Bernard Baruch - Purchase of Hobcaw Barony (Bellefield Plantation), Georgetown County, South Carolina

Purchase of Hobcaw Barony (Bellefield Plantation), Georgetown County, South Carolina

Between 1905 and 1907, Bernard Baruch systematically purchased a total of approximately 15,560 acres (63 square kilometers) of the former 18th century Hobcaw Barony, also known as Bellefield Plantation, located on a peninsula called Waccamaw Neck between the Winyah Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Baruch subsequently developed sections of the property as a winter hunting resort. He later transferred the property to his eldest child, Belle W. Baruch. Upon her death in 1964, the property was transferred to The Belle W. Baruch Foundation as a nature and research preserve. The property also includes more than forty historic buildings representing the 18th and 19th century rice cultivation industry, and early-mid 20th century winter resorts. The entire property was named to the National Register of Historic Places on November 2, 1994.

The Trustees of The Belle W. Baruch Foundation subsequently selected the University of South Carolina and Clemson University as educational institutions with a mandate to preserve and study the Hobcaw Barony, including the estate's coastal ecosystems. The University of South Carolina established the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, and Clemson University established the Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology & Forest Science. Both universities have also formed partnerships with other schools in South Carolina that carry out research and educational programs which contribute to knowledge of coastal ecosystems. The Belle W. Baruch Foundation maintains a Visitors Center at the entrance to the Hobcaw Barony property, and provides tours and educational programs.

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