10 Facts: The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site at Snee Farm

The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site contains a portion of the historic Snee Farm that was the plantation or country seat of Charles Pinckney (1757-1824), a principal author and signer of the United States Constitution. Learn more about Pinckney’s homesite and Snee Farm.

#1: Colonel Charles Pinckney purchased the Snee Farm in 1754 and granted it to his son Charles Pinckney in 1782.

Snee Farm was part of a royal land grant made in the late 17th century, passing through several hands until it was purchased by wealthy SC planter and lawyer Colonel Charles Pinckney, father of our Charles Pinckney for whom the site is named. The origin of the name “Snee” is unknown put appears about the time that Col. Pinckney purchased the 715-acre farm. Today a 28-acre remnant of Snee Farm is located within the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mt. Pleasant SC..

#2: The Snee Farm was a working plantation of almost 1,000 acres.

Colonel Charles Pinckney took an interest in developing Snee Farm into a productive plantation. Between 1754 and his death in 1782, he raised cattle and cultivated rice on the land. Until the market for the blue dye was lost in the American Revolution, he grew indigo on Snee Farm. Cotton was also grown by owners who followed the Pinckneys.

#3: Charles Pinckney’s aunt helped make its indigo crops a success.

One of the principal crops grown at Snee Farm before the American Revolution was indigo. Indigo was a plant that allowed the production of its eponymous blue dye. But indigo was not a viable crop until Charles’ aunt, Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722-1793), determined how best to cultivate and process the plant through persistent experimentation. The cultivation of indigo and extraction of the dye was a labor intensive operation that required enslaved labor to be profitable.

#4: Despite owning the Snee Farm for over 30 years, Charles Pinckney rarely used this site as a residence.

Charles Pinckney was more interested in helping develop the US Constitution and in South Carolina government than in farming.  Considering Snee Farm unhealthy in the summer months, he resided in his house on Haddrell’s point where the sea breezes kept the mosquitos at bay. He also had a grand townhouse in Charleston and owned several other plantations.

#5: Between 40 and 60 enslaved people worked at the Snee Farm.

It is estimated that the Pinckney’s utilized between 40 to 60 enslaved people of African descent in operating Snee Farm. Like most plantations of the antebellum South, both skilled and unskilled people were needed to make the plantation self-sufficient. In addition to the enslaved tradesmen and women who could supply barrels, wheels, tools and building materials, production of rice and indigo dye for the market demanded a high level of skill.

The use of enslaved labor by the Pinckneys and fellow planters came to the fore when Charles was a delegate to the US Constitutional Convention. Pinckney strongly defended the institution and warned that the Constitution would not be adopted if the trans-Atlantic slave trade was abolished. A provision was added that allowed the importation of “persons” to exists for a minimum of 20 years following its adoption, where “persons” primarily meant Africans destined to be enslaved.

#6: Charles Pinckney’s Snee Farm and home were saved by the actions of his father during the Revolutionary War.

After the surrender of Charleston on May 12, 1780 in which over 5000 Continental and militia soldiers were captured, the British took possession of the Snee Farm. Snee Farm and Pinckney’s Shell Hall home at Haddrell’s Point were used as internment camps for significant American officers, including Gen. William Moultrie, after whom Fort Moultrie is named, and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the namesake of Castle Pinckney in Charleston harbor. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was a nephew of Col. Charles Pinckney.

#7: During the Revolutionary War, the British used Pinckney’s Snee Farm home to house important American officers captured in the war.

Colonel Charles Pinckney was commanding officer of the Charles Towne Militia in 1779. When his son was about 21, he joined the Colonel’s regiment.  Both were involved in defending Charleston during the British siege and were captured. Colonel Charles Pinckney, under threat of losing his vast property holdings in South Carolina, determined to take an oath of loyalty to the British Crown. This action protected Snee Farm. His son Charles refused to do so and remained in British custody until he was exchanged for a British officer held in Patriot custody.

#8: The Snee Farm’s success suffered while Charles Pinckney was away on government service.

The British evacuated Charleston on December 14. 1782 the same year that Charles Pinckney inherited Snee Farm.  He returned to Charleston the next year and continued his interest in politics. He was elected as a delegate to the 5th Congress and began his efforts to form a new Constitution for the United States. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia. After the United States gained its independence from Great Britain and ratified the new Constitution, Charles Pinckney was frequently away from the Snee Farm while serving the state of South Carolina and his new nation. Pinckney served four terms as South Carolina’s governor and was later President Thomas Jefferson’s Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain (1801-1805). He returned to Charleston after his service in Spain. Snee Farm and his other assets suffered from his absence while serving in these many public service roles. To satisfy his creditors, Snee Farm and other properties were sold in 1817.

#9: Archeological efforts at the Charles Pinckney Homesite have been vital in understanding the site.

The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site constitutes only a small remnant of the Snee Farm property, and no standing structures remain from the Pinckney era. Pinckney’s papers were largely destroyed during the Civil War and the National Park Service has resorted to archeological investigations to understand the property under Pinckney’s ownership. The present house is historic in its own right having been built about 1825 with some more modern additions. It appears to have been built on the site of the Pinckney house.  The sites of other structures used during the antebellum period have also been discovered.

#10: The Friends of Historic Snee Farm deeded 28 acres to the National Park Service in 1990.

Much of the original Snee Farm plantation began to disappear as sections were sold off to developers. In the 1970s most of the land that had been in Pinckney’s Snee Farm estate was sold off to developers for a golf course and subdivision of the same name.  When the remaining 28 acre section was threatened with development, a local preservation group known as the Friends of Snee Farm stepped in to save the National Register property and deeded the site to the National Park Service. In 1988, the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site was established by Congress.

For more information about the Charles Pinckney National Historic Site and founding father Charles Pinckney see:

https://www.nps.gov/chpi/learn/historyculture/index.htm

The Friends of the Charleston National Parks endeavors to present informative and accurate materials for our readers. The subjects we cover are open to various interpretations and we invite readers to share their concerns about the material presented here. Please email us at Info@FCNP.org if you believe we have not correctly or accurately interpreted the historical record.