Historic plantation among 1,700 acres in conservation projects SC considers buying

COLUMBIA — A historic plantation in Richland County could become part of a state-owned nature preserve, according to a funding request to a legislative oversight committee.

All told, nearly 1,700 acres of land are under consideration for purchase by the state across conservation agencies. Some would expand existing nature preserves, while others would establish new ones. One would potentially open a new campsite for visitors across from the state’s largest public shooting range.

Goodwill Plantation

The largest project under consideration would expand the Wateree Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area in Richland County by 736 acres.

The 4,459-acre preserve is best known as the home of Cook’s Mountain, a 372-foot-tall peak in an otherwise low-lying area.

The Department of Natural Resources is still in the early stages of evaluating the property and deciding whether it would be a good fit for the nearby nature preserve, according to agency documents.

A large part of the property is the Goodwill Plantation, established in the 1790s and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986. Part of the neighboring heritage preserve already includes a portion of the plantation, including graves, ditches and dikes dating back to the 1800s.

Originally owned by the prominent Huger family, Goodwill was purchased in 1858 by Edward Barnwell “Barney” Heyward, grandson of Nathaniel Heyward (South Carolina’s wealthiest rice planter), and father of Duncan Clinch Heyward, South Carolina’s governor from 1903 to 1907.

As many as 976 people were enslaved at Goodwill during the Civil War. Richland County tax records indicate Heyward’s relatives sent slaves from their Lowcountry plantations to Goodwill to “wait out the war.” When it was over, Heyward employed former slaves as day laborers, according to National Register documentation, which doesn’t give specifics. But without slave labor, he didn’t keep it long. Goodwill was sold to a New Yorker in 1869.

Subsequent buyers included famed showman P.T. Barnum, who bought it in 1888 for his granddaughter and reportedly kept circus animals there during the winter.

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The property includes a millpond and canal irrigation system built in the 1820s, which is one of the first known attempts to farm on low-lying land in the state, according to the state Department of Archives and History.

Several buildings dating back more than 150 years still survive on the piece of land DNR is considering buying.

The oldest of those, the overseer’s house, was built in 1857. Other buildings that still stand include two slave cabins built in 1858, a blacksmith shop dating back to 1865 and the main house, from 1890, according to oversight documents. A second house was built on the property in 2010.

The Department of Natural Resources doesn’t plan to renovate any of the existing buildings or build new ones, according to documents provided to the Legislature’s Joint Bond Review Committee.

If state officials find no problems with the property, The Conservation Fund, a conservation-based nonprofit, plans to donate the land to expand the nearby heritage preserve.

The state’s Conservation Bank already chipped in $12.6 million to help the nonprofit buy the land, which was priced at a total $13.8 million.

New conservation areas

Another major project under consideration would create a new, 650-acre wildlife management area in Clarendon County.

The property, which is near Lake Marion, is “one of the most valuable inland wetland tracts available in South Carolina today,” according to the agency documents.

Operating as a duck hunting club, the area’s many ponds and dams create an ideal spot for migratory birds to stop in the winter, according to agency documents.

Because the property is already in use for hunting, DNR wouldn’t have to build new roads, trails, water control structures or storage buildings, as is typical in conservation projects, oversight documents read.

All of that together means the property’s “value for waterfowl conservation is immediate, substantial, and difficult to match elsewhere in the state,” the agency wrote in its request. The land’s owner offered to donate the property, with the state paying $50,000 for land surveys and other preliminary work.

For 30 days, a nonprofit leads hikes and floats across SC. The goal is conservation.

DNR is also looking to add a new nature preserve in Pickens County.

The 106 acres, which the agency is planning to buy for $475,000, would join more than 70 heritage preserves statewide, a network of sites protecting significant ecological and historical areas.

The property would become part of the existing 33,000-acre Jocassee Gorges Wildlife Management Area and is near 37-acre Wadakoe Mountain Heritage Preserve.

The area has “a diverse array of wildlife, including some of the most abundant salamander and black bear populations in the southeast,” according to oversight documents. The untouched land, which includes properties attractive to developers along Eastatoe Creek, is part of the scenic views from Highway 11, the agency wrote.

Visitors would be able to fish, hunt or hike a series of trails, according to agency documents.

Other expansions

Harbison State Forest near Columbia could expand by 71 acres under a Forestry Commission request.

The property, which was clearcut in 2017, would allow the agency to expand the 18-mile trail system already in the 2,200-acre state forest, according to the agency’s request.

“This property and surrounding area are in (imminent) danger of being lost to development,” agency documents read.

Congaree Land Trust, a Columbia-based nonprofit, is planning to buy the land for $1.4 million before selling it to the state for the same price.

Paris Mountain State Park could get nearly 88 acres bigger with a purchase the state parks department is considering.

The Altamont Pass in Greenville County sits between the 1,700-acre state park, as well as land owned by the Department of Transportation and conservation nonprofit Naturaland Trust. The land trust has offered to donate the property to the state.

Proposed campsite

Visitors to the state’s largest public shooting range could have a chance to stay overnight across the street.

The Department of Natural Resources is considering buying 114 acres across the road from the shooting complex, which opened last year. The land is owned by the Love family, which sold the land for the shooting range to the state.

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If the state decides to buy the property, which has an expected value of $1.3 million, the land would create a buffer between the shooting range and other nearby properties, keeping the area private, according to oversight documents. The agency could also open up the property for camping, fishing and “aquatic education,” the request reads.

The forested land includes a 13-acre pond, which the owners say is 12 feet deep, as well as a small stream. That makes the area ideal for common species of fish and birds, such as bass and pileated woodpeckers, according to the agency.

Officials must still determine whether the land is fit for use by the state.