BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) — Berkeley County is acquiring more than 636 acres on the historic Blessing Plantation to preserve what remains of a former rice plantation that carried West African traditions into the American South.
In partnership with the Open Space Institute, the county is spending over $15 million on the purchase, with $5 million coming from the Greenbelt program. The plantation was named for the ship that brought its first owner to South Carolina.
Officials say the investment protects natural habitat, scenic views, and a cultural landscape shaped by hundreds of enslaved Africans whose advanced agricultural knowledge built the rice fields…