The Heyward Family Association’s annual reunion took place on April 13, 2024 at Fontainbleau Plantation, which is four miles south of Walterboro, SC on Green Pond Highway. Weather was perfect for the reunion and family members came from far and wide. Some pictures are shown below.
The 2024 Heyward Family Association’s annual reunion will take place on Saturday, April 13 near Walterboro, SC. The location will be Fountainbleu Plantation on Green Pond highway in Colleton County.
Family members should come as early as 10:30 and bring a dish to share. We will eat at noon.
The HFA encourages members to bring a Heyward item of interest to share (or sell if interested).
The HFA will be collecting $30 dues/family at the reunion.
Directions: Members coming from the south, such as from Savannah or Beaufort should reach the reunion site by taking Exit 53 off of I-95 and going east towards Walterboro. After about 3 miles, turn right onto Green Pond highway (highway 303). After about four miles you should see a big “Heyward” sign and a smaller sign saying “Fountainbleu Lane”. Turn right and go to the end of this road.
An alternate route is closer for members who come to the reunion from the north, such as from Columbia or Greenville. Such members can exit I-95 at Exit 57 and turn left onto Hwy 64 towards Walterboro. After about a mile turn right onto North Jeffries Blvd. This road goes through the middle of Walterboro and passes the Colleton County court house (on the left, at Hampton St.). Continue going south until you come to an intersection with Highway 303, also known as Green Pond Highway. Turn left onto Highway 303 and go south about 4 miles until you see the big Heyward sign on the right. Turn right here and go to the end of Fountainbleu Lane.
Members who come from the Charleston area should take Highway 17 heading west. Travel about 25 miles to Jacksonboro, SC. Turn right onto Highway 64 toward Walterboro. In Walterboro you will come to an intersection with Hwy Alt 17. The Colleton county courthouse will be on your right. Turn left at this intersection and travel about half a mile south to a traffic-light intersection with Highway 303 (AKA Green Pond Hwy). Turn left at this intersection. Travel about 4 miles south to the reunion site, which will be marked with a Heyward sign. Turn right onto Fountainbleu Lane and go to the end of this road.
Questions? Call Jim Glover: 770.630.6477
The 2023 annual Heyward family reunion took place on April 22, 2023 at White Hall Plantation on White Hall road, south of Walterboro, SC. White Hall Plantation is known to have been owned by Nathaniel Barnwell Heyward (1816 – 1891), who probably inherited it indirectly from his grandfather Nathaniel Heyward (1766 – 1851), the South’s greatest rice planter.
Presently White Hall is owned by Richard Chilton, a New Jersey hedge fund manager. who generously made his property accessible to the Heyward Family Association for its outdoor reunion. The beautiful property consists of a stately home at the end of an avenue of ancient oaks; a separate residence for a caretaker; multiple outbuildings; two large ponds; many acres of open fields and forests; and a “secret” walled-in garden containing statues and flowering plants.
Some pictures….
The Heyward Family Association has announced the details of its annual reunion. It will take place on Saturday, April 22 at:
White Hall Plantation
3234 White Hall Rd
Yemassee, SC 29945
PROGRAM: Stories of celebrated Voodoo Doctor Ed McTeer - Sheriff of Beaufort County 1926-62 and direct descendant of Thomas Heyward, Jr.
Please come meet and mingle with your fun and fascinating Heyward cousins. We always have a great time. Starting at 10:30 am. Lunch at noon.
*Remember to bring the following.
- One dish to put on the community table (meat, salad, dessert, vegetable, your specialty, or whatever strikes your fancy).
- Appropriate clothing & weather gear, hat for shade.
- Money for dues - $30 per household.
- Libation of choice.
- Bug spray.
- Any Heyward item of interest or for sale.
- Humorous tales, history
- Another Heyward cousin!
* The HFA will provide chairs, tables, cups plates, napkins, cutlery, iced tea and ice.
Directions to White Hall Plantation, Colleton County - 3234 White Hall Road.
From Charleston:
Take Hwy 17 S about 6 or so miles south of Jacksonboro, turn RIGHT onto White Hall Road. Then follow White Hall Rd about 6 or so miles to CSX RR tracks and White Hall Plantation will be on your LEFT, marked with a large "Heyward" sign.
From Savannah or Beaufort:
Take Hwy 17 N about 3 miles (before or after) from Combahee River, turn LEFT onto White Hall Road. Then simply follow White Hall Rd about 6 or so miles to CSX RR tracks and White Hall Plantation will be on your LEFT, marked with a large "Heyward" sign.
