Lewisfield Plantation – Moncks Corner – Berkeley County

— Rear of Lewisfield Plantation House © Brandon Coffey —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Western branch of the Cooper River, Moncks Corner, St. John's Berkeley Parish, Berkeley County

  Located off US 52, about two and a half miles south of Moncks Corner
  

• Origin of name – ?

• Other names – Little Landing; Chachan under the ownership of Charles Stevens
  

• Current status – Privately owned, not open to the public (10)
  

— Yard at Lewisfield Plantation © Brandon Coffey —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1750 – Earliest known date of existence

  Original grant to Sir John Colleton

• 1767 – Sedgewick Lewis purchased 1,000 acres on September 15. The deed states the land was on the river front adjoining Exeter Plantation to the north (7, bk. 1, vol. 12, p. 22) (1, p. 3)

  The acreage, referred to as Little Landing, was originally part of the Fairlawn Barony. Sedgewick Lewis changed the name to Lewisfield (8, p. 69).
  

• 1774 – Sarah Lewis, a daughter of Sedgewick Lewis, married Keating Simons, the second son of Benjamin Simons of Middleburg Plantation. He gave them Lewisfield as a wedding gift (7, bk. 1, vol. 7, p. 8).
  

  Keating Simmons built a house on the property.
  

• 1781 – The plantation was the site of a surprise attack against the British during the Revolutionary War. Colonel Wade Hampton destroyed several boatloads of supplies and took 78 prisoners (6, p. 47-48).
  

• 1861-1865 – The landing at Lewisfield was constantly used by the Union gunboats. No harm came to the property (6, p. 49).
  

• 1903 – Charles Stevens purchased the plantation. He planted rice (5, p. 88).
  

  While under the ownership of Charles Stevens the plantation was called Chachan (not to be confused with the real Chachan Plantation) (7, bk. 1, vol. 12, p. 22).
  

• ? – Sometime after World War I the Stevens' sold the plantation to John F. Poppenheim (6, p. 50).
  

• 1937 – Robert R.M. Carpenter, vice president of E.I. du Pont, purchased Lewisfield Plantation (9, p. 20).
  

• 1973 – Senator Rembert C. Dennis owned the plantation (1).
  

• 1992 – Senator Dennis died leaving the plantation to his wife.
  

• Cicra 2019 – Lewisfield Plantation became owned by the Will and Alice Helmly Family Trust. The house had been neglected for years and was at threat of collapsing. The Helmlys began an extensive restoration and remodel of the house including construction of two wings returning the house to it's 1800's layout (10).
  

— Lewisfield Plantation Family Room © Brandon Coffey —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – ?

• Primary crop – ?

• In 1706 there was a grand garden on the property (2, p. 29).
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

— Lewisfield Plantation Garden © Brandon Coffey —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Buildings

• The house is 2 ½ stories with clapboard facade. In 2019, the Helmlys began an extensive restoration and remodel of the house. The house had been neglected for years and was at threat of collapsing. The two year project included construction of the two wings returning the house to it's 1800's layout (10).
  
  

References & Resources

1. National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - PDF - submitted in 1973
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

2. A Context For the Study of Lowcountry Gardens - PDF - Michael Trinkley and Debi Hacker, 2007, for the Chicora Foundation.
   

3. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   –  Research Guide
   

4. William P. Baldwin, Jr., Plantations of the Low Country; South Carolina, 1697-1865 (Greensboro, NC: Legacy Publications, 1987)
    Order Plantations of the Low Country; South Carolina, 1697-1865
   

5. J. Russell Cross, Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley (Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1985)
    Order Historic Ramblin's through Berkeley
   

6. John Beaufain Irving, A Day on Cooper River (1842) (Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2010)
    Order A Day on Cooper River (1842)
   

7. Claude Henry Neuffer, editor, Names in South Carolina, Volume I through 30 (Columbia, SC: The State Printing Company)
    Order Names in South Carolina, Volumes I-XII, 1954-1965
    Order Names in South Carolina, Index XIII-XVIII
   

8. Samuel Gaillard Stoney, Plantations of the Carolina Low Country (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1990)
    Order Plantations of the Carolina Low Country
   

9. Information contributed by Gazie Nagle from:
   National Register of Historic Places
   – Nomination form - Cooper River Historic District - PDF - submitted in 2003
   – Photographs, architectural overview
   

10. Lewisfield Plantation Home Remodel FaceBook Page - contributed by Phallan Robbins in the interest of her parents, Lewisfield Plantation owners, Will and Alice Helmly. Includes great photos of the remodel and renovation of the property.