Woodlands
About this property
Woodlands, or the William Gilmore Simms Estate, is a historic plantation estate in Bamberg County, South Carolina. The property is nationally notable as the home for many years of author William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870), considered one of the leading literary voices of the antebellum Southern United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. The main house, built in part by Simms, contains mementos from his period. The Woodlands estate is located 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Bamberg on both sides of U.S. Highway 78, on the south bank of the south branch of the Edisto River. The main estate house is a two-story structure, brick on the first floor and wood frame on the second. Its main facade is five bays across, with asymmetrical window and door placement. The estate has two outbuildings from the 1860s: a small cabin that was used by William Gilmore Simms as a study, and a small dairy house. The estate was already of some age when William Gilmore Simms inherited it from his in-laws in 1836. It was for many years his primary residence, where many of his most significant works were written. The main estate house was rebuilt several times, once after a fire, and again after its destruction by Union Army forces late in the American Civil War. Simms was not able to fully rebuild the main house, and only completed the library wing in 1867, which forms the first floor of the current main house. A documentary was made about the enslaved population at the Woodlands plantation. List of National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places listings in Bamberg County, South Carolina Woodlands, Bamberg County (S.C. Hwy. 78, Bamberg vicinity), at South Carolina Department of Archives and History Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. SC-219, "Woodlands (Ruins), U.S. Route 78, Bamberg vicinity, Bamberg County, SC", 3 photos, supplemental material
Location
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Woodlands listed on the National Register?
Woodlands was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 11, 1971.
What type of historic resource is Woodlands?
Woodlands is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Woodlands a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Woodlands has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Woodlands?
The period of significance for Woodlands is recorded as the pre_contact era.
Can I research the history near Woodlands?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Woodlands will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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