Welcome to Tombee, a grand antebellum home and guest lodge that sits on 22± acres of the pristine high ground creating a private retreat only 20 minutes from downtown Beaufort, South Carolina. With direct access to the Atlantic Ocean and 3,000 feet of water frontage, this property is ideal for a family or individual seeking an incomparable private deep waterfront estate. One of the few surviving antebellum plantation houses on St. Helena Island, Tombee Plantation provides the opportunity for southern “dream” living, offering a main house and a guest house situated on 22± verdant acres right on Station Creek. St. Helena Island is a quiet sea island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The island is nestled between downtown Beaufort and the resort communities of Harbor Island and Fripp Island, so it enjoys the benefits of both rural and suburban life.
Tombee Plantation house was built in 1795 by the grandfather of Thomas B. Chaplin, whose colorful life is outlined in the book Tombee: Portrait of a Cotton Planter: With the Journal of Thomas B. Chaplin (1822-1890) by Theodore Rosengarten. The two-story Georgian home features the traditional Lowcountry T-shaped floor plan, a raised tabby foundation, and double-tiered piazzas overlooking the live oaks, gardens and the tidal marsh grass bay and creek. It was restored in 1971 by antique collector Jim Williams of Savannah, Georgia who was the star character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The cellar was the home of The Paradise Club, a famous Gullah juke joint (Gullah are the native islanders of coastal South Carolina, the word possibly derived from the slave blocks as traders shouted out “Angola”). The house has been completely remodeled with up-to-date wiring, new copper roof and new heating and air. The kitchen was updated to include a sub-zero refrigerator, stainless steel appliances, and handmade cabinetry and the bathrooms were redone to include Italian tiled showers and marble sinks.