From Hwy 95 North or South:
1. Take Hwy 95 Exit 53 (Walterboro)
2. Go East (towards Walterboro) on HWY 63 for about a mile and turn right on Mable T Willis Boulevard (Just after a sign that says "South Carolina Department of Schools"). Go about a quarter mile down that road to a stop sign.
3. At the stop sign, turn right onto HWY Alt 17, also known as Hendersonville HWY.
4. Go South for about 8 miles on Alt 17 and turn left onto Ritter Rd (a sign on Alt 17 gives warning of the turn-off.)
5. Go about a mile East on Ritter Rd and turn right (South) at White Hall HWY (also known as SC-15-119).
6. Go South on White Hall HWY to the address 3234, which should be marked with a large "Heyward" sign..
Questions?:
Margaret von Werssowetz 843.224.6651
Robin Rawl 803.609.1200
Lost?
Robbie Harrison 912.507.6891
About 85 family members attended the 2022 Heyward family reunion at Rose Hill Plantation, near Yemasee SC, on April 30, 2022. The weather was perfect, the setting was beautiful and the food, brought in by family members, was delicious.
The HFA is grateful to Henry and Mollie Fair for making their property available for the annual reunion. The HFA is also grateful to Henry Fair for explaining some of the complexities of owning such property in this area since the “war of northern aggression”. Also, the attendees are grateful to Henry Fair for making the adjacent plantation, “The Bluff”, available to us, such that we could visit the grave of Nathaniel Heyward (1766 – 1851), the country’s greatest rice planter.
A few pictures from the reunion are shown below.
The HFA reunion announcement was mailed to members a couple of weeks ago. For those who didn’t get the postcard, the message is shown above.
From the Charleston area: Take Highway 17 west and exit to the right at White Hall Rd going north. Go about 4.5 miles on White Hall Rd and turn sharply left onto Combahee Rd. The destination (3855), which will be flagged, is about 5 miles further on the left.
From the Beaufort area: Go north on Highway 21 to Highway 17, going east. On Highway 17 turn left onto White Hall road, going north. Go about 4.5 miles on White Hall Rd and turn sharply left onto Combahee Rd. The destination (3855), which will be flagged, is about 5 miles further on the left.
From I-95 going south: Get off of I-95 at Exit 42, near Yemassee. Turn left at the stop sign, onto Hwy 21. After a few miles you will come to a stop sign at Hwy Alt 17, also known as Hendersonville Hwy. Turn left onto Hwy Alt-17. Go about 3.5 miles to Combahee Rd, on the right. (There is a small white building on the left, across from Combahee Rd). Travel down Combahee Rd for about 4.5 miles and the destination (3855) is on the right.
From I-95 going north: Get off of I-95 at Exit 42, near Yemassee. Merge into Hwy 21. After a few miles you will come to a stop sign at Hwy Alt 17, also known as Hendersonville Hwy. Turn left at the stop sign onto Hwy Alt-17. Go about 3.5 miles to Combahee Rd, on the right. (There is a small white building on the left, across the intersection from Combahee Rd). Travel down Combahee Rd for about 4.5 miles and the destination (3855) is on the right.
Thanks, Bill,
This year’s reunion promises to be special, after missing out two years in a row. I hope everyone who reads this will make an effort to attend-and to bring cousins who either haven’t been in a while, or who have never been.
Bob FitzSimons
Henry and Mollie Fair have graciously agreed to host the Heyward Family Association’s reunion for 2022. The location is Rose Hill Plantation at:
3855 Combahee Rd
Yemassee, SC 29945
This is about six miles east of Yemassee and 13 miles south of Walterboro.
Members of the Heyward Family Association board of directors met January 8 at the home of Jane Brown in Charleston. Presiding over the meeting was HFA president Leslie Heyward (formerly known as Leslie Smodic).
A major topic of discussion was the annual HFA reunion, a tradition going back decades. The reunion is held annually on the second Saturday after Easter, somewhere in the South Carolina low country, sometimes at a site of family significance. This website has pictures and reports about past HFA reunions going back to 1988.
There has been no Heyward reunion for the past two years because of the Covid pandemic. This year a reunion is planned for April 30, 2022. A tentative site near Yemassee SC has been selected and will be announced later.
Updates to the reunion plan will be posted on this website under the heading Family Blog.
