Pinehurst Tea Plantation records
Collection Overview
Financial records, letters and correspondence, plats, and printed materials relating to the Pinehurst Tea Plantation founded in Summerville, South Carolina, by Charles U. Shepard. Financial records include mortgages, titles, receipts, abstracts, and deeds relating to the sale, purchase, and transfer of the property and properties that would become the Pinehurst Tea Plantation, including Carew Farm and Newington Plantation. Records also include letters and correspondence between Charles U. Shepard, Harriet K. Minot, Samuel Lord, G. W. Dingle, and others relating to various surveys and lot measurements of Pinehurst, routine financial matters including payments, transfers, and agreements related to Pinehurst, Carew Farm, and Newington Plantation as well as letters and correspondence of Harold M. Sebring re the history of tea cultivation in South Carolina. Plats include a plat for a piece of land surveyed in Colleton for an A. Fogartie, a plat for a portion of "The Tea Farm," a plat showing proposed hotel site and golf links on the Pinehurst Tea Farm property, and assorted hand drawn plats. Printed materials include an oversize scrapbook of clippings compiled by Shepard relating to the Pinehurst Tea Plantation and tea production, culture and trade, the U. S. Department of Agriculture Report Tea Culture: The Experiment in South Carolina by Shepard, Shepard's obituary in The Parish Leaflet, "Growing Tea in Summerville" by Harold M. Sebring, and a postcard depicting azaleas at Pinehurst Tea Farm.
Dates
- Creation: 1855-1993
Creator
- Pinehurst Tea Plantation (Organization)
Language of Material
Materials in English
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Notice
The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.
The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.
Historical Note
Founded by Charles U. Shepard (1842-1915) for his experiments in tea cultivation, production, and marketing, the Pinehurst Tea Plantation was a tea farm located in Summerville, South Carolina. In July of 1888 Shepard acquired "a portion of that tract of land, known as Newington" comprised of 408 acres from Harriet K. Minott, who had inherited the land from her grandfather Henry A. Middleton. In March of 1889 he purchased an additional 135 acres as well as various tracts and lots adjacent to the property. On it Shepard planted 90 acres of tea trees, many of which were from earlier tea cultivation experiments previously conducted in Summerville by the U. S. Government, including an Assam-hybrid and other varieties from India, Japan, and China. In addition, he built a two-story, 2,000 square foot production facility equipped with two hot air drying machines and a tea-rolling machine. He also planted and maintained many ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers on the property. In 1899, he received a small subsidy from the U.S. Government and was appointed as Special Agent in Charge Tea Investigations for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. After his death, tea production was discontinued and the farm abandoned. In 1919 the property was sold by his heirs to Frederick G. Buswell, who would sell the property to Harold M. Sebring in 1955. The property was eventually developed into what is now known as the Tea Farm subdivision, the Salisbury Acres subdivision, and the Summerville Country Club.
Extent
1.25 linear feet (1 document box, 1 slim document box, 1 oversize volume, 1 oversize paper folder)
Abstract
Financial records, letters and correspondence, plats, and printed materials relating to the Pinehurst Tea Plantation founded in Summerville, South Carolina, by Charles U. Shepard for his experiments in tea cultivation, production, and marketing. Materials relate primarily to the sale, purchase, and transfer of the property and properties that would become the Pinehurst Tea Plantation.
Collection Arrangement
Materials are described at the folder level.
Acquisitions Information
Materials were donated in 2012 by Sarah Elizabeth Mueller-Roemer.
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Processing Information
Processed by Joshua Minor, February 2017.
Subject
- Shepard, Charles Upham, 1842-1915 (Person)
Source
- Mueller-Roemer, Sarah Elizabeth (Donor, Person)
- Title
- Inventory of the Pinehurst Tea Plantation Records, 1855-1993
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by: Joshua Minor; machine-readable finding aid created by: Joshua Minor
- Date
- 2017
- Description rules
- Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)