Numerous historic plantation properties in the Lowcountry are currently up for sale. According to Reuters, prices range from around $3 million to $20 million. The grand plantation houses sit on as little as 19 acres or as much as 7,000 acres. The properties usually have access to rivers, marshland and/or fresh- and saltwater ponds, and other features include dog kennels to facilitate hunting and modern greenhouses. Often, the acreage is planted with crops that sustain game, such as sunflowers, corn, oats, clover, millet and sorghum. These plantations support large populations of dove, quail, duck, turkey, deer and other game.
Of note is the recent sale of the Medway Plantation in Goose Creek (Berkeley County). The 6,695-acre estate includes a 6,200-square-foot, circa 1686 main house, seven guest and staff houses, a lakefront lodge, formal gardens, a stable and a boat landing. It was purchased in April 2012 for use as a private hunting retreat by Greek shipping mogul Gregory Callimanopulos. Medway has been on the real estate market since 2004; its original asking price was $25 million, but eight years later, Callimanopulos was able to procure the estate for $11 million.
Other historic South Carolina plantations on the market include the 1,206-acre Combahee Plantation (circa 1736) in Yemassee; the 2,040-acre Davant Plantation (circa 1770) in Gillisonville; the 3,264-acre Friendfield Plantation (circa 1718) in Georgetown; the 326-acre Middleburg Plantation (circa 1693) in Huger; the 350-acre Seabrook Plantation (circa 1810) in Edisto Island; and the 19-acre Tombee Plantation (circa 1790) in Saint Helena Island. Most of these historic plantations are documented on the South Carolina Plantations website, which provides all types of background information on the estates, including short histories, past owners, dates of improvements and primary crops.
