Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, preserves 28 acres (11 hectares) of Snee Farm, a former plantation of American statesman Charles Pinckney. Pinckney helped to shape and then signed the Constitution of the United States. In addition, he served as a delegate to the Congress of the Confederation, which operated the U.S. government from 1781 to 1789. Pinckney’s political career also included such offices as governor of South Carolina, U.S. minister to Spain, and U.S. congressman.
Charles Pinckney’s father purchased the 715-acre (289-hectare) plantation in 1754. The property was a favorite country retreat of the Pinckney family. As a youth, Charles Pinckney probably spent much time at Snee Farm.
Today, the site includes a visitor center housed in a well-preserved cottage built about 1830, more than 10 years after Pinckney sold the plantation. The cottage is an example of the kind of house common to the area at that time. The Pinckney house no longer stands on the site. Archaeological investigations conducted in the 1990’s revealed that it stood on the same site as the present cottage and was probably demolished in the late 1820’s.
The site has exhibits on Pinckney, his family, and his career; agricultural history; the impact of slavery in the area; and archaeological discoveries made at Snee Farm. Like other planters in the region, Pinckney relied heavily on black slave labor to produce the rice and other crops grown on the plantations that he owned. As a result, the site has provided a rich source of archaeological information on African American contributions to the regional culture. Visitors to the site can watch videos on Charles Pinckney, Snee Farm, and the United States Constitution.
Snee Farm became a national historic site in 1991. The Friends of Snee Farm donated the property to the National Park Service, which operates the site.
