Wedge Plantation
Encyclopedia
The Wedge Plantation, which is also known as The Wedge or the William Lucas House, is a plantation about 5 mi (8 km) east of McClellanville
in Charleston County, South Carolina
. The plantation is a wedge-shaped property between the Harrietta Plantation
and the Fairfield Plantation
. The plantation house was built around 1830. It is located off US Highway 17 near the Santee River
. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
on September 18, 1975.
In 1929, Mr. and Mrs. Elbridge Chadwick acquired the plantation and restored the house. In 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Woodward purchased it for a winter home. Dr. and Mrs. Richard B. Dominick
owned the Wedge Plantation from 1966 to 1976.
During this ten year period, Dominick collected over 25,000 moth
s and 1,000 butterflies
on the plantation. The Richard B. Dominick Moth and Butterfly Collection resides at the University of South Carolina
's McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina
. Richard Dominick established the Wedge Entomological Research Foundation for the publication of the Moths of North America North of Mexico.
In 1976, it was purchased by the State of South Carolina and became the University of South Carolina
's International Center for Public Health Research for the study of insect-borne diseases. This program is being closed and the future of the property is to be determined.
style, clapboard
house on a raised basement. The basic shape of this -story house is rectangular. The house has a gable roof
with dormers. The front horseshoe stairs to the porch are granite with an iron railing. A semicircular archway leads to the basement.
The portico is supported by four fluted Doric
columns. The pediment
has a semi-elliptical window. It is decorated with dentate molding
. The second floor has French doors with a fanlight transom
that open to the railed balcony on the portico.
The south facade has single nine over nine lights on either side of the doors. Each wing has four nine over nine lights. In the second story, there are pairs of six over six lights to the left and right of the porch gable. The front door has a fanlight transom. Dormer
windows and basement windows are six over six lights. The gabled ends have three six over six lights. The east and west elevations have four nine over nine lights. The north elevation has two dormers. There four windows on each floor and a window in the stairwell between the first and second floors. The rear portico has four Doric
columns.
The interior has a four-room, central hall plan. The main floor has right and left parlors separated by the central hall. Behind are an alcove and library on the right and a kitchen and laundry on the left. The basement includes a wine cellar, storage room. The basement floor is brick. One room has a millstone incorporated in its floor.
Additional photographs of the exterior of the house are available.
McClellanville, South Carolina
McClellanville is a small fishing town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 459 at the 2000 census. It is situated on the Atlantic coast, on land surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the sea and coastal...
in Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, its population was 330,368. Its county seat is Charleston. It is the third-most populous county in the state . Charleston County was created in 1901 by an act of the South...
. The plantation is a wedge-shaped property between the Harrietta Plantation
Harrietta Plantation
Harrieta Plantation is a plantation about east of McClellanville in Charleston County, South Carolina. It is adjacent to the Wedge Plantation and just south of Fairfield Plantation. The plantation house was built around 1807. It is located off US Highway 17 near the Santee River...
and the Fairfield Plantation
Fairfield Plantation (Charleston County, South Carolina)
Fairfield Plantation, also known as the Lynch House is a plantation about east of McClellanville in Charleston County, South Carolina. It is adjacent to the Wedge Plantation and just north of Harrietta Plantation. The plantation house was built around 1730. It is located just off US Highway 17...
. The plantation house was built around 1830. It is located off US Highway 17 near the Santee River
Santee River
The Santee River is a river in South Carolina in the United States, long. The Santee and its tributaries provide the principal drainage and navigation for the central coastal plain of South Carolina, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean approximately from its farthest headwater on the Catawba River...
. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on September 18, 1975.
History
The house was built by a rice planter William Lucas around 1826. Lucas was a son of Jonathan Lucas, who invented a rice-pounding mill. It remained in the Lucas family for the next hundred years. It was a working rice plantation up to about 1914.In 1929, Mr. and Mrs. Elbridge Chadwick acquired the plantation and restored the house. In 1948, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Woodward purchased it for a winter home. Dr. and Mrs. Richard B. Dominick
Richard B. Dominick
Richard Bayard Dominick was an ophthalmologist, outdoorsman, and amateur lepidopterist. He is best known for this extensive collection of moths and butterflies in South Carolina...
owned the Wedge Plantation from 1966 to 1976.
During this ten year period, Dominick collected over 25,000 moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
s and 1,000 butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
on the plantation. The Richard B. Dominick Moth and Butterfly Collection resides at the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
's McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. Richard Dominick established the Wedge Entomological Research Foundation for the publication of the Moths of North America North of Mexico.
In 1976, it was purchased by the State of South Carolina and became the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
's International Center for Public Health Research for the study of insect-borne diseases. This program is being closed and the future of the property is to be determined.
Architecture
The house was constructed around 1826. This is a FederalFederal architecture
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
style, clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
house on a raised basement. The basic shape of this -story house is rectangular. The house has a gable roof
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
with dormers. The front horseshoe stairs to the porch are granite with an iron railing. A semicircular archway leads to the basement.
The portico is supported by four fluted Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns. The pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
has a semi-elliptical window. It is decorated with dentate molding
Dentil
In classical architecture a dentil is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect Vitruvius In classical architecture a dentil (from Lat. dens, a tooth) is a small block used as a repeating ornament in the bedmould of a cornice.The Roman architect...
. The second floor has French doors with a fanlight transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
that open to the railed balcony on the portico.
The south facade has single nine over nine lights on either side of the doors. Each wing has four nine over nine lights. In the second story, there are pairs of six over six lights to the left and right of the porch gable. The front door has a fanlight transom. Dormer
Dormer
A dormer is a structural element of a building that protrudes from the plane of a sloping roof surface. Dormers are used, either in original construction or as later additions, to create usable space in the roof of a building by adding headroom and usually also by enabling addition of windows.Often...
windows and basement windows are six over six lights. The gabled ends have three six over six lights. The east and west elevations have four nine over nine lights. The north elevation has two dormers. There four windows on each floor and a window in the stairwell between the first and second floors. The rear portico has four Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
columns.
The interior has a four-room, central hall plan. The main floor has right and left parlors separated by the central hall. Behind are an alcove and library on the right and a kitchen and laundry on the left. The basement includes a wine cellar, storage room. The basement floor is brick. One room has a millstone incorporated in its floor.
PBS New Home Show project
A PBS television show entitled, "The New Home Show" built a modern day replica of the Wedge Plantation home near Matthews, North Carolina using modern day materials. The replica was designed by William Poole. The Wedge Plantation project was built over 18 episodes.Additional photographs of the exterior of the house are available.