Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site

Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation State Historic Site. . , Welcome to the “Rice Kingdom" , For 200 years it was rice, not cotton that dominated the economy of “low country Georgia and South Carolina. The wealth that flowed from the soil here created a coastal aristocracy and unique African-American culture (Gullah-Geechee)., Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation was owned by five successive generations of the same family (1806-1973). At the height of the plantation era it measured over 7,000 acres and was worked by 357 slaves. In 1860 the plantation produced 1.5 million pounds of rice (the finest grade of rice on the Charleston market was known as “Broadfield”, after this plantation.) , , The Civil War, emancipation of the slaves, a flurry of hurricanes in the late 19th century, marauding birds and competition from rice producers in Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas put the east coast rice plantations out of business by 1915., To save the land, the owners of Hofwyl-Broadfield started a dairy (which operated until 1942). The last owner, Ophelia Dent, died without heirs in 1973. She left this property to the State of Georgia as a memorial to her ancestors and the African-Americans who worked here., Admission includes: museum; the film “The People of Hofwyl-Broadfield”; over a mile of trails; guided tours of the ante-bellum plantation house; seven plantation “out buildings“ and many scenic views of the centuries old moss laden Live Oaks. Hofwyl-Broadfield is a State Historic Site operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places., Hofwyl-Broadfield holds the Tripadvisor “Certificate of Excellence “, is listed as a GEM attraction by AAA Travel, was named one of the “10 Best Historic Southern Plantations” by USA Today, is a site on the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and the Colonial Coast Birding Trail.