Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites the mysterious Stoney-Baynard Ruins currently preserved inside the Sea Pines Plantation are a truly historic and antebellum architectural gem.

A brief history…(courtesy of Community Services Associates)

• In 1776 Captain John Stoney bought Braddock’s Point Plantation from Beaufort merchant John Mark Verdier.

• According to our Forts of Port Royal History guide, “new money” John Stoney tried to buy his way into the high Lowcountry society by building the largest plantation home in the area. The 1885 square feet mansion was built between 1783 and 1810 out of timber and tabby, a mixture of oyster shells, lime, and sand.

• The property passed through multiple generations and eventually to “Saucy Jack”, who only 2 years later, lost it at a poker game. The winner was William Eddings Baynard, a wealthy planter from Edisto Island made rich by the world famous Sea Island Cotton.

• During the Civil War, Union troops took over the house, later burned down by a Confederate raiding party. 15 years and $500 in back taxes later the Baynard family finally regain control over the property yet they never again lived at Braddock’s Point.

• Legend has it Union soldiers robbed the mausoleum where William Baynard was buried in search for rumored jewelry, gold and spectacular riches. Ever since, on gloomy rainy days, Baynard’s pale grieving ghost has been spotted haunting the ruins and the island.

Tabby masonry, antebellum architecture and Sea Island cotton

• Tabby was a popular construction style in the LowCountry during the 18th and 19th centuries. Tabby was produced by first burning crushed oyster shells to make lime and then mixing it with sand, whole shells and water. When it dried, tabby formed good, sturdy cement suitable for foundations and walls.

• The thousands oyster shells create a honeycomb texture that is both pocked and smooth. Bits of stucco still cling to the tabby resembling a medieval French abbey or a stern Roman ruin.

• Tabby went out of favor after the Civil War because of a wide spread superstition that only masonry buildings were healthy sleeping places.

The present ruins represent the back of the house. The front entrance featured a spacious piazza and faced the marshes to catch the cool breezes blowing from nearby Calibogue Sound. Along the massive central hallways, floor-length windows would have adorned the walls ensuring the essential cross-ventilation.

The basement set at ground level features two rooms and was used for storage. Following the Lowcountry customs the owners lived here sporadically trying to avoid the area perceive “mal-air”.
The tabby outlines of two small buildings to the east most likely represented cotton storehouses.

Sea Island Cotton - Centuries ago, William Elliot, an enterprising planter from the Upstate produced the first successful crop of Sea Island Cotton right here on Hilton Head Island. The tall black-seeded strain hybrid had a long, silvery fiber well-suited for making fine laces and muslins. An instant hit in Europe and especially in the Netherlands, these quality fibers sold for a $2 per pound, bringing fortunes to the Lowcountry planters.

The plant prospered in the light, sandy soil and subtropic climate of the Sea Islands, and soon Hilton Head Island became a major producer of this long-staple cotton.

Here is an overview of fun things to do with kids while visiting the Sea Pines Plantation (daily guest admission is $5 per car). If nothing else check out the 4,000 years old Indian Shell Ring, a national landmark and one of few still remaining rings to date.

If time permits tour the historic Sea Islands Lighthouses each with its own incredible story to tell. If nothing else visit for free the Leamington Lighthouse (also knows as the Skeleton Tower) located on the gold course inside Palmetto Dunes Resort. On stormy rainy days, some say the anguished ghost of a blue-dress wearing girl, may be seen near the beach warning sea darers to take shelter…

Keep the mystery alive at on Hilton Head Island!

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