In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Appendix Hobcaw Barony Today Hobcaw Barony today is much as Belle left it. The sandy, dusty roads wind through the forests and marshes, and much of the land that had been cultivated when she was a child has reverted to its natural state. White-tailed deer wander the woods, secure in their protected environment. Alligators snooze in the sun and squirrels perch in the trees, scolding the feral hogs that root below. Birdsong echoes through the woods, and the mystique of Hobcaw Barony is preserved for the ages. Only remnants remain of the black villages—a few houses at Strawberry, more at Friendfield. The little church Bernard Baruch renovated at Friendfield is there, the pews silent and empty. Pa Moses’s house, across the road from where Prince Jenkins grew up, is intact, its tin roof gleaming in the Carolina sun, its front porch sagging. Layers of fine dust coat the floor of the dispensary where the residents gathered each week for the doctor to treat their ailments. Bellefield Plantation’s stables are used infrequently, yet a few carriages and leather harnesses remind visitors of Belle’s lifelong fascination with the equestrian world. The silver horseshoe engraved with the legend of Belle and Souriant ’s triumph at the Paris Horse Show is mounted at the entrance to Souriant’s empty stall. The stable walls are lined with 171 of Belle’s riding trophies. Bellefield house itself seems to be waiting silently in the midst of its green carpet of grass. Belle’s beloved wild turkeys strut across the lawn on the way to the pond. Most of the furnishings have been moved to Hobcaw House. The sunroom remains the heart of Belle’s home, the scent of hundreds of winter fires lingering on the ballast bricks. Ella Severin is gone now, having died in 2000 at the age of ninety-five. A trustee and director of long-range planning for the foundation, Severin shared Belle’s love of the land and sense of commitment to future generations. It was Ella Severin who said to the other trustees in the 1960s: “Believe it or not, Appendix 196 within twenty years Hobcaw Barony and Brookgreen Gardens will be like oases on the Waccamaw Neck.” Severin’s words were prophetic. Only those lands of the Waccamaw Neck in Georgetown County that were set aside by Belle Baruch and Archer M. Huntington are preserved for future generations. Hobcaw House welcomes visitors with mementos of its historic past when presidents, prime ministers, film stars, and royalty enjoyed the legendary hospitality of Bernard Baruch. The vistas overlooking the bay and woods with their peace and quietude are unchanging. As provided by Belle’s will, the Belle W. Baruch Foundation makes the property available to researchers from all colleges and universities located in South Carolina and has formed long-term agreements with the University of South Carolina and Clemson University to carry out research and teaching programs . Two institutes have been formed: Clemson University’s Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science was established in 1968 to conduct teaching and research in forestry, wildlife biology, and related sciences, and the University of South Carolina’s Belle W. Baruch Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences was established in 1969 to conduct teaching and research in the marine sciences and related fields. As a natural laboratory, Hobcaw Barony is unsurpassed. There are maritime and upland forests, two miles of undeveloped beachfront, abandoned rice fields, cypress swamps, freshwater ponds, and nearly five thousand acres of salt marsh, all with different types of vegetation, supporting a variety of wildlife. Thanks to the foresight and protection provided by Belle Baruch, the North Inlet estuary at Hobcaw Barony is considered one of the least disturbed and most understood estuaries in the world today. It was selected by the National Science Foundation as a long-term ecological research site and has been named a National Estuarine Research Reserve by NOAA. The foundation has had to battle land developers to keep it so. With spirit Belle would have admired, the foundation has fought long, expensive, legal battles to prevent land developers from emptying drainage canals into the North Inlet estuary and to settle boundary disputes that encroach on the pristine property. In 1978 the Kimbel Living and Learning Center was built just south of the main entrance and includes a conference center, three cottages, and three dormitories . Hurricane Hugo destroyed the USC Baruch Marine Field Laboratory in 1989...

Share