CHATHAM COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION HISTORIC PROPERTY DESIGNATION STAFF RECOMMENDATION ISSUE: FILE NUMBER: Designation of Pennyworth Island as a Local Historic Property DP20110328-12-1 DATE: May 4, 2011 BACKGROUND: In December 2009, Chatham County purchased Pennyworth Island, a 174.49 acre island located within the Back River portion of the Savannah River, northeast of Hutchinson Island and immediately west of the portion of the U.S. Highway 17A bridge between Hutchinson Island and South Carolina. The property, now known as the Pennyworth Island Preserve, was purchased with funds allocated through the Chatham County Greenspace Fund and was therefore set aside as conservation land. A nomination for listing on the National Register of Historic Places was submitted in January 2011. FINDINGS: Physical Description: The site is composed of 169.66 acres of brackish tidal marsh and 4.83 acres of uplands. In addition, several dikes, built during the Island s tenure as a rice plantation, dissect the marsh. No buildings remain intact, although the ruins of several are still evident. Outlines of the rice fields are evidenced in the marsh, and overgrown rose bushes cover parts of the island. Statement of Significance: Pennyworth Island has seen no human use or occupation since the mid 1900s. Prior to that time the Island served as a rice plantation and seasonal residence for several of its prominent owners. In 1815, Nicholas Cruger, son of a prominent New York mercantile family, held the first recorded deed to the property. He created a series of embankments and canals to prepare the site for rice production and had a Machine for baling Rice built for the plantation (ACOE 1994). In 1824, James Hamilton, Jr. purchased the Island from Cruger and continued rice production on the property. He became the first Savannah River rice plantation owner to purchase a steam powered rice mill and in the 1830s, he invited Calvin Emmons to test his invention, a threshing machine, on Pennyworth Island. In addition to his title as plantation owner, Hamilton was a prominent politician. He served as mayor of Charleston (1822), Congressional representative for South Carolina (1822-1829), governor of South Carolina (1830-1832), president of the bank of Charleston (1830s), and the European financial emissary for the newly-formed Republic of Texas (1830s). Unfortunately, in 1842 James Hamilton failed to meet the terms of a loan secured eight years earlier, was forced to use Pennyworth Island as collateral, and interests to the Island were subsequently sold during a sheriff s sale. In 1849, James Potter managed to acquire all or most of the interests in Pennyworth Island and continue rice cultivation on the property. Prior to the Civil War, Joe Manigault purchased the property and began residing on the Island.
Staff Recommendation on Designation of Pennyworth Island as a Local Historic Property File No. DP20110328-12-1 May 4, 2011 Page 2 During the War, Manigault became Captain in the Signal Corps under General Robert E. Lee, while Pennyworth played an important role as an escape route for Confederate soldiers. In 1864, after General Sherman took Savannah, the Confederate Lieutenant General William J. Hardee evacuated his troops through Hutchinson Island, over Pennyworth Island, and into South Carolina where they could no longer be captured by Sherman s men. To facilitate their escape, Hardee and his troops used planks from wharves on the Savannah riverfront to build a pontoon bridge to Pennyworth. After the War, Manigault continued Pennyworth s rice production until 1894. During this time he also cultivated roses and by his death in 1911, had planted four acres of French hybrids on Pennyworth Island. The roses were said to come from Pierre Guillot, a proprietor in Orleans, France. Throughout the early 1900s, Manigault became known for his rose garden parties during which he would allow his guests to pick and take home bouquets of roses. Since 1911, Pennyworth Island has remained largely intact and undisturbed. The Savannah District of the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) conducted an archaeological survey of the Island in 1994 and found evidence of the Island s prominence as a rice plantation. The report of their findings described Pennyworth as one of the best represented Savannah River rice plantations in the historical record (ACOE 1994). The rice dikes constructed in the early 1800s remain, as well as remnants of the rice mill complex, wharves, rice trunks, sailing vessels, and a dock. During their survey, the ACOE also identified the site of the last owner s house and possible tenant cabins. The Island is significant as a cultural landscape as well as an archaeological site. Statement Justifying Boundaries: The boundaries of the proposed Pennyworth Island Historic Property follow the boundaries of the island itself. Representative Photographs: See attached. STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Approval of the ordinance to designate Pennyworth Island as a local historic property as per the Chatham County Historic Preservation Ordinance. Approval of Resolution.
Figure 1. Blandford 1888 map showing the features of Pennyworth Island, including rice dikes, several building locations, the mill site, and dock.
Figure 1. Satellite photograph showing location of the Pennyworth Island Preserve in relation to surrounding features. The Pennyworth Island Preserve is outlined in red.
Figure 2. Satellite photograph showing location of Pennyworth Island and its features.
Pennyworth Island Plantation, Manigault House in approximately 1900.