1254 Long Point Road
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29406
Voice: 843-883-3123
Web Site: www.nps.gov/chpi

Charles Pinckney was a principal architect and signer of the U.S. Constitution. His father bought the 715 acre plantation before Charles was born. What was known as the Snee Farm, it now comprises only 28 acres.

No standing structures remain from the Pinckney era. The present house, built of native cypress and pine in the 1820's, is a fine example of a tidewater cottage once common throughout the coastal areas of the Carolinas and Virginia. Archeologists have found that the house stands on the site of the Pinckney plantation house. They have also identified the location of ponds and fields used for growing indigo, rice, and cotton. They have also found the Pinckney well, the plantation kitchen, two slave cabins, and a slightly larger structure near the kitchen that possibly served as an overseer's house or servants quarters. There is an exhibit that shows many of the artifacts that have been found in this area.

Snee Farm was a working plantation under a succession of owners until well into the 20th century. Most of its labor force were African Americans, first as slaves imported to plant and tend the rice and indigo fields, then as tenants or sharecroppers after the abolishment of slavery. The Pinckneys kept between 40 and 60 slaves at Snee Farm. Many were skilled artisans such as wheelwrights, coopers, sawyers, carpenters, and gardeners.

KAT'S VIEW