"Nowhere else in the world has nature been kinder to her children than in the region where the great plantations were formed out of the wilderness of the Lowcountry."



Archibald Rutledge, 1883-1975, First S.C. Poet Laureate and last private owner of Hampton Plantation



French Santee: Cradle of the great plantation society

In 1685, Louis XIV of France revoked the Edict of Nantes, which granted religious freedom to French Calvinists. Forty-five of these Protestants, known as Huguenots, fled to Charles Town where they settled between the Santee and Cooper rivers.

Cheap, swampy land and fertile soil provided the foundation to develop what would become the wealthiest colony in North America, supplying most of the world's demand for rice and indigo.

The Huguenots intermarried with their Anglo-American countrymen and within a generation had esentially assimilated into the English culture.

Design your perfect Day in the French Santee by choosing from among the sites listed at right and below that you'd like to see. (Usually we can fit in four to five activities in a day.)

Together we'll schedule which of the following you'd most enjoy:

Pitt Street Bridge

Christ Church Parish Chapel and Churchyard

Center for Birds of Prey

Ancient Seewee Shell Ring

Tibwin Plantation

McClellanville (our lunch stop)

Hampton Plantation



Reserve your tour



Price: $375 for up to three guests. Add a scenic Lowcountry picnic for $15 per person Price includes pick-up and return, all transportation, beverages and snacks.