Historic Landscapes

Eliza Lucas Pinckney

In 1743, Eliza Lucas Pinckney an accomplished botanist, who had successfully introduced Indigo to the Low country as a cash crop, visited Crowfield and described it in a letter to a friend:

"The first we arrived at was Crowfield, Mr, Wm. Middleton's seat,where we spent a most agreeable week.

The house stands a mile from but in sight of the road, and makes a very handsome appearance; as you draw nearer new beauties discover themselves; first the beautiful vine mantling the wall, laden with delicious clusters, next to a large pond in the midst of a spacious green presents itself as you enter the gate.

From the back of the house is a wide walk a thousand feet long, each side of which nearest the house is a grass plat ornamented in a serpentine manner with flowers; next to that on the right hand [east] is what immediately struck my rural taste, a thicket of young live oak.

Opposite on the left hand [west] is a large square bowling green, sunk a little below the level of the rest of the garden, with a walk quite round bordered by a double row of fine large flowering Laurel and Catalpas-- which afford both shade and beauty.

There is a large fish pond with a mount rising out of the middle of the top of which is level with the dwelling house, and upon it is a Roman temple.

On each side are other large fish pond, properly disposed, which form a fine prospect of water from the house -- beyond this are smiling fields dressed in vivid green."

This description by Eliza Lucas Pinckney has proved quite accurate. An archaeological study conducted at Crowfield in the 1980's located most of the landscape and garden elements described in this letter.