Mansfield Plantation is a well-preserved

antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...

rice plantation, established in 1718 on the banks of the Black River in historic Georgetown County,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

History

Spanning nearly of pine forest, rice fields and cypress swamps, Mansfield Plantation was once one of the largest rice producing

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

in the country. Mansfield, along with adjacent rice plantations up and down the Black River, provided much of Europe with "Carolina Gold" rice during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Rice growing was made possible by: # perfecting irrigation techniques using tidal water and manmade dykes. # experimentation with natural fertilizers. # most notably, African American

slave labor Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. After the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, rice production became too expensive and soon the plantations fell into bankruptcy and were sold off to new owners.

Present day

Today, Mansfield Plantation is preserved as an authentic rice plantation, complete with the original plantation home, a schoolhouse,

live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

avenue ("oak allée"), chapel, guest house, and grounds. It also has the only remaining winnowing barn in Georgetown County, where rice grains were processed for shipment.

Restoration

In March 2005 a restoration of a slave village of 7 slave cabins and a chapel had begun, completed shortly thereafter.

Media

Mansfield Plantation has been featured in numerous films, documentaries and television shows. It served as the backdrop for scenes from Mel Gibson's 2000 film, ''The Patriot''. In 2006, the Fox network filmed two segments of their primetime television series ''Treasure Hunters'' at Mansfield and the Fine Living Network filmed a documentary at Mansfield Plantation for their television series ''Windshield America''.

Gallery

Image:MansfieldMainHouse.jpg, The main house decorated for the holidays Image:MansfieldWinnowingBarn.jpg, Mansfield's winnowing barn Image:MansfieldKitchenGuestHouse.jpg, The Old Kitchen Guest House, now a bed and breakfast Image:MansfieldSlaveVillage.jpg, The old slave village, currently undergoing restoration

References

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External links

Mansfieldplantation.com: Official Mansfield Plantation websiteMansfield Plantation
Photos & History

— '' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan''. * * * * * {{Authority control Plantations in South Carolina Houses in Georgetown County, South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Georgetown County, South Carolina History of the Southern United States Pre-statehood history of South Carolina Rice plantations in the United States Historic American Buildings Survey in South Carolina Bed and breakfasts in South Carolina Slave cabins and quarters in the United States 1718 establishments in South Carolina