Name/Title
Chicora WoodEntry/Object ID
CHICORA.1Scope and Content
Architecturally, Chicora Wood is an outstanding early 19th century plantation home. Mounted on the typical raised basement used throughout the Southern coastal area for increased ventilation, the two-story clapboard house has lines that are simple and of diminutive proportions. Slender Doric columns and delicate balustrade adorn the façade. A one-story porch extends around three sides. There is a later roof dormer with a Palladian window. Interior woodwork, obviously the product of skilled craftsman, reflects the simple architectural designs of the exterior. The plantation itself was begun sometime between 1732 and 1736, with the house built before 1819. The house also has military, agricultural, industrial, political, social/humanitarian, educational and literary significance through its association with Robert F.W. Allston, member of the SC House of Representatives, a parish Senator, and Governor from 1856-58. Allston was considered to be the most notable planter on the Pee Dee River. Chicora Wood served as home plantation for Allston’s complex of rice plantations which produced 840,000 pounds of rice in 1850 and increased to 1,500,000 pounds by 1860. The slave labor force which produced the rice numbered 401 in 1850, increasing to 630 by 1860. The plantation complex includes a number of excellent outbuildings: original kitchen, smoke house, and a later carriage house, wash house and farm buildings. The rice mill complex, one of the most interesting remaining examples of its type, includes the mill and shipping house. Listed in the National Register April 11, 1973. (NationalRegister.sc.gov)
Three files contain documentation of the easement on the property including related correspondence and Confirmation of Understanding; Part I certification (National Register); IRS form 8283 and summary appraisal report; annual inspection reports; correspondence related to the management of the property; historical research relating to the Allston family, 1857-1870), including list of slaves; newspaper article; photocopies of plats and map; book excerpt about the plantation from "Georgetown Rice Plantations" (Lachicotte, 1993); book excerpts related to Allston slaves and Allston church activities ("Down by the Riverside" [Joyner, 1894] and "Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina" [Dalcho, 1972].
See Easement Documentation Photo Files for easement donation photographs (Exh. B to Deed of Conservation Easement). No inspection photographs (prints) on file (see Easement Manager's digital files).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
CHICORA.Source or Donor
Chicora WoodAcquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Easement Property, Chicora Wood Plantation (Georgetown, S.C.), Plantations--South Carolina--GeorgetownArchive Details
Archive Notes
Finding Aids: Printed list of file contents.
Level of Description: SeriesLocation
Location
Container
Chicora WoodShelf
Plantations ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Relationships
Related Entries
Notes
2006.002.0241, 2011.002.049, 2011.002.070, 2012.010.090, 2013.001.04, CHICORA.2a-i, CHICORA.3a-d, CHICORA.4a-eGeneral Notes
Note
Notes: Photo in this record from National Register website, http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/georgetown/S10817722006/index.htm.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
May 9, 2018Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023