About the Collection

Charles Shepard Jr. (1842–1915) established the first successful tea plantation in America at Summerville in 1888. Pinehurst Tea Plantation thrived until Shepard died in 1915. After his death, the plantation faltered and the plants grew wild on the outskirts of town. In 1963 the Lipton Tea Company transported the old Pinehurst plants to Wadmalaw Island. Photographs include images of residence, tea factory and gardens, irrigated fields, tea pickers, day laborers, school students and teachers, and an album depicting Japanese tea culture.

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