Hopsewee Plantation sits atop a bluff overlooking the Santee River with one entrance facing the river and the opposite entrance facing the road which winds along the river. Originally there were several hundred acres of rice land to the south in the mile-wide delta, across the river from the house.

Hopsewee Plantation was originally part of the lands owned by Thomas Lynch, I (deceased 1738). He owned most of the land from Hopsewee to the ocean and Hopsewee was the first of his seven plantations on the North Santee River. He also owned Blessing Plantation on the Wando River. Hopsewee Plantation was chosen of all the Lynch properties for the family home of Thomas Lynch, Sr. (1726-1776).

Hopsewee overlooks the beautiful Santee River and the rice fields which were its source of income until the Civil War. Lynch Sr. was married to Elizabeth Allston, of Brookgreen Plantation, another prominent Georgetown family, and they had two daughters Sabina (b.1747) and Esther (b. 1748) and one son, Thomas Lynch, Jr. (b. 1749) After Elizabeth Allston died (c. 1750), Mr. Lynch married Hannah Motte, and they had a daughter, Elizabeth (b.1755).

In 1751 Lynch Sr. was the delegate elected to the Commons House of Assembly from Prince George, Winyah Parish where he served with the exception of one term until his death. He served on the 1765 Stamp Act Congress and in 1774 was elected to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Lynch was highly esteemed by the founding fathers and in October, 1775, Lynch was appointed with Benjamin Franklin, and Colonel Benjamin Harrison as advisors to General Washington.

In February 1776 he was paralyzed when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while in Philadelphia. His son, Thomas Lynch, Jr., was serving in the South Carolina militia and requested leave of his commanding officer, Christopher Gadsden, to join his ailing father. The request was denied but the South Carolina Second Provincial Congress selected the son as a delegate to join his father in Philadelphia.

Thus Thomas Lynch Sr. and Thomas Lynch Jr. were the only father and son team to serve the Continental Congress. Thomas Lynch Jr. was the second youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence at 26 years of age and thus gave his birthplace, Hopsewee Plantation, a place in American History.

In December, 1776, while returning to South Carolina, the senior Lynch died and is buried in Annapolis, Maryland. Thomas Lynch, Jr. returned to South Carolina and retired from public life due to a malingering fever contracted during his service with the South Carolina militia in 1775. He and his wife, Elizabeth Shubrick, resided at Peachtree Plantation on the South Santee River. In 1779 Thomas Lynch Jr. and his wife, Elizabeth Shubrick, left for France by way of the West Indies to improve his health. Their ship was lost at sea with all passengers. He and his wife had no children.

In 1762, Thomas Lynch, Sr. sold Hopsewee to Robert Hume, who considered it just another rice property. He never lived there and died only four years after purchasing Hopsewee. Robert had two sons, Alexander and John, who was only two years old when the family bought Hopsewee. Robert bequeathed Hopsewee to his older son, Alexander. When Alexander died at the Siege of Savannah, the plantation passed to John.

As a young man, instead of going bayonet to bayonet with the British, John joined the local militia and served under Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox) during the Revolutionary War. After the war, the John Hume family lived at Hopsewee in the winter and Charleston in the summer. He died in 1841 leaving seven children and several grandchildren.

In 1844 the Estate of John Hume advertised “That Plantation called Hopsewee” for public sale for a division among his heirs. The successful bidder was his grandson, John Hume Lucas, who became a very successful rice planter.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, rice was one of the most profitable cash crops in South Carolina, particularly in the Lowcountry region. The tidal rivers and wetland environment made it ideal for growing rice, but it was also incredibly labor-intensive. Wealthy planters who could develop large-scale irrigation systems and employ enslaved labor amassed great fortunes. Because John Hume Lucas was the grandson of both John Hume (through his father) and Johnathan Lucas (through his mother), he inherited both wealth and innovation.John’s grandfather, Jonathan Lucas, a British-born millwright, revolutionized the rice industry in South Carolina by inventing and improving mechanized rice mills in the late 1700s. Prior to his innovations, rice had to be hulled by hand using wooden mortars and pestles — slow and inefficient. Lucas’s water-powered rice mills made processing much faster and less labor-intensive, increasing output and profits significantly. His mills were often powered by tidal water, using the natural rise and fall of the tide to run machinery. This was a perfect match for the geography of the South Carolina coast.

