Brookgreen Gardens


Brookgreen Gardens is a sculpture garden and wildlife preserve, located just south of Murrells Inlet, in South Carolina. The property includes several themed gardens with American figurative sculptures placed in them, the Lowcountry Zoo, and trails through several ecosystems in nature reserves on the property. It was founded by Archer Milton Huntington, stepson of railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington, and Anna Hyatt Huntington, his wife, to feature sculptures by Anna and her sister Harriet Randolph Hyatt Mayor along with other American sculptors. Brookgreen Gardens was opened in 1932, and is built on four former rice plantations, taking its name from the former Brookgreen Plantation.

Early history

Originally, what is now Brookgreen Gardens was four rice plantations. The plantations from south to north were The Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, and Laurel Hill. The current gardens and surrounding facilities lie completely on the former Brookgreen Plantation, which was owned by Joshua John Ward, the largest American slaveholder.
Only a handful of relics survive on the former plantations. The Alston cemetery survives on the grounds of The Oaks plantation. Gov. Joseph Alston and his child are buried in the cemetery. The same grave is a memorial to the governor's wife Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Vice President Aaron Burr, who was lost at sea. Her ghost is said to haunt the Grand Strand, looking for her father. The rice mill at Laurel Hill is all that remains of the plantation today. During the American Civil War, Confederates built an earthen structure on the grounds to block Union Navy ships from coming into the tidal rivers.

The Huntingtons

It is the creation of Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington of Connecticut, who purchased four plantations to open the garden to showcase her sculptures. Situated on Waccamaw Neck in Georgetown County, South Carolina, between the Waccamaw River and the Atlantic coast, it is the country's first public sculpture garden and has the largest collection of figurative sculpture by American artists in an outdoor setting in the world. It is also a nature and historical preserve with a small zoo and a nature exhibition center.
Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington first visited the property in 1929. Because they were captivated by the beauty of it, they purchased nearly of forest, swamp, rice fields and beachfront. They intended to establish a winter home on the coast, but Anna saw the potential of the property and they quickly began to develop her vision of making it the showcase for her sculptures. Archer, son of philanthropists Arabella Worsham Huntington and stepson of Collis Huntington, and Anna have donated property and contributed much to U.S. arts and culture in a number of states. Her sculpture of Joan of Arc is a feature of New York City's Riverside Park.

Public landmark

Sculpture gardens

About 1445 works of American figurative sculpture are displayed at the Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington Sculpture Garden. Many of the works are creations of sculptress Hyatt Huntington, but other artists are also featured. Walkways and garden paths link the sculptures in their distinctive garden, fountain, or landscape settings, with vistas of the scenery surrounding them.
A area of Brookgreen Gardens was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The sculpture garden portion,, of Brookgreen Gardens was included in the designation of Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens as a National Historic Landmark in 1984. Atalaya Castle is just across U.S. 17 which cuts through the former combined Huntington property.
The sculpture gardens includes works by:
Winner of the South Carolina Heritage Tourism Award, the Lowcountry Trail consists of a beautiful boardwalk that crosses the hillside overlooking Mainfield, a restored rice field of the former Brookgreen Plantation. For enslaved Africans on Brookgreen Plantation, this hill was a bridge between the world of daily work and the familiarity of life in the slave village beyond the crest of the hill. The rhythms of life – planting, growing, harvesting, threshing – changed seasonally for everyone on the rice plantation. Archaeological projects have revealed the remains of four structures on the hillside: the site of the overseer's residence at the apex of the hill, and its kitchen, smokehouse and dependency closer to the edge of the rice field. Along the trail, interpretive panels that describe life on a rice plantation and four stainless steel figures have been placed to represent the Plantation Owner, the Overseer, and an Enslaved African Male and an Enslaved African Female. These figures, created in stainless steel by , serve as visually compelling landmarks to draw visitors along the trail and to interpret a revealing story about each one's role in the economic and social system of a Lowcountry plantation.

Lowcountry Trail Audio Tour

The Lowcountry Trail Audio Tour is a public education program that emphasizes historic preservation. The tour winds along the Ricefield Overlook and adjacent rice field and is free with garden admission. A 30-minute fictional story about life on Brookgreen Plantation unwinds progressively as listeners walk the trail.

Zoo and plantation sites

The Lowcountry Zoo and the Lowcountry Center are also on the property. This is where 'trekker tours' are launched into the backroads of the former plantations. Recent Archeological efforts have unearthed the foundations of several buildings at 'The Oaks' plantation. Ponds have been created from the former 'Brookgreen' plantation house sites.

Natural areas

The Atlantic Coast side was later leased to South Carolina to form Huntington Beach State Park. There are boat tours with views of Sandy Island and a self-guided tour nature trail to show off the 2000 identified species of life, including majestic longleaf pines, Spanish moss draped live oaks, and vistas of the river and nearby marshland. The gardens make every effort to preserve the natural environment.

Nights of a Thousand Candles

The Nights of a Thousand Candles is one of the most anticipated annual event of the holiday season. Every year the Brookgreen gardens are lit up with more than 2700 hand lit candles and countless lights set among the plants, trees and sculptures of the garden. Tickets for the same are available every year for visitors.

Awards and recognitions