Hobcaw Barony, human settlement in South Carolina, United States of America

Hobcaw Barony is a 16,000-acre tract on Waccamaw Neck between Winyah Bay and the Atlantic in Georgetown County, South Carolina. Its more than 37 historic structures span 18th- and 19th-century rice cultivation and 20th-century winter retreats. The red brick Hobcaw House, built in 1930 by Lafaye and Lafaye, stands about 4 mi south of the main entrance overlooking Winyah Bay.

In 1718 John, Lord Carteret received a royal grant of 12,000 acres on Hobcaw Point; after 1766 surveys the tract was split into about a dozen rice plantations worked until the Civil War. Robert and Eliza Donaldson consolidated several into Friendfield in 1875. Bernard M. Baruch bought the land in three purchases between 1905 and 1907 as a winter hunting retreat, keeping the old rice canals and embankments for waterfowl.

The site is best reached by car as it sits in a rural area without public transportation access. Plan for enough time to explore the various buildings and grounds since walking between structures requires traversing larger distances.

Belle Baruch built a small airport hangar at Bellefield Plantation, and the estate's rice canals and embankments were kept after cultivation ended so waterfowl would gather for the winter hunts. Winston Churchill and his daughter Diana visited in 1932; Franklin Roosevelt spent a month working there in spring 1944.