GOOSE CREEK, S.C. – A historic landmark in Goose Creek is officially no more. This week, demolition crews knocked down the iconic Oaks Plantation home. As of Friday, all that remains of the 128-year-old building that stood on 39.2 acres is rubble.
A piece of Berkeley County history gone forever
Over the last few days, local residents have taken to social media to express sadness over another piece of Berkeley County history forever lost to possible future development.
“My hands have traced those banisters and handrails so many times,” said Yarboro Winkle. “This hurts so much to see the most beautiful part of Goose Creek destroyed.”
“I grew up there, family were members since I was a small child, was a member of the swim team, I worked there on and off from a teenager to adult years,” said Denise Bounds. “Family weddings, high school reunions – I’m just devastated!”
2008 fire at The Oaks
The main home, which included five bedrooms and seven bathrooms, had been used for weddings, proms and other events until February 6, 2008, when a fire damaged the property. The historic part of the building remained mostly intact.
However, there was extensive damage to the roof, the ballroom as well as the commercial kitchen. The rooms suffered only smoke and some water damage.
The property was also home to a 9-hole golf course used by many for more than half a century.
The Oaks closes for good
In March 2019, The Oaks permanently closed to the public.
“The Oaks Golf Club is officially closed,” staff announced in a final message on its official Facebook page last year. “Will miss all the customers and friends I associated with over the years.”
For more than 50 years, the property had been owned by Howard Mims’ company, Mims Amusement Operating Co.
Prior to that, The Oaks, which served as an inland rice plantation, had been established by Edward Middleton on a 1678 grant from the Lords Proprietors.
Middleton, a planter who came to S.C. from Barbados, received 1,630 acres on Yeaman’s Creek, later renamed Goose Creek. He served in several colonial offices, including as a member of the Grand Council. The Oaks passed to Middleton’s son Arthur (1681-1737), also on the council, who later served as president of the first Royal Council.
Arthur Middleton’s son, Henry (1717-1784), served in the Continental Congress 1774-75 and was briefly its president. He later served in the Provincial Congress and first General Assembly of S.C.
The original house burned 180 years ago. It was rebuilt in 1892 for Maine businessman Edwin Parsons and renovated in 1930 by New York banker Charles Sabin. After Mims purchased it in 1964, it became officially known as The Oaks Plantation Golf & Country Club.
What’s next
Following Mim’s death in 2013, his heirs took over the property and eventually put it up for sale last year. The property was listed with realtor Jack Owens of NAI Charleston, a commercial real estate firm.
“We have been marketing it as a single-family redevelopment opportunity,” Owens told the Post & Courier last year. “We’ve got a group interested and we’ll be moving that way.”
With Berkeley County a hot spot for continued growth, the idea of turning The Oaks property into residential housing doesn’t sit well with some Berkeley County residents.
“People don’t want it to be flattened and turned into condos or houses,” Betty Shealy, the president of the Berkeley County Historical Society, told the newspaper last year.
According to Zillow, The Oaks was first listed for sale in July 2008 for $8 million. Berkeley County property records show the taxed value of the property was $1,381,200 in 2019. Records still show Mims Amusement Operating Co. as the owner of the property.
SEE ALSO:
- Residents Opposed to Development of Historic Site Launch “Save Gippy Plantation” Petition
- Officials: Developers Withdraw Application for Gippy Annexation
- Moncks Corner Planning Commission says “No” to Current Gippy Development Plans
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