This unique position gave him prime rice-growing land (like Hopsewee and possibly other plantations), advanced rice processing capabilities, thanks to his grandfather’s mills and economic advantage over other planters still using slower, older methods.John Hume Lucas died in 1853 and his widow and three children lived most of the year in Charleston, returning to Hopsewee at Christmas and Easter.

The plantation remained successful in production through an agent until the War Between the States. The house was beautifully furnished, but at the time of the evacuation of Charleston, the Yankees plundered Hopsewee and divided everything they did not want for themselves among the former slaves.

A large number of the former slaves remained on the property, they continued to work on land and rent the property they remained on. William Lucas, the eldest son of John Hume Lucas and his wife, Mary Doar Lucas, returned to Hopsewee in 1900 where they lived until his death in January, 1914.

In 1935 Mrs. William Lucas wrote “Now the old house is closed and has been for twenty-one years. Will it ever be opened again? Not for the Lucas family in whose possession—and the Humes—it has been for nearly two hundred years. It is taken care of and, as much as possible, kept in order, but this once quiet place is now on the Georgetown to Charleston Highway, which goes right through the property, within a short distance of the residence.”

John Hume Lucas’ descendants held Hopsewee until 1945 when they sold it to International Paper.

In 1945, the heirs of John Hume Lucas sold the property to International Paper. Two years later, Colonel Reading Wilkinson and his wife purchased the house and a few acres surround the house, and modernized with plumbing, heat and electricity. Their son, Phillip Wilkinson, recalls there was an elderly black woman living in one of the cabins near the house when he moved there as a young boy. There were still three slave cabins standing and an old man was living in one of the cabins, still plowing the corn field with an ox. The house remained under their ownership for over twenty years.

After Mrs. Wilkinson was widowed and her children grown, she traded houses in 1969 with James T. and Helen Maynard. Mrs. Wilkinson moved to Meeting Street in Georgetown and Mr. and Mrs. Maynard moved to Hopsewee Plantation with their two daughters Cassie and Betts.

The Maynards renovated the historic home and, importantly, opened it to the public in 1972, beginning its life as a house museum. They were also instrumental in securing Hopsewee’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places (1971) and its designation as a National Historic Landmark (1972) The Maynards operated Hopsewee as a museum and historic site for over three decades, from 1972 to 2001.

Their legacy is clear—they transformed Hopsewee into a public historic treasure, preserving architectural integrity and fostering community engagement.

The Maynards were approached by many developers who desired to develop the waterfront property. However, the Maynards were reluctant to see the property they loved and cherished for thirty years suffer this fate.

In the Fall of 2000, understanding the property had been sold, Frank Beattie stopped by Hopsewee to wish the Maynards well. When the Maynards told him they had not sold the property to a developer and wanted someone to have the property who would love it the way it had been since before the Revolutionary War, he was pleased to take on the responsibility of caring for Hopsewee. Frank and his wife, Raejean, view their ownership of Hopsewee Plantation as a gift from God and a trust to the people of South Carolina and the United States.

In January 2001, Frank and Raejean Beattie became the fifth owning family of Hopsewee, after the Maynards. They originally lived on-site in the main plantation house, maintaining it as their private residence while still welcoming public visitors

In 2006, they placed a conservation easement on approximately 56 acres of the property with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, legally protecting the house and grounds from future development. They have since purchased adjoining properties to increase the footprint of the plantation to over 100 acres.

They’ve overseen important restoration projects, especially concerning the on-site slave cabins. Skilled craftsman David Fegley reconstructed two original cabins using traditional techniques.

In 2008, they opened the charming River Oak Cottage Tearoom. Named one of South Carolina’s top tearooms, it provides a full Southern Tea Service, Lowcountry-inspired lunch, and even evening “Wine by the River” events with hors d’oeuvres overlooking the North Santee River.The menu, and Southern Tea Service, are recipes crafted and overseen by Raejean Beattie, herself a gourmet cook and Lowcountry cuisine enthusiast.

Under the Beattie’s stewardship, Hopsewee has grown to welcome over 10,000 visitors a year. They have enhanced visitor experiences by offering more than house tours: they’ve introduced Gullah cultural tours, built the River Oak Cottage Tearoom and the Hopsewee Historic Museum, offer Sweetgrass Basketmaking classes and Indigo Dyeing workshops, and many other seasonal events.