Fire Destroys Historic Building|ABC News 4

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Fire Destroys Historic Building

posted 8:04 pm Wed February 06, 2008 - Goose Creek, SC

tags: the oaks plantation • goose creek • fire • historic building

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Generations of Goose Creek families have spent time at The Oaks Plantation. The estate goes back to the 1600’s and it was founded by the Middleton family. The house as it looks now was built in 1893 and even though the purpose of the plantation house has changed through the years, people say this is a Lowcountry tradition and they hope it stays that way.

As the sun rises over the charred remains of what once was The Oaks Plantation, emotions run deep. The house is not just a building, but a place where history was made and where families kept their history going.

“So many of our family has been married here, we've held funerals here, our children had their birthdays here. This is a living part of our lives,” Brandi Mims, a relative of the house’s owner says through tears.

From the present to the past and through the colonial period, the revolutionary war, the civil war, the oaks remained.

“The British army camped right underneath these trees. During the civil war they camped out here and were raiding the plantation. They got off the train at Otranto and marched in,” Goose Creek’s Mayor, Michael Heitzler says.

The Oaks is no longer a constant. In a few days the City of Goose Creek was supposed to place a historical marker here. Instead neighbors grieve for this lost piece of history.

“It’s a passing of time and it just reminds us that all things made by man are limited and will disappear someday,” Heitzler says.

This isn’t the first time The Oaks Plantation has seen tragedy. The original house burned down in 1840. The current owners of the country club have not come out with a plan on what they are going to do with the building or the grounds. Neighbors are hoping for some kind of joint action to preserve the property. The plantation was up for sale for $15 million.

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