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Prospect Hill

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Edisto Island’s historic plantation returns to grace, thanks to its faithful owners and scores of dedicated craftsmen

Photographs by
Brie Williams
The riverfront façade of the circa-1800 dwelling. Photograph by Virgil Bunao
Salmon-hued plaster walls in the stately entry hall and throughout the second and third floors are original, sanded and preserved in a limestone wash.
“I love downtown,” says owner (and master gardener) Susan Ford, “but this is so much different from all of that. Here, I love being outside, I love the nature, I love the history. And I love the solitude.”
Architect Glenn Keyes refurbished this rustic loggia under the piazza, which today serves as a hub for frequent al fresco dinners or just a place to sit on quiet afternoons.
Across the hall is the kitchen, its modern cooktop and range flanked by pairs of casement windows.
he second-floor dining room houses one of several candelabra chandeliers. In order to minimize a modern footprint, there are only two electrical outlets per room, so the wax candles offer additional light.
Susan fell for this line of Rodin study drawings on a 2007 trip to Paris and knew they’d suit the master bath perfectly.
Across the hall is the kitchen, its modern cooktop and range flanked by pairs of casement windows.
Rooms, like this guest suite), are appointed in minimal but traditional antiques so not to overwhelm the star of the home—its stately architecture.
Last summer, Susan and Hank’s daughter Jessica married at the foot of the old oak in front of the manor house (middle left). Because rain threatened to drown the ceremony, Susan planted a bottle of bourbon by the tree’s roots, in accordance with an old Southern superstition. It worked long enough for the young couple to say their “I dos,” but the skies opened soon after.
Previous owners of Prospect Hill, the Whaleys, gave Susan a collection of photos of the home, including this one of happily imbibing residents from the Edwardian era. Note the family parrot in the foreground.
Though the dwelling is fully modernized, the majority of creature comforts are tucked away on the ground floor. The cozy sitting room (top) reflects the home’s rustic setting among Edisto’s birds and other wildlife.
The clean lines and black and vanilla composition of this collection of cutout silhouettes by Lowcountry treasures Clay and Carew Rice contrasts ideally with the soft tones and mottled appearance of the walls.