McLeod Plantation, former Sea Island cotton plantation on James Island, Charleston, South Carolina, United States
McLeod Plantation is a former Sea Island cotton plantation on James Island at Wappoo Creek. Its two-story wooden main house, built between 1854 and 1857, has a gabled roof, a central pediment with a fan window, and four large round white columns supporting a two-story portico. The grounds also hold five clapboard enslaved dwellings, a detached kitchen, a dairy building, a pre-Civil War cotton gin house, a barn, and a carriage house.
The site appears on maps from 1678 as "Morris"; in 1780 British General Sir Henry Clinton used its original house as headquarters while planning the siege of Charleston. The present house was built by free and enslaved craftsmen between 1854 and 1857. During the Civil War the Big House served as a hospital, and in 1865 the 55th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, African American US Colored Troops, occupied the site, followed by the Freedmen's Bureau.
The grounds are walkable and you can move between buildings on foot to explore the different areas. Bring plenty of water and wear comfortable shoes, especially if visiting during warmer months.
In 1993, ten acres of the plantation were set aside to grow sweetgrass, the basic material for Gullah Geechee basket weaving. The site also lies within the federally recognized Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and the five clapboard dwellings that housed enslaved workers still stand near the main house.
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