Stoney Baynard Ruins — Attraction in Hilton Head Island

If you enjoy history and you visit Sea Pines, you need to take a few minutes to visit Stoney Baynard Ruins. It only takes about a half hour to walk around and see what remains of the plantation house, slave quarters, and kitchen, as well as a foundation for a Union soldier structure.

Signage along the path describes the structures. It was interesting to me how much of the foundation and walls of the plantation house were built with "tabby" cement made with oyster shells, sand, and water. The oyster shells are still quite visible. The plantation house was a two-story 1,885 square foot structure, whereas the structure housing enslaved people was 335 square feet, and that small structure was divided in two to house two families.

Captain John "Saucy Jack" Stoney built the main house between 1793-1810. After he died, his sons inherited the plantation, but later it was sold to William Edings Baynard. So, those two family names, Stoney and Baynard, are how the site obtained the name of Stoney Baynard Ruins. Union troops invaded Hilton Head Island on November 7, 1861, and the Baynard family fled. The Federal government then took over the property.

Due to a fire on the property, ruins are all that remain. But it is worth seeing and learning about, and imagining a very different way of life that existed on the island in...

I will give this small, almost gone, plot of land 5 stars just to make you want to visit it. You should. It is a small token reminder of our troubled past. The small quarters given to the possible 20 or so house slaves that may at one time have inhabited it, is barely bigger than my own bedroom. (Actually, I'm positive that my bedroom is bigger, with about 6 feet on either side of a queen sized bed!) Visit this site and reflect on the back breaking work that was performed by these slaves and the conditions they were forced to live in. I did. It's very humbling. The visit is free, self guided,and instructional. Many paths stray from the 4 remaining structures that I visited, but don't...

The Stoney Baynard Ruins site is located within the Sea Pines / Harbour Town area. So, if you're not a resident or guest or staying within the community, you must purchase a $9 pass at the Sea Pines gate to enter the community. It is well worth the small fee as you have access to Harbour Town and some other areas - but the Stoney Baynard Ruins were astonishing and emotional; a plantation hand-built by enslaved people that endured the unthinkable and their small living quarters nearby (emotional). Incredible craftsmanship that you won't see today. Keep in mind that while walking through the area, you will be stepping on the shells used to construct these buildings. It gave...