Hamilton Plantation-later days

At the death of James Hamilton in 1829, this plantation and other land was inherited by his only daughter, Agnes Rebecca Hamilton, who was married to Francis P. Corbin. The Corbins lived in Paris, France with their three children-Constance (who married a French nobleman); Isabella, and Richard. The will of James Hamilton appointed his namesake and son of his friend John Couper, James Hamilton Couper as the administrator of the estate and as a trustee to manage it until the youngest grandchild Richard became of age.

Captain John Fraser and his wife Ann Couper were secured to manage the operation of the farm and live in the Hamilton Plantation house. The Captain retired from the British navy to accept this position. Mrs. Fraser was a sister of James Hamilton Couper, the trustee of the estate. The beautiful Ann had a flair for entertaining; so these days there with her children was probably the happiest time of all the Hamilton Plantation era. The plantation seemed to prosper, and it took on a storybook atmosphere. Fanny Kemble Butler, who was entertained there in 1839, saw the simple colonial house with shuttered front verandah and high latticed foundations surrounded by a hedge of flowering yucca. She viewed the wide lawns sloping down to the banks of the Frederica river; the shell walks leading through formal gardens to the rose garden, to the cutting garden, to the herb garden, all divided by picket fences and boxwood hedges. She described it as "By far the finest place on the island. "

Years later, the management went to William Audley Couper, brother of Ann. It was during this period that in 1852 a great tragedy occurred. The Magnolia, a sidewheeled steamboat that traveled the Inland Waterway, had just cleared the wharf at Hamilton with a cargo of passengers and cotton when the boiler exploded. Many were killed and others terribly burned and maimed. The second floor of the large tabby barn was converted to a hospital; bales of cotton were cut open to make beds. Many of the victims remained here for weeks before they were able to leave. The family today still treasures a handsome engraved silver pitcher, gift from the grateful survivors of the Magnolia.

Around this time, James Hamilton Couper-now a prosperous planter living at "Hopeton on the Altamaha" - purchased Hamilton Plantation from the Corbin children who still lived in Paris. Interestingly, the Corbins always considered themselves Georgians, although they lived in France. In fact, during the War Between the States, the grandson Richard W. Corbin slipped into Wilmington, N.C. on a blockade runner, made his way to Virginia and served as an Aide on General Fields's staff of General Longstreet's Corps. After the war he returned to France feeling he had done his duty.

Of course, the Civil War effectively destroyed the plantations on the island. With the plantation despoiled, the slaves freed, and a lien on the land for $80,000 from a note incurred three years before the war, James Hamilton Couper had to give it up. The property was taken for debt by Richard Corbin of Paris, from whom he had purchased the plantation several years before.

As with the other plantations, Hamilton Plantation could not grow cotton without the hand labor of slaves, so for many years it grew up in brush as the wilderness took over again.

Yet the land still had much further use, as we shall describe in later periods of its history.

Next Section: Hampton Plantation - Later Days