Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation
Introduction
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Images
The Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation house
Backstory and Context
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Originally names the Broadface, the Hofwly –Broadfield Planation was renamed in 1806 when the land was purchases by William Brailford; after his death the land was passed down to his son-in-law, James M. Troup. In 1849 the property contained about 7,300 acers and utilized 357 slaves by the time Troup died that year. In 1850, the main house was built by Troups daughter and son-in-law, the Dents; this is when they added “Hofwly” to the name.
After the American Civil war, the taxes were so large they sold parts of the land and by 1880, Dent finally took back all the land but all his wealth was gone. Five generations lived on the land and in 1942 the property was finally out of debt from the war. Only generations of the family lives on the plantation until the last person (Ophelia Dent) died in 1973, and she left the property to the State of Georgia.
Since this time, the rice fields have been taken over by the marhes. The plantation was claimed by the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and is operated as a Georgia Historical site. The Department of National Resources now care for the 1268 acres of land and over 690 acres of marshes.
Sources
http://www.exploregeorgia.org/listing/2402-hofwyl-broadfield-plantation-state-historic-site
https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/geo-flor/11.htm