Gardens

Until the Civil War, the economy of the proprietorship then colony of South Carolina was based on rice. The land and the access to water along with the expertise of slaves captured from rice growing areas of Africa made this area second only to New York in wealth. After the Civil War rice production which was largely dependent on slave labor ended and the plantations fell into ruin. In the 1930s Archer, step-son and heir to the Huntington fortune, bought four former rice plantations along the South Carolina coast. His step-father Collis Potter Huntington was one of the richest men in America, making his money from railroads and shipping. He left his fortune to Archer with the proviso that it be used for nature and art. Archer, an expert in Spanish studies, married New York sculpture Anna Hyatt. When she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, they sought a warm place where she could continue to create.

Their legacy is Brookgreen Gardens in Murrells Inlet. The gardens are filled with her work as well as work of artists they supported, many of them women. The sculpture are set next to or within pools and amidst flowering plants. Archer was a poet and the walls of the gardens contain his poetry as well as famous and less known poets.

A pontoon ride along the rivers within the plantations presented us a close up of what the land was like and how it has returned to its pre-rice state. After the ride, Anna Lee found a few friends to chat with.

Like all museums, Brookgreen has art in storage, but their storage is open for the public to explore. There we found a Remington sculpture among other artists.

Other showcase galleries held exhibits of metal casting and busts.

Unable to stay longer, we missed a visit to their home with its tower where Anna worked.