A historic South Carolina plantation that once held thousands of enslaved people has been saved from development through a $13.8 million conservation deal. The agreement ensures the preservation of its ecological and cultural legacy.
The Conservation Fund acquired the 736-acre Goodwill Estate in Eastover, about 25 miles southeast of Columbia. The property will become part of the adjacent Wateree River Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area. It includes well-preserved structures from its plantation era, such as slave cabins, a grist mill with an original water wheel, a caretaker’s home, and a blacksmith’s cabin.
Centuries of history on contested land
The estate was first homesteaded in 1750 by the earliest European settler of Richland County. It later expanded into a plantation around 1795 under Daniel Huger, a slaveholder, politician, and early U.S. congressman. Huger built a creek-fed mill pond and irrigation system to grow rice, a crop usually limited to the state’s lowcountry region.
In 1858, the Hugers sold the property to the Heyward family, which owned the largest slaveholding operation in the country at the time. The Heywards held roughly 3,000 enslaved people across their plantations. As the Civil War neared, they moved about 2,000 of those individuals to Goodwill, away from coastal battles. Many remained in the area after emancipation, and their descendants still live nearby.
Historian Titus Duren, who studied the property in depth, explained that most freedmen stayed in the region after learning of their freedom. They lacked resources to travel, and only a few reached the nearest train station once they earned their first wages.
From private stewardship to public preservation
The current owners, Larry and Jerry Faulkenberry, bought Goodwill in 1994 with plans to resell it quickly. Instead, they spent three decades restoring its historic structures. They hosted educational tours and built two modern residences—a 8,400-square-foot main home and a 5,500-square-foot secondary house—overlooking a 35-acre private lake.
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The Faulkenberrys listed the property in 2024 for $17.5 million but accepted the lower conservation offer. Their real estate agents stated that the couple always saw Goodwill as something greater than themselves. The permanent protection and integration into the surrounding area represent a significant achievement.
The Conservation Fund did not comment on the deal. The Faulkenberrys were also unavailable for further details.
The land’s future as a protected site is now secure, but its complex history—from colonial settlement to enslavement and eventual conservation—presents challenges. Decisions about public access, educational programs, and balancing ecological preservation with historical acknowledgment will shape its next phase. For now, the property stands as a rare intact example of the region’s past, reflecting both its natural beauty and difficult history.
The grist mill’s water wheel still turns. The slave cabins remain as silent witnesses to the lives that unfolded there. The wetlands and forests, once worked by enslaved labor, now provide refuge for wildlife—and soon, for visitors.
A modern residence overlooking water offers a contrast to the estate’s historic structures, showing how preservation can coexist with contemporary living.
