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DAR gets $10K grant for Clemson property

CLEMSON — The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) has donated $10,000 to the Clemson University Foundation for the Hopewell Plantation front porch restoration.

Funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of the Andrew Pickens Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, located in Clemson.

Hopewell Plantation, located on the picturesque Cherry Farm, is the circa 1785 home of Gen. Andrew Pickens and includes some of the land he received for his service as a brigadier general in the American Revolution. The grant will help fund the restoration of the home’s front porch, which needs to be repaired to make it safe for public use.

Pickens was a militia general whose major battles included the Siege of Ninety-Six, Kettle Creek, Augusta, Eutaw Spring and Cowpens, for which the Continental Congress presented him a commendation.

As a commissioner of Indian Affairs, Pickens led the negotiations at Hopewell with the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations on behalf of the U.S. government for the treaties of Hopewell.Pickens lived at Hopewell with his wife, Rebecca Calhoun Pickens, and their children, including Andrew Pickens Jr., who would become governor, and Ezekiel Pickens, who would be lieutenant governor.

Pickens lived there until 1809 and the home remained in the Pickens family until 1824. The Cherry family owned Hopewell from the 1830s to 1930s, when Mary Cherry Doyle, a former South Carolina DAR state regent, sold the home and property to the federal government and later ownership passed to Clemson University.

The Clemson University Foundation, founded in 1933, supports Clemson University by promoting the growth and stewardship of the resources entrusted in fulfillment of its covenants with donors and grantors. As part of this mission, the foundation applied for this Historic Preservation Grant to ensure visitors’ safety and access to the historic home while helping to uncover any original fabric and artifacts.