Description

A unique place to live, Schieveling Plantation is located in the city of Charleston, SC, 20 minutes north of downtown Charleston.  Located on Highway 61 North on the way to Summerville, South Carolina, the historical plantations and gardens of Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation, and Middleton Place lie just to the North.  The common tie among these plantations and gardens is their location along the Ashley River.  Downtown Charleston is a scant 20 minutes to the South.

Plats

 Schieveling Final Plat Sheet 1 of 2

Schieveling Final Plat Sheet 2 of 2

History

Thanks to residents Don and Ann Clendaniel for providing the following information, most of which came from an article in the Friday, August 3, 1962 edition of The Charleston Evening Post.
“This handsome avenue [now Rhett Butler Drive] of live oaks was probably planted around 1793 when Ralph Izard acquired the property on the Ashley River.  The entrance, which is on Highway 61 (Ashley River Road), at that time led to the Izards’ country residence, known as ‘Schieveling.'”

The original house at ‘Schieveling’ was destroyed by fire when the Izards’ only son was returning from his wedding tour.

Legend has it that as he and his bride turned onto the avenue from the public road, they looked upon the house in flames.

Thomas Butler, son of Shem Butler, was allocated 313 acres on the Ashley River, west of the Ferry tract allocated to his sister, Sarah. Thomas Butler seems to have moved his residence to Prince William’s Parish, where he died in 1746.  He left his lands to his son, Thomas, who died without children.  His son, William, seems to have died without children also.  In some way, the property was acquired by Elizabeth Butler, widow of Thomas Butler, and mother of Thomas and William.  She later married Robert D’Arques and her third husband was Robert Young.  Eventually, the property was owned by Ralph Izard who died leaving one son and six daughters.  A daughter, Ester, married the Honorable Thomas Middleton.  A deed of 1826 refers to the 1,056 acres as Schieveling, although it was known by that name long before.  The property changed hands from Thomas Middleton to Dr. Charles Drayton to Joseph F. Bee to Henry A. Middleton, Esq.

Mr. and Mrs. M. R. Hinkle are the present owners of the property [this was in 1962] that includes the entrance and about 150 acres of the original estate.  The grounds and garden were in a state of neglect and disrepair when they built their home and began other improvements in the 1960s.”

Down & Dirty Archaeology of the South Carolina Low Country  (Read about the Butler’s, Izard’s and early Schieveling)

The Ashley River: A Survey of Seventeenth Century Sites (search for Schieveling)