Deptford Plantation

For more than thirty years, Nichol Turnbull worked to create a thriving plantation at Deptford Hill. He bought 240 acres in 1792 and expanded it to more than twice that size to accommodate his agricultural and commercial ambitions for the property. Enslaved labor cultivated cotton and rice at Deptford Hill, but Turnbull also reserved a portion of his land along the Savannah River to sell as wharf lots. The United States’ government bought one of the deep-water lots in 1808 as the site for Fort Jackson. Turnbull’s affluence was reflected in the comfortable two-story home he built overlooking the river. After his death in 1823, a succession of owners took their turn at Deptford, as it came to be known, but none left their mark so clearly on the development of the plantation before the Civil War as Turnbull.

Rice production at Deptford continued intermittently from 1865 until the turn of the twentieth century. William Carmichael, who purchased the property shortly after the war, envisioned a comfortable living from rice at Deptford and invested in a large barn, rice mill, stables, and housing for his workers. His confidence in the future was evident in the fine home he built for his family. Carmichael wagered his plantation on a comeback of the rice market and he lost, selling the land to pay off his debts in 1885. Hurricanes in 1893 and 1898 persuaded subsequent owners of Deptford to abandon rice cultivation.

In 1919, the City of Savannah saw the potential of riverfront property for industry and purchased much of what remained of the Deptford and Causton Bluff Plantations. That property, known as the Deptford Tract, was intended for factory sites and terminals to spur economic development along the river.

Inventory List of Slaves at Deptford Hill, 1825

Inventory and Appraisement of the Estate of Nichol Turnbull, 28 March 1825, T-73, Probate Court, Chatham County Court House.
Courtesy of Chatham County Court House.

At the time of his death, Nichol Turnbull owned forty-one slaves at Deptford Hill. He requested in his will that they remain at the plantation. Skilled workers such as carpenters were valued highly but the driver Bacchus, who acted as the foreman in the fields, was prized above all.

Canal in Rice Field

Rice Field, William Ernest Wilson Photo Archive, MS 993, Box 1, Folder 49.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.

Photographer William Ernest Wilson captured images of Deptford Plantation between 1883 and 1893. Through his lens, a last glimpse of a rice plantation has been preserved. This canal at Deptford was part of a complex system that allowed rice fields to be periodically flooded and drained over the course of the growing season.

Slave Cabins

Slave Cabins, William Ernest Wilson Photo Archive, MS 993, Box 1, Folder 65.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.

William Carmichael built twenty cabins to house his workers at Deptford. Seven or eight African American men lived in each of the two-room cabins, a total of 146 workers. Photographer William Ernest Wilson believed the cabins to be relics from slavery when in fact they were constructed after the war. Free in the eyes of the law, the African American workers still lived and worked in substandard conditions.

Rice sheaves

Rice in Shuck, William Ernest Wilson Photo Archive, MS 993, Box 1, Folder 16.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.

Harvesting rice required workers to cut the stalks with rice hooks, a serrated blade resembling a sickle. The stalks were tied into a sheaf, then the sheaves stacked together like a haystack to better repel rain.

Hauling Rice by Oxcart

Rice Hauling, William Ernest Wilson Photo Archive, MS 993, Box 1, Folder 48.
Courtesy of Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Georgia Libraries.