This Abandoned South Carolina Plantation Is A Haunting Gem Hidden In A Picturesque Park

In the heart of the ACE Basin, South Carolina's underrated wildlife refuge, is an abandoned house whose haunting frame speaks to the area's plantation history. The Donnelley Wildlife Management Area encompasses over 8,000 acres of wetlands, marshes, and 19th-century rice plantations, and it's within this slice of the ACE Basin you'll find the dilapidated, Victorian-style Boynton House. 

The history of the house isn't fully known: It was built either in the late 1800s or early 1900s and likely abandoned during the Great Depression. Allegedly, the Boynton family built this house to tend to their cattle, and the property was likely part of the surrounding plantation known as Mary's Island. These days, it serves the bats who roost inside, as well as the curious observers who want to get a glimpse of this Southern Gothic relic from South Carolina's dark past (it's unknown at this time how many enslaved people worked on this plantation). This one-story frame house has retained its layered shingles and double-peak structure, and while you can't enter it due to the bat population that calls it home, you can peek through some of the windows to see the unsettling but beautiful remnants of this former home. Note that it's currently prohibited to take photos of the interior.

Afterwards, you can hike, bike, or drive around this park that serves as both a hunting and conservation area, filled with waterfowl, alligators, and deer. Explore its roads and trails that allow you to experience the wild beauty of the forests, swamps, and marshes of South Carolina's Lowcountry, the region that's known as a soulful coastline with cute towns and fantastic cuisine.

The Donnelley Wildlife Management Area is open year-round, seven days a week, from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. It's closed for hunts, so it's best to check online to find the season's closing dates. Visitors must wear international orange from October 1 to March 1. 

The Boynton House is at the start of an easy 2.9-mile nature trail loop, which will take you past some of the park's other historic 18th-century sights, such as rice field dikes and various wooden structures. You'll also get the chance to bird or gator-watch if that's your thing (you might want to make it your thing since you'll likely see one). Be sure to check for ticks, as some visitors on AllTrails have noted there are a lot on the trail. Currently, there are two nature trails for hikers, plus dirt roads for those who want to explore the area on a bike.

If you don't feel like hiking or coming face-to-face with an alligator, you can do a driving tour of the area as well. Stop by the main office to pick up a map (which you can also find online) and plot a route over the 11 miles of roads crossing the land. Charleston is just over an hour away by car, making this a perfect day trip from South Carolina's lovely city that blends a European look with Southern charm, and Savannah is about an hour and 15 minutes away.