User:Lowcountrywriter/ColletonRiverPlantation

Colleton River Plantation Club
=== Location ===

Colleton River Plantation Club is a private golf club community located in the South Carolina Lowcountry near the towns of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton in Beaufort County. Surrounded by the deep tidal waters of the Colleton and Chechessee Rivers and bounded by thousands of acres of protected maritime forest designated as the Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve, the Club contains _____ estate homesites within its 1,500 acre property, many of which offer marsh views and deep water access. The property is less than 10 miles from the beaches of Hilton Head Island and approximately 30 miles from the historic city of Savannah.

=== Golf ===

Members of Colleton River Plantation Club have private access to two award winning 18 hole championship golf courses. The first being a Jack Nicklaus designed course and the second, a course that designer Pete Dye called “the finest course I’ve ever built.” The Nicklaus course features a 30,000 square foot clubhouse with banquet facilities for up to _____ people. The Pete Dye clubhouse is 18,000 square feet and can accommodate ______. The Club also features a par three Borland Course, two driving ranges and a year round Golf Academy staffed by PGA Certified Instructors and equipped with Trackman technology.

=== Amenities ===

The Club also maintains 5 Har-Tru clay courts at its Stan Smith Tennis Center, a junior olympic aquatic center, and miles of hiking and biking trails. Additionally, the property has a public dock for fishing and boating access. A business center with board room and conference facilities are also available to members.

=== History of the Property ===

The lands of Colleton River Plantation have a rich and storied past. Long before European settlement, they were home to Yemassee Indians, whose shell enclosures can still be seen on neighboring Hilton Head Island today. By the early 1700’s, however, colonization brought an end to the Yemassee. In their place, British interests under the governance of eight Lords Proprietors ushered in an era of economic prosperity based on rice, indigo and sea island cotton cultivation. Favored by King George II for their role in restoring his monarchy, these Lords cast lots for the conquered “Indian Lands,” securing grants for themselves which formed the basis for the first plantations.

Lord Proprietor Sir John Colleton was bestowed with the Devil’s Elbow, a 12,000 acre barony comprising much of what is now southern Beaufort County. Included was Colleton Neck, the choice peninsula bordered by the Chechessee and Colleton Rivers, where Colleton River Plantation now lies. The property stayed in the Colleton family for over 100 years. Eventually, their vast holdings gave way to substantial debts and following Samuel Colleton Graves death in 1818 a large portion of the property was divided and sold. The nearly 1,000 acre parcel comprising Colleton Neck came to be known as Foot Point Plantation, which produced indigo, rice, sea island cotton and cattle up until the Civil War.

During Reconstruction, land values plummeted with the collapse of the agrarian economy. Northern speculators, led by John Sergeant Cram, moved in and the land eventually passed into the hands of large companies interested primarily in timber. At the turn of the century, the wealthy Cram family acquired the property as a hunting preserve. Henry “Harry” Cram, Sr. acquired if from his father in 1926, making Foot Point Plantation his home until his death in 1997. The property was then acquired by ___________ for development as Colleton River Plantation Club.

Category:Golf clubs and courses in South Carolina Category:Golf clubs and courses designed by Pete Dye Category:Golf clubs and courses designed by Jack Nicklaus Category:Buildings and structures in Beaufort County, South Carolina Category:Hilton Head Island-Beaufort micropolitan area