<P> The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival plantation house (completed in 1936) that replaced the lost original house on the site, a number of slave cabins or cottages (which were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century), several flower gardens, and the historic "Avenue of Oaks" an expanse of over a kilometer along the up to the house with southern live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743 . </P> <P> The earliest known reference to the site is in 1681, in a land grant of 470 acres (1.9 km) from owner Theophilus Patey, to his daughter Elizabeth and her new husband, Major John Boone as a wedding gift when the land became known as Boone Hall Plantation though it is unknown when a house was built on the site . John Boone was one of the first settlers of the South Carolina colony arriving in 1672 . Boone and his wife were ancestors of Founding Fathers Edward Rutledge and John Rutledge . He was elected to the Grand Council during the 1680s but was removed twice because he illegally dealt in Indian slaves, associated with pirates, and concealed stolen goods . He went on to hold other local offices such as tax assessor and highway commissioner . When Boone died, he divided his estate between his wife and five children with his eldest son, Thomas, making Boone Hall his home . </P> <P> The ownership of the plantation continued in the Boone family until it was sold in 1811 . Within the next few years, Boone Hall was again sold to Henry and John Horlbeck who were in the brick business . The brothers built many houses and public spaces in downtown Charleston using the brick from their plantations, of which by 1850, Boone Hall was producing 4,000,000 bricks per year using 85 slaves . The Horlbeck family also improved the plantation by completing the Avenue of Oaks that lead up to the plantation house in 1843 . The Horlbecks also planted pecan trees on the plantation, so that by end of the century, Boone Hall was one of the leading producers of pecans in the United States . </P> <P> Boone Hall Plantation was purchased in 1935 from the Horlbeck estate by Canadian Thomas Stone . He and his wife, Alexandra, wanting a "grander style" home on the 738 acre plantation built the house that stands there today in 1936 demolishing the existing two - story frame house with a one - story front porch . The Stones also reinvigorated the pecan farming operation at the plantation, focusing on about 200 acres of what had been a 700 - acre pecan farm, and built an electrical plant which created power from the tides of the nearby rivers to power the plantation . </P>

Boone hall plantation & gardens mt pleasant sc