IF A TRAVELER wishes to spend the night in a beautiful, haunted, historical manor house, the stately home built by the earliest owner of Litchfield Plantation is a grand place to do so.
The original mansion, the Litchfield manor house, is one of the oldest plantations on the Waccamaw River. The manor house, as well as the surrounding grounds, retains all the qualities of the most cinematic antebellum ideal.
To reach the manor house, a traveler must first pass through the lovely old brick-and-wrought-iron gate entrance, then state intentions to the gatekeeper when he emerges from the weathered brick gatehouse.
The impression the traveler receives when driving toward the house through the quarter-mile tunnel of massive, ancient, moss-draped oak trees is one of isolated splendor.
Emerging from the deep green light of the oak-lined drive into the sunshine that bathes the wide front lawn, the traveler will find that the avenue divides to form a circular drive. This circle closes at the base of wide brick steps that lead up to the white-columned, two-story veranda of the manor house.
Long windows flanked by black shutters grace the elegant white facade, while twin chimneys rise from the roof toward the sky.
As a guest in this elegant mansion, the traveler may choose to stay in the suite which includes the former ballroom, or repose in the canopied queen bed of the Gun Room Suite. Guests can also choose whether they prefer a view of the rice fields or the avenue of oaks leading to the house.
Although other lodgers are probably fellow travelers spending a night or two, one lodger is here to stay. He has been here since antebellum times.
There is no existing document that mentions Peter Simon’s property before 1794, but it has been estimated that the manor house which he built there may date as early as 1740.
When Peter Simon died in 1794, the executors of his will had a plot drawn up in order to divide the property evenly between his two sons, Peter, Jr., and John.
Peter, Jr., received the northern half of his father’s property, a 966-acre tract of land stretching from the Waccamaw River to the Atlantic Ocean. This tract was called Willbrook.
John’s inheritance was the southern half, a 966-acre tract reaching from the Waccamaw to the ocean. This tract, named Litchfield, included the existing manor house and the avenue of live oaks.
Sometime between November 1794 and 1796, John sold Litchfield to Daniel Tucker of Georgetown.
Daniel made full use of the Waccamaw River location of his new home, masterminding the creation of an intricate system of flooding and draining that was necessary for rice cultivation. This system used gates that opened from the river into a maze of narrow canals that ran through the rice fields.
Daniel did not have many years to enjoy the wealth earned from this great accomplishment. He died in 1797, leaving Litchfield to three of his six sons.
John Hyrne Tucker, the oldest of the three to inherit Litchfield, later became its sole owner. It is not known whether he made a financial arrangement with his brothers or simply outlived them.
During the course of his full and spirited life, John Hyrne Tucker perfected the rice-growing methods of his father. His devotion to rice planting escalated production on his land to a high point of one million pounds of rice in the year 1850.
In addition to rice planting, he was a devout Episcopalian, a noted connoisseur of fine wines, and president of a local social club that entertained, among other noted guests, former president Martin Van Buren.
Loved by all, John Hyrne Tucker married four times and fathered nine children.
Henry Massingberd Tucker, John Hyrne’s son by his third wife, inherited Litchfield when his father died.
Realizing the tremendous responsibility handed down from his father and grandfather, Henry devoted his life to caring for Litchfield and those who lived there.
He studied to become a medical doctor so that he could meet the needs of his family and the hundreds of slaves on his plantation.
With a complete and highly skilled knowledge of the rice-planting industry, as well as competency in the medical profession, Dr. Tucker was in a position to run Litchfield smoothly. The good doctor became a pillar of strength to his relatives, friends, slaves, and acquaintances.
Although his initial reason for becoming a doctor was to fulfill the medical needs of his family and slaves, Dr. Tucker was unable to turn down anyone who needed medical attention. He was the closest doctor to all of the surrounding plantations, and, as a result, was often called out late at night for medical emergencies.
Dr. Tucker had the gates of Litchfield locked by his devoted old gatekeeper every night. Believing this servant had no relations in the world, the doctor considered him the best man for the job. The old servant lived close to the gatehouse. When the bell outside the gate was rung, his job was to come and open the gate.
Unbeknownst to Dr. Tucker, the aged gatekeeper had a young wife on a nearby plantation. He would often go and visit her at night, unaware that his master, tired and weary, might be locked out.
Arriving at the gate late at night, tired Dr. Tucker would rap on the bell with the metal base of his riding crop. Thinking that the old gatekeeper was merely asleep, he would rap harder and harder on the bell, until someone would finally come to open the gate. Sometimes, when no one on the grounds of the plantation heard the bell, he would tie up his horse, climb over the high fence, and wearily walk down the long avenue of oaks to his house.
Not wanting to wake up everyone in his household, Dr. Tucker would climb the back stairway to his room where he could finally get some rest.
The doctor was the last Tucker to own Litchfield. He died in 1904, having sold the plantation seven years earlier.
During his lifetime, Dr. Tucker’s plantation truly was a small kingdom over which he, like his father and grandfather before him, was the conscientious and hard-working king. It is said that, because of his devotion to his beloved plantation, Dr. Tucker never really left his kingdom.
Later owners of Litchfield began to hear the bell beside the gate ring at night. When someone would go to answer the gate, no one could be found waiting there. People soon realized it was the ghost of Dr. Tucker ringing the bell. The bell finally was removed because the old doctor’s ghost, although a welcome presence, beat so furiously on it that he caused the manor house occupants to lose a great deal of sleep.
Over the years, Dr. Tucker has been seen in his room on the second floor, as well as on the back stairway he used for his late night returns. Travelers unfamiliar with the good doctor and his habits could easily mistake him for a fellow guest.
Those choosing to dine in the elegant Carriage House Club, built over Dr. Tucker’s original stables and carriage house, may also catch a glimpse of the good doctor as they enjoy the comforts and hospitality of his beloved kingdom built on rice.
The Litchfield Manor House is located
on Shell Road off of U.S. 17, approximately
13 miles north of Georgetown.