. Where can I find more information, please advise. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Sheila G says

        October 28, 2016 at 12:57 PM

        Good luck with that.

        Reply
    2. Peter Joel Harrison / Author says

      January 28, 2014 at 7:20 AM

      I am very pleased you are restoring McLeod Plantation and look forward to visiting it. I am interested in the outbuildings, the privy in particular. After writing the book Garden Houses and Privies, it is nice to still find something I have not seen before.

      Reply
    3. J R Stellingwerf says

      July 23, 2013 at 9:20 PM

      When will it be open to the public?

      Reply
    4. Curtis Jones says

      June 13, 2013 at 9:44 PM

      I grew up on James Island and was always fascinated with the plantation. Where might I find more information on this property prior to 1851? Thank you.

      Reply
    5. J Davis says

      May 15, 2013 at 12:44 PM

      Where will any records be located of slaves that were born or buried there? Are there any records?

      Reply
    6. Kaye Shaffer says

      May 31, 2012 at 11:56 AM

      Sounds good that Charleston County Parks will take over and hopefully preserve and give it the historical attention it so deserves. Your article is the first I’ve ever even heard of this history. thanks guys.

      Reply

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