Perry Expedition
Near the icehouse and the gardener's shed/smokehouse are the remnants of John Townsend's Japanese garden. When the Perry Expedition returned from the Orient in 1855, they were accompanied by one Oqui, variously described as a "Japanese botanist", a "Japanese gardener", and a Chinese florist and gardener. Learning of this, Townsend travelled to Washington, D.C., and persuaded Oqui to return to South Carolina with him, there to lay out extensive Oriental formal gardens. Remains of the gardens, including some of the exotic plants, survive into the early 21st century.