Woodlands, Federal estate in South Carolina, US

Woodlands is a two-story plantation house three miles east of Bamberg, South Carolina, on the south bank of the south branch of the Edisto River. Its first floor is brick and its second floor wood frame; the five-bay main facade has asymmetrical window and door placement. Two 1860s outbuildings survive: a small cabin Simms used as a study and a dairy house.

The estate was already old when William Gilmore Simms inherited it from his in-laws in 1836, and it served for years as his main residence. The main house was rebuilt several times, once after a fire and again after Union Army forces destroyed it late in the Civil War. Simms could not fully rebuild it and completed only the library wing in 1867, which forms the first floor of the present house.

The house holds mementos from the period of William Gilmore Simms, who lived here for many years and wrote many of his most significant works at the estate. A documentary was made about the enslaved population of the Woodlands plantation, whose labour sustained the property.

Woodlands lies 3 miles east of Bamberg along U.S. Highway 78, on the south bank of the south branch of the Edisto River, with the estate straddling both sides of the road. The main house, its 1860s study cabin and dairy house stand on the property; the site is a National Historic Landmark and access to the interior is arranged in advance rather than on a fixed public schedule.

Two 1860s outbuildings survive at Woodlands: a small cabin William Gilmore Simms used as a study and a small dairy house. The study cabin is where the author worked during his later years, after Union Army forces destroyed the main house late in the Civil War.