subject: The Stoney-baynard Ruins On Hilton Head Sc Are A Recurring Scene Of Paranormal Activity [print this page] The stakes were high in a late night poker game at Hilton Head SC in 1838. On the table was the Stoney Plantation. In one stroke "Saucy Jack" Stoney lost the family plantation on Braddock's Point to William Eddings Baynard.
A Stroke Of Good Luck
It was a bitter pill to swallow because the plantation was a fourth generation inheritance when Saucy Jack got it from his father, Dr. George Mosse Stoney. The property had been in the family since Saucy Jack's great grandfather bought it during the Revolution.
It was winner take all for William Eddings Baynard, although some records indicate that Baynard simply purchased the land when Saucy Jack went bankrupt. Of course, that version carries far less theatrical appeal. Either way, the transaction explains the hyphenated name by which the property is identified today: Stony-Baynard Plantation. William Baynard and his wife Catherine reared 4 children in the "Big House" up until 1849 when William died.
A Stroke Of Bad Luck
During the Civil War the Baynard's and other plantation owners on Hilton Head SC were driven off the Island. The Big House became headquarters for Union officers. That made it the target of a Confederate raiding party, which torched and destroyed it.
The Baynard's never returned to the Island after the War, although they did legally reclaim the land. Thus, the property was left in its present state of disrepair, another sad monument to the devastation of the American Civil War.
The original outline of the structure may be traced by the features that survive. The back of the house is easily identified by the fireplace and remnants of the rear wall that are still standing. A little detective work uncovers the pier pads in which the heavy posts of the front porch were once secured.
In their beautiful setting on the highest point of the Island, these haunted places conjure happy family scenes of children and household servants playing together. A cloud blots out the sun and these are swept away by a violent conflagration. If you are very still the imagination can pick up the echo of the jack-boot invader pacing the large wrap-around porch of this haunted house.
Sometimes the haunting scenes of this idyllic setting are more evident to the senses. In life and in death luck deserted Baynard and the shades of his mournful funeral procession may still be seen filing past his tomb.
Legend has it that the rumor of jewelry, gold and riches motivated union soldiers to break into the family mausoleum. Ever since, on drizzly gray days Baynard's ghost has been wandering the scene of his earthly existence. This is one of the true scary stories associated with paranormal activity at Hilton Head SC.
