Hobcaw Barony | |
Location | Roughly bounded by U.S. Route 17, Winyah and Mud Bays and Jones Creek, near Georgetown, South Carolina |
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Coordinates | 33°19′23″N 79°13′6″W / 33.32306°N 79.21833°W |
Built | 1930 (Hobcaw House) 1936 (Bellefield Plantation) |
Architect | Lafaye and Lafaye (Hobcaw House) Murgatroyd and Ogden (Bellefield Plantation) |
Architectural style | Colonial Revival (Hobcaw House) |
MPS | Georgetown County Rice Culture MPS[2] |
NRHP reference No. | 94001236[1] |
Added to NRHP | November 02, 1994 |
Hobcaw Barony is a 16,000-acre (65 km2) tract on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Much of Hobcaw Barony is south of US Highway 17. The land was purchased by the investor, philanthropist, presidential advisor, and South Carolina native Bernard M. Baruch between 1905 and 1907 for a winter hunting retreat. Later, his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch, began purchasing the property from her father beginning in 1936. By 1956, Belle owned Hobcaw Barony entirely. Upon her death in 1964, the property was transferred to the Belle W. Baruch Foundation for a nature and research preserve. The property includes more than 37 historic buildings and structures representative of the eras of both 18th & 19th century rice cultivation and 20th century winter retreats. Hobcaw Barony was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1994.[3][4][5]
The Belle W. Baruch Foundation and the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve jointly operate the Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center and provide tours and special programs.[6]