How About Them Wilsons

February 26, 2006

Four score and twenty-four years ago, a family of Northerners made Bluffton their new hometown. This prominent New York family, like many industrialists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries decided to purchase a hunting estate in the South. Little did they know the allure of the Lowcountry would quickly convince them to make Bluffton their full-time residence.

It was 1902 when Richard T. Wilson, Jr. purchased 18,000 acres in Bluffton, South Carolina, and named the property “Palmetto Bluff.” (Before Wilson settled on the name “Palmetto Bluff” for his South Carolina estate he called it “Eden.”)

Wilson built a modest house overlooking the May River for the family’s winter visits and began spending as much time as he possibly could at the estate. When his father died in 1910, the obituary identified his son, Richard, as “having spent little time of late in New York and whose home is now Palmetto Bluff, S.C.” In fact, the census of 1910 lists Richard T. Wilson, Jr. and his family as residents of Bluffton.

We are talking about a time when electricity was still a novelty; L.L. Bean had just offered is first ever mail order leather boots, the bra was finally being introduced as a more comfortable option than a corset, and the Oreo was developed by Nabisco.

I find it rather interesting – and I am beginning to sense a pattern - that even back then, folks were looking for a quieter, more relaxed way of life.

In Bluffton, Wilson was able to spend his time pursuing his interest in agriculture. Wilson used his land for farming vegetables and for raising dairy and beef cattle. He bought 50 Shropshire sheep and even hired an Australian cattle rancher to oversee them. Many of the provisions for the estate were produced on the property.

More than anything, Wilson loved thoroughbred race horses, and he was an expert horseman and breeder. In 1916, his horse, Campfire, was not only the top money-winner in North American racing, but also the American Champion Two Year Old Male. In 1922, Wilson’s horse, Pillory, won the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. Wilson owned stables in New York and Kentucky, in addition to those at Palmetto Bluff. The Wilson stables’ racing colors of yellow and green were in winner’s circles around the country.

Palmetto Bluff was Richard T. Wilson’s idyllic retreat away from the city of New York until on March 2, 1926, the great mansion caught fire. A distraught Wilson had to twice be led away from the roaring flames, which eventually reduced the magnificent building to ashes.

The loss of his beloved home devastated Wilson. Unable to face rebuilding, he returned to New York and sold the entire property to J.E. Varn a few months later. Wilson died in New York City in 1929.

And, the rest as the say is history.

So, enough about me and the Wilsons - how does your story go? What made you move to Bluffton?

Special Thanks to Dr. Mary Socci, Palmetto Bluff’s Archaeologist, for the continuing history lessons!