Join us on Monday, March 17th, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s 1825 visit to Edisto Island, South Carolina. The festivities will take place from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society, the South Carolina Historical Society, and the American Friends of Lafayette.

Activities will include a visit to the William Seabrook House, the Graveyard of the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island, and the Edisto Island Museum. A Lafayette reenactor will be at the Seabrook House. Tickets are $40 each, and the number is limited. They may be purchased on the Friends of Lafayette site (link below), and the deadline for purchase is Monday, March 10th.

During Lafayette’s national tour in 1824, he was invited by William Seabrook to visit Edisto Island and arrived on March 17th. Seabrook was a very successful cotton planter who was at one point the wealthiest man in the United States. During his visit, Lafayette bestowed the name Carolina Lafayette on Seabrook’s newborn daughter.

The Seabrook House, built in 1810, will be open for a visit. In addition to the beautiful house, slave cabins, a private steamboat landing, and formal gardens, there was also a cotton gin operating there by 1825. The house and cotton gin are the only two remaining structures from the Seabrook era. Tradition holds that James Hoban, the architect of the White House, designed the Seabrook House. The house was used as headquarters for the Union Army, and examples of graffiti written by Federal troops remain on the walls and doors.

The Seabrook House is a private home and remains in immaculate condition.

The Presbyterian Church graveyard is the site of Carolina Lafayette Seabrook Hopkinson’s grave; she died in 1879. There is also a Seabrook family plot, and ticket holders will be allowed to take a guided tour of the entire historic graveyard.

Visitors to the Edisto Island Museum will be able to learn about Edisto Island’s rich history, including a new exhibit on the Gullah culture of the island. The Island’s planters became incredibly wealthy from the cultivation of sea island cotton, and at one time, the population was over 80% enslaved. The Gullah are descendants of these enslaved persons who made this wealth possible. Carolina Lafayette Seabrook’s bridal veil is also on display in the Museum, along with numerous artifacts from the days when William Seabrook owned his beautiful home.

Another important artifact in the Museum is a portion of a slave cabin from Point of Pines Plantation, located on the island. A “sister” cabin was donated by the Museum to the Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC.

DATE – Monday, March 17th
PLACE – Edisto Island, SC
TIME – 10:00 – 3:00
TICKETS – $40 (deadline for purchase – Monday, March 10th)

LUNCH (11:30 – 2:00) and TOUR: Lunch featuring local low country and Gullah cuisine will be available for purchase from a food truck located at the New First Missionary Baptist Church (1644 Hwy. 174).

Visit the historic sanctuary, the oldest church on the island, dating back to 1818, for a discussion of its colorful past. You can also visit the historic grave of Hephzibah Townsend Jenkins, who died in 1847. She was a wealthy planter’s wife who was responsible for funding the building of the church, which has had a historically Black congregation since its founding. Tickets are available at https://friendsoflafayette.wildapricot.org/event-6077935