back to the days of English
settlements and the land grants of the Lords Proprietors, when large portions
of the Waccamaw Neck were divided into baronies that stretched from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River. The baronies were typically tens of
thousands of acres that were subdivided into long narrow plantations that
ranged from 500 to 1500 acres. The plantations of Murrells Inlet included The
Oaks, Brookgreen, Springfield, Laurel Hill, Richmond Hill, and Wachesaw (from
south to north). The first land grants were given to Robert Daniell in 1711,
who in turn sold to several other speculators, with the first planters arriving
in the 1730s to begin building settlements. The most notable (for historic
purposes) was Captain John Murrell, who bought 2340 acres which eventually
became Wachesaw and Richmond Hill plantations, and built a house on the bluff
there around 1733. He was a subsistence farmer, and raised indigo as the
primary cash crop. He died in 1771 and left his land to his son Daniel and his
two daughters, after which it became the two separate plantations. Wachesaw
Plantation was eventually purchased by Allard Belin around 1800, while Richmond
Hill passed through Murrell descendants until it was sold to an Allston (most
likely John Hayes Allston, who pioneered rice planting techniques with clay).
Adjacent plantations were owned by a host of famous planters, including
Plowden Weston, his grandson Plowden C. J. Weston, William Allston, Benjamin
Allston, Dr. Henry Flagg, Allard Flagg, Joshua Ward, Allard Belin and their
descendants. These plantations prospered during the establishment of the rice
culture of the 1700s and 1800s. These men were actively involved with
supporting the American cause during Revolutionary War, including William
Allston who was a captain under and brother-in-law of Francis Marion (who had
family ties through marriage to the Allston family). The Waccamaw Neck planters
were represented in the
