Old House Plantation

Old House Plantation, located near Euhaw Creek in Jasper County, serves as one of the most significant ancestral sites of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Originally the seat of the powerful Heyward family, this estate was inherited by Thomas Heyward Jr. from his father, Daniel Heyward. Today, it is best known as the final resting place of one of South Carolina’s four signers of the Declaration of Independence.

The Heyward Legacy

The plantation was a centerpiece of the Heyward family’s vast agricultural empire in the 18th century. Daniel Heyward, a pioneer in the tidal rice culture of the Lowcountry, built the estate into a premier center of wealth and influence. Upon his death, the property passed to his son, Thomas, who balanced his duties as a planter with his role as a revolutionary statesman and soldier.

Wartime Significance

During the Revolutionary War, the location of Old House made it a target and a site of strategic interest:

• British Retaliation: Because Thomas Heyward Jr. was a prominent “Signer” and a captain in the Charleston Battalion of Artillery, his properties were frequently singled out for destruction by British raiding parties.
• The 1779 Campaign: British scouts under Captain Patrick Murray burned buildings on Heyward’s various Port Royal and Jasper County holdings during the maneuvers leading up to the Battle of Port Royal Island.

The Burial Site

The most enduring feature of the site is the Heyward Family Cemetery. Thomas Heyward Jr. died in 1809 and was buried on his beloved estate. In 1920, the State of South Carolina erected a monument and a bronze bust at his gravesite to honor his contributions to American independence. The site remains a point of pilgrimage for those studying the lives of the Founders in the South.