Tower Hill Plantation – Pineville – Berkeley County

— Tower Hill Plantation © Melissa McVey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Basic Information

• Location – Pineville, St. Stephen's Parish, Berkeley County

  810 Tower Hill Plantation Drive
  

• Origin of name – May be because the plantation house sits on a hill (5)
  

• Other names – ?

• Current status – Privately owned and operated as a special events venue (3).
  

— Tower Hill Plantation Bell Tower © Melissa McVey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Timeline

• 1721 – Earliest known date of existence (3)
  

  John Couturier received a grant for 3,000 acres from King George (3).
  

• 1748 – House built (3)
  

  The original plantation house was burned during the Civil War but was rebuilt (3).
  

• ? – Mr. and Mrs. Edward St. Julien Marion (of the Francis Marion family) acquired the plantation (2, p. 197) (3).
  

• 1934 – The house was once again damaged by fire and rebuilt in 1936 by Mr. and Mrs. Edward St. Julien Marion (3).
  

• 1977 – Mrs. Marion made a generous donation of the home and 15 acres of surrounding pinelands to the Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross. A monastery, Holy Savior Priory, was established but closed in 1991 (2, p. 197).
  

• 1991 – The Episcopal Order of the Holy Cross closed and the Episcopal Church sold the property (5).
  

• ? – The Oakland Hunt Club acquired the plantation to add to the neighboring hunting preserve the club already owned (5).
  

• 2008 – Scandinavian couple Ida and Guttorm Berqvam purchased Tower Hill Plantation in the name of their company Berqvam Holdings LLC from Oakland Hunt Club. The Berqvams have renovated the property and opened the plantation as a special events venue (3) (5).
  

— Tower Hill Plantation Oak Avenue © Melissa McVey, 2016 —
(Do Not Use Without Written Consent)

Land

• Number of acres – 3,000 in 1721; 24 in 2011 (3) (5)
  

• Primary crop – Rice then cotton (5)
  

• The remains of the old graveyard are still visible.
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – ?

References & Resources

1. 30-15 Plantation File, held by the South Carolina Historical Society
   –  Online Catalog
   

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

3. Information contributed by Ida Berqvam, who purchased the Tower Hill Plantation in 2008 with her husband. Click here for their website for the plantation.
   

4. Brief genealogy of the John Couturier family.
   

5. Robert Behre, Pair Brings Tower Hill Back to Life (Charleston, SC: The Post and Courier, June 6, 2011).
   

6. Tower Hill Plantation - SCIWAY's South Carolina Picture Project.
   

Contact Information

• Tower Hill Plantation
  810 Tower Hill Plantation Drive
  Pineville, SC 29468
  

  Telephone: 920-858-1052, Neil Arafat, Property Manager
  Website: Click here