City Directories and History: “Okeetee was organized as a private club in 1893, encompassing approximately 53,000 acres. In 1894 a large, rambling, wood frame structure in the Shingle style was constructed to serve as the clubhouse. In addition, two support residences, a generator house and a “depot” were built in the same style. The clubhouse was destroyed by fire in March 1958. All the original buildings at Okeetee were designed by Stanford White of the New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White.
The superintendent’s house is located directly behind the new clubhouse which was built in 1959. The superintendent’s house is a two-story frame building covered in shakes, as are the other two original buildings. The steeply pitched gable roof has three-bay dormers on the north and south facades. Octagonal bays were added to the east and west sides of the house ca. 1910. Directly in front of the superintendent’s house is another two-story shingled residence. The house is three bays wide in the “ABA” pattern, with a one-story porch supported by four square posts extending across the facade. The windows are six over one (6/1) lights; the use of a multi-paned upper sash and a single large pane in the lower sash is typical of the Shingle style.
The third building remaining at Okeetee from the original complex is a generator house. The one-story building with a salt-box type roofline is located behind the clubhouse. The exterior surface treatment is shingles. A building identical to this once stood at the railroad tracks and served as a depot for club members.
The new clubhouse at Okeetee, designed by the Charleston architectural firm of Simons, Mitchell, Small and Donahue, was completed in 1959. It is a two-story brick building with a central block and one-story wings extending to the north and south. Okeetee is a private club encompassing 50,000 acres in Jasper County. Timber and sand are the basic commercial enterprises at Okeetee Club.”
Information from: Historic Resources of the Lowcountry, The Lowcountry Council of Government, Cynthia C. Jenkins, Preservation Planner – Published, 1979
The largest hunting preserve in the county, Okeetee Club, is comprised of more than 48,000 acres. The late John K. Garnett organized this club and built the original house in 1894. The building and its two annexes are of cypress-shingle construction. There are about seventy rooms, including a huge living room with an opened beam ceiling and many antiques. The furniture is upholstered in red velvet and linens. One long table in the dining room seats all of the members and their guests at one time.
Live-oak trees border the driveways, and the semi-circular walks are outlined with palmettoes, holly trees, azaleas and mimosa. About 1,000 acres are planted in oats, corn, and feed for the quail. The dogs are brought down by the members and are cared for in the club’s kennels during the hunting season. It was originally established as a private club of only twenty-one members. It has been a rule that no one could sell his share for more than he paid for it; consequently, the shares have been passed down through the families. Today, there are only seventeen members left of the corporation.
(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
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