McLeod Plantation Update

The Friends of McLeod joined together six years ago, recognizing that McLeod Plantation is a remarkable heritage site that must be protected. Over the years our mission has remained the same: to preserve the house, slave cabins, outbuildings, cemetery, oak alleys, woods and fields, and to protect the plantation from development. McLeod’s rich history embraces Native American, colonial, antebellum and Gullah/Geechee cultures, and includes Civil War occupations by both the North and the South.   

The board members of the Friends of McLeod have worked hard to ensure that any sale of the McLeod Plantation is to a public entity that has the resources to restore and maintain the buildings, preserve the plantation’s rural context, and provide public access. 

In April we thought we were coming close to a resolution. The Historic Charleston Foundation issued a “request for proposals” for the purchase and use of McLeod. The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission planned to submit a proposal for McLeod that would include preservation of the buildings, the placing of conservation easements on the plantation, and the assurance of public access.  We support PRC’s plans to acquire McLeod for those reasons and others. Historic preservation is part of PRC’s mission and the organization has the funds to purchase the plantation, restore the buildings, and maintain them. Significantly, PRC recognizes the importance of protecting the rural character of McLeod. The James Island Public Service District has formally acknowledged its support of PRC’s plans.   

Later in April, however, the Town of James Island made an offer of $2.7 million to HCF for the purchase of McLeod -- an offer that HCF turned down. Afterward the town began efforts to acquire the plantation through eminent domain, and the Historic Charleston Foundation subsequently suspended the “request for proposals” process.   

We want to inform our members that we remain dedicated to our mission, and we will continue to urge the two parties to allow immediate work on the McLeod buildings that are in dire need of stabilization and repairs. The eminent domain case may decide ownership of McLeod, but neither HCF nor the Town of James Island owns its history, which belongs to the citizens of this state. Our chairman has sent a letter to the chairman of the board of the Historic Charleston Foundation, which reiterates our stance and expresses our willingness to meet with him to discuss our concerns.  

We wanted to give our members this update on McLeod Plantation in the interim before our next newsletter.