Nine slave cabins still stand at South Carolina’s oldest working plantation

It’s been farming for over 320 years

Boone Hall Plantation sits on 738 acres in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, about 25 minutes from downtown Charleston.

It has been producing crops continuously since 1681, making it one of the longest-running working plantations in the country. Nine brick slave cabins still stand.

A three-quarter-mile canopy of oaks leads to the front door.

And somewhere between the rose gardens and the Gullah theater, the full weight of American history finds you.

From a wedding gift to a Lowcountry landmark

In 1681, a man named Theophilus Patey gave his daughter Elizabeth and her new husband Major John Boone 470 acres of South Carolina land as a wedding gift. That parcel became Boone Hall.

In the early 1800s, the Horlbeck brothers bought the property and expanded its brickyard, where enslaved workers produced millions of bricks a year.

By the early 1900s, 600 acres of the property grew pecans, making it one of the leading pecan operations in the country. Canadian ambassador Thomas Stone bought it in 1935 and built the current mansion a year later.

The McRae family took over in 1955 and opened it to the public. They still own it today.

88 oaks line the road to the front door

The Avenue of Oaks runs three-quarters of a mile from the plantation entrance straight to the main house.

Eighty-eight live oaks and one magnolia line both sides of the road, their moss-draped branches arching overhead to form a canopy that blocks out the sky. Captain Thomas Boone planted the first trees in 1743.

A century later, the Horlbeck brothers completed the planting using the labor of enslaved gardeners and field workers. The Avenue of Oaks is now one of the most recognized oak allees in the South.

Heritage roses saved from churchyards and roadsides

The formal garden in front of the main house is laid out in the shape of two butterfly wings, with 22 flower beds fanning out from the center.

In 1995, a rosarian named Ruth Knopf took over as head gardener and brought in dozens of heritage rose varieties that had been nearly lost.

Knopf tracked them down in churchyards and along roadsides, saving them from extinction. About 30 labeled varieties bloom almost year-round, along with camellias and azaleas.

The Noisette class of roses, which originated in Charleston in the early 1800s, is a specialty of the Boone Hall collection.

Antique roses and native plants share the garden paths

Walk the brick-paved paths and you’re moving through plants that predate your grandparents. Some of the antique rose varieties in the garden are over 100 years old.

A small Gullah Heritage Vegetable Garden sits between two of the slave dwellings and shows the types of crops enslaved families grew to feed themselves.

Nearby, sweeps of native plants and a monarch waystation draw in pollinators throughout the season. Spring and summer bring the most color, but something is always in bloom.

Butterflies and one of the oldest buildings on the property

The Butterfly Pavilion runs primarily from spring through fall and lets you walk among free-flying butterfly species while learning about their life cycle.

Just beside the circa-1750 smokehouse, a new pollinator garden has been planted to support bees and butterflies. The smokehouse itself is worth a look.

It’s a cylindrical brick structure with a cone-shaped slate roof, one of the oldest surviving buildings on the property.

The plantation also runs a seasonal tropical house with orchids, ferns, citrus trees, and water features.

Nine brick cabins that most plantations lost to time

Most slave housing was built from wood. Most of it is gone.

Boone Hall has nine brick cabins still standing, built between 1790 and 1810, and that rarity alone makes them worth stopping for.

They line one side of the road near the Avenue of Oaks, and today each one holds a different section of the Black History in America exhibit. One cabin covers daily life.

Another covers emancipation. Another focuses on heroes and leaders.

Guides give history talks outside the cabins, and you can move through the exhibit at your own pace.

The Gullah theater is unlike anything else in the Lowcountry

Boone Hall is the only plantation in the South Carolina Lowcountry where you can watch a live Gullah culture presentation.

True descendants of the Gullah people perform at the Gullah Theater near the slave cabins, telling the story of how enslaved Africans created a distinct culture in this region through storytelling, song, and dance.

Each performance runs about 30 to 35 minutes. The presentations trace the full arc of that history, from how it formed to how it survived.

Most visitors call it the most affecting part of the day.

The 1936 mansion sits on the banks of Horlbeck Creek

The current main house went up in 1936, built in the Colonial Revival style by architect William Harmon Beers using materials pulled from the plantation’s own historic structures, including brick recovered from the property.

The two-and-a-half-story home faces south toward Horlbeck Creek, with two pergolas on the forecourt added in 1993.

Guided tours of the first floor show antique furnishings reflecting the life of a Lowcountry planter family. The house gives you context for everything else you’ve already seen on the grounds.

The Cotton Gin House reopened in 2023 after years of decline

The original Cotton Gin House dates to the 1850s, built to process the cotton grown on the plantation. After years of structural decline, a major renovation preserved the brick exterior while building out a new interior.

It reopened in September 2023 as a museum, visitor center, and gift shop on the first floor, with event space above. A new building connects by a glass walkway and adds an elevator, restrooms, and a catering kitchen.

The museum covers more than three centuries of Boone Hall’s history in one place.

A working farm that supplies 35 Lowcountry businesses

Boone Hall isn’t just a historic site. It’s still farming.

Strawberries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, watermelons, sweet corn, and other produce grow on the property today, and the farm-to-table program supplies over 35 Lowcountry businesses.

Willie’s Roadside Market, named for the late owner Willie McRae, sells produce picked fresh daily during the season.

You can also take a tractor-pulled wagon tour of the full 738 acres, covering the farm fields, natural areas, and historic sites in about 35 to 40 minutes.

Spring strawberries, fall pumpkins and a January oyster festival

The seasons at Boone Hall come with their own events.

The Lowcountry Strawberry Festival has been running for nearly 30 years, and the 2026 festival runs April 24 to 26 and May 1 to 3, with U-pick fields, live entertainment, and family activities. In fall, the farm hosts a pumpkin patch.

January brings the Lowcountry Oyster Festival. November has a Christmas Tree Festival.

All seasonal events take place on the farm side of the property, separate from the historic plantation tours, so the two experiences don’t compete with each other.

Visit Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens in South Carolina

You’ll find Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens at 1235 Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant, about 25 minutes northeast of downtown Charleston.

The plantation is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. General admission covers the Avenue of Oaks, gardens, mansion tour, wagon tour, Gullah presentation, Black History exhibit, slave cabin talks, stable tours, and the Cotton Gin House museum.

Parking is free. Check the official website for current admission prices and seasonal event schedules before you go.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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