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A Richland County plantation once used by P.T. Barnum as a retreat for his circus animals has been sold, but not for development as expected.
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The Conservation Fund of Arlington, Virginia, bought it and intends to work with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism to preserve it.
It will be open for educational tours and recreation.
Known as the Goodwill Estate, the 736-acre property in Eastover dates back to 1795.
The sale price was $13.8 million, a significant drop from the $17.5 million asking price when it was put on the market in 2024. It will allow the expansion of the adjoining Wateree River Wildlife Habitat Preserve.
The property was listed by Tammra Granger and Julie Breedlove, with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty’s Charlotte office.
The property was approved for 22 lots in a subdivision amid 173 acres of wetlands, pine forests, and 12 miles of trails. Colonel’s Creek flows through the property and includes a waterfall.
Located at 229 Joseph Kershaw Road, the property was at times a grist mill, saw mill and to grow cotton, sweet potato, and corn as well as for timber harvesting.
It includes two Charleston-inspired homes — an 8,400 square-foot main house built in 2009-2010 and a 5,488 square-foot second house. Both overlook 35-acre Goodwill Lake
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Overall there are 14 bedrooms, 13 full baths and four partial baths.
Larry Faulkenberry bought the property in the 1990s as an investment, but is said to have fallen in love with it and decided to restore it instead.
The grist mill is operational, the mid-1800-era home of Edward Barnwell Heyward, was restored and converted to a museum. Two cabins once inhabited by people enslaved on the plantation remain on the property.
It is on the National Register of Historic Places. The application to the National Register says during the Civil War, Goodwill Plantation had about 976 enslaved people, including some people from other plantations.
In all, 14 people and one company have owned the property, including wealthy Northerner , who In 1888 used convict labor to make improvements.
The sawmill is powered by the original water wheel. There is also a hunting lodge, blacksmith shop, caretaker’s home, two barns, a corn crib, a silo and private museum with artifacts and antiques associated with the estate.
Some of the proceeds from the sale will go to Connie Maxwell Children’s Ministries in Greenwood for a new Healing Center, which will provide trauma-informed therapy, counseling and restorative care for children and families.
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