Duncan Clinch Heyward was born at Goodwill Plantation in 1864. He served as governor of South Carolina from 1903 to 1907. When Edward Barnwell Heyward bought Goodwill Plantation, his father, Charles Heyward, was one of the richest men in America. The Heyward family owned six plantations on the Combahee River and an ocean schooner. Edward Barnwell Heyward had four children by his first wife, three of whom died as infants. When his wife died, only his son, Walter Izard Heyward, lived with him. Heyward lived at Nutshell Plantation for six months while his house at Goodwill Plantation was being built. The Main House in 1858

The Goodwill house, which is still on the plantation, has a Lowcountry– style porch on the front and both sides with a façade on top. The house consists of one large central room with 12–foot ceilings. There are two large bedrooms on each side of the central room, each having a fireplace.

The Main House at Goodwill Plantation was built in 1858 and had a Lowcountry–style porch. There was a large kitchen and dining room in the back connected to the house by a fully enclosed walkway. The kitchen area was constructed away from the house because of the danger of fire. Being constructed away from the house kept the main house safer from fire as well as keeping it cooler during the summer.

The kitchen and dining room area had a central chimney. On the dining room side there was a large fireplace with oven boxes on each side for keeping the food hot and warming the dishes. The fireplace had large brass andirons that were stolen in the 70s. In the kitchen area, the fireplace was very large with a swinging arm to hang pots while cooking the food. Food was also cooked on the hearth by pulling coals from the chimney and placing them under the pots. Large “S” type hooks to the left of the chimney were used to raise and lower the cooking pot above the fire, thus setting the temperature needed to cook the food without burning it.

The Overseer’s House was built in 1850 and was lived in until 1953. The overseer during the Civil War was Squire Jones. It has been restored at Goodwill Plantation. On February 17, 1863, Heyward married Catherine Maria Clinch. Their son, Duncan Clinch Heyward, was born June 24, 1864, at Goodwill Plantation. He served as governor of South Carolina from 1903 to 1907.
This sketch by Grover Rye depicts how the original Main House at Goodwill Plantation might have looked in 1858.
This sketch by Grover Rye depicts how the five–hole outhouse at Goodwill Plantation looked.