“Delta dates to 1830 when Langdon Cheve’s put Inverary and Telfair Plantations together to form Delta.”
City Directories and History: “In 1829 Langdon Cheves returned to his native South Carolina after serving as
president of the Bank of the United States, and purchased two tracts of land on the Savannah River. Congressman James Hamilton and Judge Daniel Elliott Huger, both owners of Savannah River rice plantations, advised Cheves that these ricelands were the best in the state. The two tracts totaling 1,132 acres made Cheves one of the largest rice planters on the Savannah River. By 1841, when his son, Langdon, Jr., took over the operation of the plantation, the acreage totaled 2,747 acres with a slave force of 187.
The master’s house was one-story with a steep gabled roof. At each end of the house and at the back was a series of “shed rooms” which served as the servants’ rooms, pantry and store rooms. All the buildings on Delta were burned by Federal troops in 1865. The impressive brick structures with slate roofs now standing at Delta Plantation were built in 1926-1927 by Mr. and Mrs. James Denham of Wilmington, Delaware. The central block with three bays, “ABA,” has symmetrical one-and two-story wings on each side. A one-story central en-trance portico is supported by four Corinthian order columns and a wrought iron balustrade that encircles the portico. The Georgian Revival style house has interior chimneys and six over six (6/6) light windows with exterior blinds.
Other buildings on the plantation include a garage, servants’ quarters and a stable. The manager’s house is a two-story frame structure built in the early twentieth century. A one-story piazza spans the facade of the building. The main house is almost an exact copy of Brandon Plantation on the James River in Virginia. Brandon, built in the eighteenth century, is a National Historic Landmark designed by Thomas Jefferson.”
Information from: Historic Resources of the Lowcountry, The Lowcountry Council of Government, Cynthia C. Jenkins, Preservation Planner – Published, 1979
IMAGE GALLERY – Photo contributed to R&R by Gazie Nagle @ www.fineartbygazie.com
Down in the panhandle of the county, seven miles below Hardeeville and past the Levy station on the Seaboard railway, is Delta Plantation, now owned by James S. Denham of Wilmington, Delaware. It is located on the old King’s Highway from Charleston to Savannah. Denham purchased the land from H. Kierstade Hudson of New York in 1938. The red-brick house was built in the twenties, designed along Colonial lines. Out in back, there are terraced formal gardens, and on a lower level, there is a pond for tame duck. The estate is primarily used for the hunting of deer, duck, quail, and doves by the family and their guests.
(Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC)
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