Botany Bay – Edisto Island, South Carolina
South Carolina | SC Picture Project | Charleston County Photos | Botany Bay
 |
|
Botany Bay is a 4,687-acre wildlife preserve located on Edisto Island. It came under the management of the SC Department of Natural Resources in 2008 as a part of the agency’s Wildlife Management Area Program.
The early history of Botany Bay can be traced back to two plantations — Bleak Hall Plantation and Sea Cloud Plantation. Bleak Hall was originally developed by the Townsend family in the early 1800s. By the mid-1800s, owner John Townsend had purchased the adjoining Sea Cloud Plantation and was producing more cotton than any other plantation in South Carolina. Townsend was renowned for the quality of his sea island cotton, a variety prized for its unusually long and silky fibers.
About a year after South Carolina’s secession from the Union, Edisto Island was evacuated and subsequently occupied by the Union army. The Civil War proved devastating to the island and its plantations. Townsend and his descendants worked hard to rebuild what was left and continued producing the famous sea island cotton until the early 1920s, when the boll weevil all but destroyed the cotton industry in South Carolina.
The plantations remained in the Townsend family until the 1930s, when Dr. James Greenway combined them and renamed the property Botany Bay Plantation. Botany Bay was acquired by John Meyer in 1973. Before Meyer died in 1977, he deeded the property to the state to be used as a wildlife preserve, but only after the death of his wife, Margaret.
While living there during the remainder of her lifetime, Margaret took great care to protect the land and to foster a diverse array of habitats throughout the property, including maritime forests, salt marshes, tidal creeks, and hammock islands.
Today, recreational opportunities at Botany Bay include seasonal hunting, catch and release fishing, birding, and an interpretive driving trail. Click here for information on visiting Botany Bay!
7 Comments about Botany Bay
November 16th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
That is great to have one of your photos featured!
Love Mom
December 23rd, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Botany Bay is so beautiful — definitely glad to see it being preserved so well!
April 22nd, 2011 at 6:09 am
Amazing beauty. Thanks for sharing the picture.
April 25th, 2011 at 2:42 pm
Botany Bay Plantation is a great place to visit. Thanks for the picture!
October 11th, 2012 at 10:29 pm
I have wonderful memories of the time my family was fortunate to live on Botany Bay. At the time it was mostly referred to as Greenway Plantation. Newton Lumber Company of nearby Adams Run purchased the plantation in the 1950′s from Dr. Greenway, who was a retired botanist. My father, Baynard Seabrook Platt, and John Towles farmed the land for a large trucking firm. They didn’t plant cotton, but they did plant lots of tomatoes, cucumbers and every kind of squash you could think of. So sad to see the ocean taking the beach!
December 1st, 2012 at 11:51 am
I appreciate the comment from Frances Dantzler, and share her enthusiasm for Botany. I came to work for John E.(Jason)Meyer in the spring of 1973 and served him and his widow, Margaret Morgan Meyer as caretaker until 1980. The base article is incorrect in that Jason purchased Botany from Newton Bros Lumber in 1968 and not 1973.
I am currently working on a book that covers the history of Bleak Hall, Sea Cloud and Westcoat Plantations that were combined by Dr.James C.Greenway to form Botany Bay Plantation in the 1930s. Anyone with information that they would like to included are invite to do so.
January 24th, 2013 at 7:13 pm
I am not local nor am I particularly well read of the SC heritage but I have visited BB many times. I have traveled many fascinating parts of the world and BB is an amazing magical well-preserved place. If you can go don’t deprive yourself of the opportunity. You can hike south, towards Edisto or north, toward Seabrook. Either way is an adventure. It’s like going back to prehistoric times. I guess, I wasn’t there then!
Comments