Hobcaw Barony and Georgetown, SC
Photography encourages me to drive down roads on which I have never driven and to seek new places to visit.
Recently, I learned about Hobcaw Barony. Despite having lived most of my life in North Carolina and having visited the beaches north and south of Myrtle Beach many times, I had never heard of this place. I read an article about it in the Carolina Nature Photographers’ Association magazine, Camera Wild, and decided to check it out.
The Barony is a 17,500-acre reserve located on the coast just east of Georgetown, S.C. It lies on a peninsula formed by the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic Ocean – thus the term “Hobcaw,” which is a Native American term meaning between the waters. Hobcaw Barony is one of the few undeveloped tracts on the Waccamaw Neck. Just to put its size in perspective, the Barony is 3,000 acres larger than Manhattan Island.
In 1718, England granted John, Lord Carteret, the land -- a barony. In 1766 and 1767, the land was subdivided and sold, becoming about a dozen rice plantations extending from the river to the sea – the great rice empire.
Bernard M. Baruch, Wall Street financier and advisor to presidents, purchased the property comprised of 11 former plantations in 1905 for use as winter hunting retreat. He invited presidents, prime ministers and politicians to hunt duck, turkey, deer, quail, foxes and hogs in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
After 50 years, he sold all the land to his daughter, Belle, and at the time of her death, she created a foundation to manage the land as an outdoor laboratory for the colleges and universities in South Carolina.
Swamps, abandoned rice fields, pine and hardwood forests, salt marsh and barrier island environments provide habitat for many native animals of the coastal plain. Historic sites include Hobcaw House, rebuilt in 1930 on a bluff overlooking Winyah Bay; Bellefield House and stables, built in 1936 for Belle W. Baruch; and Friendfield, a 19th century slave village used until 1952.
There is restricted access through tours and programs the foundation and universities offer.
For further information, see http://www.hobcawbarony.org.
My thanks to Donald Withers, a local photographer and supporter of the Hobcaw Barony, for assisting in my tour.
Read MoreRecently, I learned about Hobcaw Barony. Despite having lived most of my life in North Carolina and having visited the beaches north and south of Myrtle Beach many times, I had never heard of this place. I read an article about it in the Carolina Nature Photographers’ Association magazine, Camera Wild, and decided to check it out.
The Barony is a 17,500-acre reserve located on the coast just east of Georgetown, S.C. It lies on a peninsula formed by the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic Ocean – thus the term “Hobcaw,” which is a Native American term meaning between the waters. Hobcaw Barony is one of the few undeveloped tracts on the Waccamaw Neck. Just to put its size in perspective, the Barony is 3,000 acres larger than Manhattan Island.
In 1718, England granted John, Lord Carteret, the land -- a barony. In 1766 and 1767, the land was subdivided and sold, becoming about a dozen rice plantations extending from the river to the sea – the great rice empire.
Bernard M. Baruch, Wall Street financier and advisor to presidents, purchased the property comprised of 11 former plantations in 1905 for use as winter hunting retreat. He invited presidents, prime ministers and politicians to hunt duck, turkey, deer, quail, foxes and hogs in the South Carolina Lowcountry.
After 50 years, he sold all the land to his daughter, Belle, and at the time of her death, she created a foundation to manage the land as an outdoor laboratory for the colleges and universities in South Carolina.
Swamps, abandoned rice fields, pine and hardwood forests, salt marsh and barrier island environments provide habitat for many native animals of the coastal plain. Historic sites include Hobcaw House, rebuilt in 1930 on a bluff overlooking Winyah Bay; Bellefield House and stables, built in 1936 for Belle W. Baruch; and Friendfield, a 19th century slave village used until 1952.
There is restricted access through tours and programs the foundation and universities offer.
For further information, see http://www.hobcawbarony.org.
My thanks to Donald Withers, a local photographer and supporter of the Hobcaw Barony, for assisting in my tour.
