Brookland Plantation

Brookland Plantation, also written as Brooklands Plantation, is a historic plantation property located along Shingle Creek on Edisto Island in Charleston County, South Carolina. It is not a consumer brand or operating company; the name refers to a specific historic estate and its associated house. The property is notable for its long connection to the agricultural history of Edisto Island, its surviving plantation architecture, and the changing uses of the site after the Civil War. The plantation was established by at least the late eighteenth century, when Joseph and Martha Jenkins lived there and were buried on the farm. The present house was built later, although its precise construction date remains uncertain. Architectural accounts place the main phase of construction either around 1800–1807 or, alternatively, in the 1840s. The central portion was built from black cypress, with side pavilions added subsequently. Robert Mills has been suggested as the architect, but that attribution is not confirmed. The landscape also preserves evidence of the plantation’s enslaved labor system: cabins that once housed enslaved people stood between the mature oak trees, although those structures no longer survive. Ephriam Mikell Seabrook obtained the land by about 1800, possibly through marriage into the Seabrook family, and operated it as a cotton plantation before the American Civil War. His son, Henry Seabrook, later inherited the property. Following the upheaval of Reconstruction-era South Carolina, the plantation was sold for unpaid taxes in 1872. H. E. Young and James Lowndes acquired approximately 300 acres at the tax sale for $471, marking a major change in ownership and the estate’s postbellum history. The house changed hands several times during the twentieth century. Mary P. Bailey purchased it in 1928 and installed a metal roof over the original wood shingles. In 1958, the Reverend Ralph Wentling acquired the property and converted it into Brooklands Home for Boys. The children’s home later relocated to Orangeburg County. In 1968, Dr. and C. C. Wannamaker purchased the plantation house, while the institution eventually came under the South Carolina Baptist Convention and was merged into the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home in 1993. The house subsequently attracted preservation-minded private buyers. Robert Chesnut acquired it after a competitive bidding process for $1.75 million and formed a restoration partnership with Pat Barber and Cas Danielowski. In 2006, former South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel purchased the approximately 3,440-square-foot house after learning of a proposed subdivision of the surrounding property. The purchase was presented as an effort to preserve the house and its setting. In June 2019, the property was placed on the market with an asking price of $3.95 million. The current ownership and present operating status are not established by the supplied sources.

Brookland Plantation is a historic estate situated along Shingle Creek on Edisto Island, South Carolina. The property existed by at least the late eighteenth century, when Joseph and Martha Jenkins occupied the farm. Their graves remain associated with the site, providing evidence of the property’s early documented history. The surviving plantation house was constructed after that early period. Its exact date is unresolved. Some accounts place its core construction between 1800 and 1807, while architectural historian Samuel G. Stoney suggested that the house may instead have been built during the 1840s. The building’s central section is made of black cypress, and side pavilions were added later. Robert Mills has been proposed as a possible architect, though the attribution has not been established. The property once included cabins for enslaved workers; these buildings have disappeared, but their former location was between the large oak trees near the house. By approximately 1800, Ephriam Mikell Seabrook had acquired the property, possibly through a marriage connection with the Seabrook family. Before the Civil War, he used Brookland as a cotton plantation. His son, Henry Seabrook, inherited the estate. The plantation’s history therefore reflects the labor, landholding, and agricultural systems of the antebellum South, including the forced labor of enslaved people whose quarters formerly stood on the grounds. In 1872, Henry Seabrook lost the property in a tax sale. H. E. Young and James Lowndes purchased about 300 acres for $471. The estate continued through a series of private owners. Mary P. Bailey bought the house in 1928 and made a visible alteration by placing a metal roof over the earlier wood shingles. The property acquired an institutional role in 1958, when Reverend Ralph Wentling purchased it and established Brooklands Home for Boys there. The home later moved to Orangeburg County, away from the Edisto Island property. It remained in operation until the South Carolina Baptist Convention acquired it and, in 1993, merged it into the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home. The supplied material does not specify the exact dates of the relocation or the institutional transition beyond these broad milestones. Dr. and C. C. Wannamaker bought the plantation house in 1968. Robert Chesnut later acquired the property after competing against another prospective partnership and paid $1.75 million. The unsuccessful bidders, Pat Barber and Cas Danielowski, had previously been Chesnut’s clients and had intended to retain him to restore the house. After the purchase, Chesnut, Barber, and Danielowski formed a partnership to undertake restoration work. In 2006, Thomas Ravenel, a former South Carolina treasurer, purchased the approximately 3,440-square-foot house. According to the supplied account, he was motivated in part by concerns that the roughly 60-acre property might be subdivided and sought to preserve the historic setting. In June 2019, the property was listed for sale at $3.95 million. No reliable information in the supplied sources establishes the subsequent buyer, current owner, or current use. The property is also represented in the Historic American Buildings Survey as Brookland, Edisto Island, Charleston County, South Carolina, HABS No. SC-141.

• 2019

  Property offered for sale

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The plantation was listed for sale in June at an asking price of $3.95 million.

• 2006

  Ravenel purchase and preservation concern

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Thomas Ravenel purchased the house after learning of a possible subdivision of the surrounding property.

• 1993

  Children’s-home institutional merger

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  The South Carolina Baptist Convention merged Brooklands Home for Boys into the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home.

• 1968

  Wannamaker ownership

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Dr. and C. C. Wannamaker acquired the house. The home for boys later relocated to Orangeburg County.

• 1958

  Conversion into Brooklands Home for Boys

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Reverend Ralph Wentling purchased the property and established Brooklands Home for Boys at the plantation.

• 1928

  Bailey ownership and roof alteration

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Mary P. Bailey purchased the house and added a metal roof over the original wood shingles.

• 1872

  Tax-sale transfer

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Henry Seabrook lost the plantation in a tax sale, after which H. E. Young and James Lowndes bought approximately 300 acres for $471.

• 1800

  Seabrook ownership and cotton cultivation

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Ephriam Mikell Seabrook had acquired the property by about 1800 and used it as a cotton plantation before the Civil War.

• Property documented by the late eighteenth century

  [1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Brookland Plantation was already established by the late 1700s as the home and farm of Joseph and Martha Jenkins.

A historic South Carolina plantation estate and architectural preservation property rather than a commercial product brand.

• 2019

  Listing of the historic propertyOther

  Background

  Following its history of private ownership and restoration activity, Brookland Plantation was placed on the real-estate market.

  Action taken

  The property was listed for sale with an asking price of $3.95 million.

  Aftermath

  The supplied sources do not identify whether the property sold or who owns it now.

  Asking price. $3,950,000 (June 2019 listing)

  Source

• 2006

  Purchase intended to avert possible subdivisionOther

  Background

  A proposal or effort to subdivide the approximately 60-acre property reportedly prompted concern about the preservation of the historic house and its setting.

  Action taken

  Thomas Ravenel purchased the plantation house and property.

  Aftermath

  The supplied source describes the purchase as an effort to save the property, but does not establish the long-term outcome of the preservation effort.

  Source

• 1958

  Conversion to an institutional children’s homeStrategy

  Background

  The plantation house was acquired by Reverend Ralph Wentling after its earlier agricultural and residential history.

  Action taken

  The property was converted into Brooklands Home for Boys.

  Aftermath

  The home later moved to Orangeburg County and was ultimately merged into the Connie Maxwell Children’s Home in 1993.

  Source

• 2019

  Brookland Plantation property listed for sale[1]Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Brookland Plantation was offered for sale in June 2019 with an asking price of $3.95 million. The supplied reference does not identify a final buyer or sale outcome.

1. 1Brookland Plantationen.wikipedia.org