Auldbrass Plantation

1940

7 River Road
Yemassee, South Carolina 29945

Audbrass Plantation was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for C. Leigh Stevens beginning in 1939.  The plantation was originally on 4,253 acres on the Combahee River, and was designed and built to be a working plantation and hunting retreat for the wealthy business consultant.  An interesting sidenote:  Solomon Guggenheim, who hired Wright to design the famous New York City museum that bears his name, owned a 1200 acre hunting retreat across the Combahee River from the Stevens property.  Stevens acquired the property as payment of his consulting fees.  Wright considered Auldbrass one of his most significant works, and he continued to work on it up until his death in 1959.  Wright used a hexagon module for the main house and cottages while rectangular and square modules were used for the other structures, mostly farm related buildings like shops, barns, and stables.  One of the most distinctive design characteristics found at Auldbrass is Wrights use of copper on the roofs, ventilation spires, and downspouts.  Native cypress wall units were set at approximately 80 degrees to the horizen, said to imitate the leaning oak trees found on the property.  The copper downspouts are thought to be inspired by the Spanish moss hanging from the trees at Auldbrass.  Wright designed all of the furniture for the plantation and there are many specialty items that came from his drawing board, like light fixtures, and a swimming pool.  The property had fallen into a state of disrepair before it was purchased by Hollywood producer Joel Silver in the mid 1980s.  Silver has meticulously restored the property, and continues to build structures that Wright had designed but that were never built.

Auldbrass is open to members of the public one weekend every other year during a fundraiser for the South Carolina Land Trust.  We, along with our good friends Brady and Patti Miller, arranged for a guided tour of Auldbrass on November 2, 2023.  For my blog post that covers our visit to Auldbrass, look here.  Below you will find more photos from our visit to this beautiful place.   

Gallery 1  (Samsung S22)

Gallery 2  (Samsung S22)

Gallery 3  (Samsung S22)

Gallery 4  (Nikon D500)

Gallery 5  (Nikon D500)