The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-05-18
GEN. THOMAS PINCKNEY's HOME
Destruction of Historic Residence
in the Low Country-Luss OF Val
uable Cooks and Paintings

uaDlS BOOKS ana Ia1nGlngS
The Charleston News and Courier
gives the following account OF the de.
struction by fire OF Eldorado, the rian-
tatiOn home Of Gen. Thomas Pinckney,
on the Santee River:
The home of General Pinckncy was
originally "Faiiti ld," but after his re-
turn lroru Europe, whittier he had re-
sided for some llme rs minister to Eug-
land and also to Spain, he resigned
Fairfield TO his eldest son, and purchas-
ed another plantation, which he named
f. dorado, in remembrance of his Span
l. h mission, from the golden buttercups
which covered the land. Gen. Pinck-
ncy had married the daughter of Mrs.
Rebecca Motto, and he and NJ 8. MutLe
together built on the newly purchased
plantation the residence, in which that
illustrious lady spent the remainder of
her days, and which was consumed or
Monday. The spacious mansion which
they planned and built with their own
carpenters, was very suggestive OF a
dors, its lofty ceilings and it's high
peaked roof of glazed tiles.
Situated on u sandy knoll, jutting out
into the rice fields, embowered by live
oaks, with their wide stretching arms
and lofty magnolias, with their glitter
ing foliage, it was indeed typical
Southern home.
The house was surrounded on three
sides by the native evergreen shrub
berry, as verdant in January as Juns.
through which winding walks, laid out
by an English landscape gardener,
gracefully ran, overarched by luxuri-
ant foliage and sheltered alike from
wintry wind and sumner sun. Neither
the Persian monarch, nor Louis XIV
at Versailles, nor the Turkish Sultan,
ever inhaled more royal perfumes than
EldOradO offered to the lovers of nature,
| as he sauntered through it's sylvan
glades.
Up to the time Of the war the house
contained Gen. Pinckney's library, con.
, sisting of about 5000 volumes. The
fate OF this library, carefully gathered
| from Eng land, Spain and France, was
| somewhat dramatic. Eldorado was 90
near the mouth of the river as to be
exposed to the visits Of vessels from the
/ blockading squadron during the war OF
| Secession. The house was shelled from
the fl let 10 1868, and bears, or rather,
until Monday, bore the scars Of war
upon ITS face. The library was moved
to place of supposed safety, higher up
the river. When the seaboard was
ton, soldiers and sailors from the fl al
at the mouth of the river plundered
the ricn mansions along its banks. The
women and children had already fed
in terror to the interior, and the coun
try was deserted by its white popuIa
tion. Finding the boxes containing
Gen. Pinckney's books at Hampton ithe
home of the Rutledges) the marauder!
broke them open in pursuit OF plunder
Disappointed in their aim and lacking
the literary taste of some naval officerl
who had carefully packed somo of tn,
planters libraries and had them ship
ped to New York, the soldiers lef
them In disgust. The negroes, who hat
followed the soldiers, to pick up th
jackal's share, helped themselves L
such volumes as Attracted the eye. Tn
rest they strewed about the house
tearing OF backs of some and splittin,
others asunder. The first planter wh
returned to the region to gather u
some fragments OF his own property
found the books 30 systematicall
strewn around the house that he coul
have walked the whole circuit appai
entity, without touching the grounC
For weeks they had been exposed t
sun and rain, SO that three-fourths {
D them were destroyed. The remnant,
which amounted to about 200 book,
we're gathered by him. however, an
D carried back to Eldorado, and wer
l burned on Monday. When he endea,
Y ored to shame the negroes 10. th
y wanton destruction OF the books, the
8 replied that they had no spite again
tho ytiara hur an tho xyl1tts. .,anxN