Dec 27 Hobcaw Barony

 

Hobcaw House

Hobcaw Barony! What on earth does that mean? Hobcaw is a native name for land between the waters. In this case the land between the Atlantic and Winyah Bay. Winyah Bay is the body of water just below the confluence of the Great Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers near Georgetown SC.. Barony is the land holdings of a Baron. In this case the term was applied to the 16,000 acre estate granted to Lord Proprietor John Lord Carteret in 1718.  

Prior to that the land was home to the Waccamaw Indians. Their world began to change a couple centuries earlier. In 1521 a visit by Vazquez de Ayllon noted the site might provide a suitable spot for colonization. About 60 Indians were taken as a prize. Some ended up in Spain but most likely ended up as slaves. That expedition may have gone as far north as Chesapeake Bay, mapping the coastline.

Ayllon returned to the area in 1526 with 600 colonists, 6 ships, 100 horses and the all the pigs, cows, chickens needed to set up a colony. Where they set up camp is not known but is speculated to be the bluff where Hobcaw House now sits. The largest of the ships sank on a sand bar in Winyah Bay. Its wreck is still sought today.  Although there was no loss of life, its loss was the beginning of a string of bad fortune. The land on Waccamaw Neck was deemed unsuitable for crops, so the group headed south, possibly to Sapelo Sound area of Georgia. There, Ayllon died and the colony split into warring factions. After a couple months, the remaining 150 colonists headed back to Hispaniola. 

Bellefield House

Back to Lord Carteret. He owned the land for 12 years and never visited it. It was sold in 1730, subdivided into 13 tracts which eventually ended up as rice plantations thriving until the Civil War. There after, rice cultivation became too costly. The tracts ended up as three separate holdings. Beginning in 1905 Bernard Baruch began purchasing the tracts, ending up with over 16,000 and all of the original land grant area. He developed the area as a winter hunting retreat for family and friends. Hardly a conservationist, Baruch and his friends would hunt to excess. Scenes of the hunting party standing behind a pile of 100 or more dead ducks was not an uncommon sight. 

Back entrance to Hobcaw House

The present day Hobcaw House was built in 1930 after the an earlier wood house was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 1929. The brick house was built "fireproof". It faced Winyah Bay and the dock. Boats made the short journey to and from Georgetown which would have been where guests arrived by rail. Baruch had made his fortune on Wall Street and was well connected to a number of world leaders. When Winston Churchill was injured after being hit by a car in New York, he spent a month recuperating at Hobcaw House. Baruch served the Wilson administration and accompanied Wilson to Paris Peace Conference. 

During WWII Baruch was instrumental in speeding up the production of war material and often advised FDR. Just 6 months before his death, FDR spent a 4 week vacation at Hobcaw. Incredibly, his visit was secret, even to the locals. 

Beginning in 1935, Baruch began selling the property to his oldest child, Belle. Within a dozen years, she owned the land entirely. Upon her 1964 death, a foundation was created to own the land for research purposes. Both Clemson and the University of South Carolina have research and living facilities on the property. 

Our tour of the property began at the visitor center just off  US 17 south of Pawleys Island. Molly was our guide. First stop was the salt marsh on the ocean side. Two research facilities are located nearby. A boardwalk took us into the salt marsh. Here we learned about spartina grass which makes its living in the pluff mud. A uniquely Low Country substance, pluff mud is known for its smell and its unpredictable ability to suck in and hold anyone unfortunate enough to step in it. You might sink to your ankles, knees or even hips. And if you are wearing shoes, it may relieve you of them. Fiddler Crabs seek sanctuary here. Molly spoke of the water filtration properties of the salt marsh which seems counter-intuitive when you are looking at miles of pluff mud.

Next stop was the Friendfield Village, a former slave village consisting of 7 buildings. Two of the buildings are original slave homes. The drafty homes were two rooms with a loft, heated by one fireplace. Located in a field surrounded by tall Loblolly pines, the village is a serene place now. 

Our next stops were the Hobcaw house and finally a short stop at Bellefield House. Bellefield was Belle Baruch's home. She had a large stable for her horses. Also, a hangar for her planes. She often patrolled the property from the air. Belle realized the need to protect the property when that was not a common practice. Her legacy lives on with the research that continues on the property. 

Spartina grass in the pluff mud