Tibwin Plantation, in the Francis Marion National Forest area. The grounds are beautiful, quiet. The mosquitos were easily manageable with bug spray, but I expect it will get very buggy very soon. The planation house is down the long driveway, foot traffic only.
I’ve visited this place many times before, this post is from my most recent visit before this one, in January 2023. The house has deteriorated tremendously in the six months since I was here last. The building, never exactly safe, is bordering on dangerous at this point. I went upstairs last visit, but decided not to this time. Several of the old supports and braces have been up so long, they are also breaking and collapsing.
The front gate is at the end of Tibwin Road in McClellanville. There is room for a couple of cars to park at the gate. This visit, I enjoyed solitude, no one else was on the property, at least not that I encountered.
Something new, that hadn’t been in place last time I was here, was Mr. Skelly, as I affectionately nicknamed him later. I did not see him on the way in, all of the interior shots were taken prior to the ones of Mr. S.
On the way out, the wind blew through the house, and Mr. Skelly’s articulated limbs moved, and I sure noticed him then. That’s also when I realized that Mr. S was anatomically correct, and that’s how I knew he was Mr. Skelly vs Ms Skelly.
Door hardware. The amazing hinges are on the large front door. Sadly, all of the handles are long since pilfered.
The stairs. I went up last time, but a combination of structural wariness and terrifyingly-large wasps nests kept me on the main floor.
The moulding and wallpaper deterioration is happening rapidly. The mold on the column wallpaper will erase it completely. Nature is taking the house back.
The date on the tagged shutters was 10/28/02, which must’ve been when the shoring was placed to keep the front of the house and the chimney from collapsing. 22 years has not been kind to the house at all.
One of the two front rooms. I wanted to get closer to the fireplace, but the floorboards said maybe no. Definitely no. Also, the ceiling fixture in the same room, it must have had a chandelier hanging from it. Added bonus, nests of flying buzzing stinging looking creatures, that were uniquely beautiful on their own.
Looking out the back of the house. Note the wallpaper trim around the top of the walls. The barn out back has completely flattened, some of the walls had still been standing in January.
Detail of the crumbling trim around the second front room’s fireplace. The moldings looked to be made of carved and painted wood.
Summertime is not a good time to be in this area. The mosquitos are pretty bad, bug spray reapplied frequently keeps them down, but the flies can be horrific, and seemingly immune to DEET. I’ll try to get back here in the fall, and will post an update. I wish a wealthy historic preservationist would swoop in. Sadly, it seems Tibwin is fated to fade.