Butler Island Plantation

McIntosh County · dedicated 1957 · Located on Ocean Highway (US 17) in Darien.

Famous rice Plantation of the 19th century, owned by Pierce Butler of Philadelphia. A system of dikes and canals for the cultivation of rice, inspired by the canals in Holland and installed by enslaved laborers, is still in evidence in the old fields, and has been used as a pattern for similar operations in recent years. During a visit here with her husband in 1838-39, Pierce Butler's wife, the brilliant English actress, Fanny Kemble, wrote her "Journal of a Residence On A Georgia Plantation," which is said to have influenced England against the Confederacy.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

This marker is part of the Georgia Historical Marker Program, administered by the Georgia Historical Society. Marker texts and locations come from the Society's own marker database.

More markers nearby

Enslaved People of Butler Islandunder 1 mi
Famous Butler Authorsunder 1 mi
General's Islandunder 1 mi
Port of Darien1 mi