_edited.jpg)
THE LOCATION, HISTORY & ITS PEOPLE
Location
Macburn is located at the confluence of the Lynches River and Little Lynches River sprawling 5000 contiguous acres through dense hardwoods, lowlands, pines, row-crops, Turkey Creek, sandhills, a vast array of topography, flora, fauna, and landscape between Camden, South Carolina and the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge.
Pre-History
As confirmed by multiple archeologists, for at least 10,000 years Macburn has been inhabited. Given its location on the confluence of the Little Lynches and Big Lynches River, the location has been one of importance for agricultural purposes and military purposes. Archeologists have confirmed tools, shard, weaponry, and other finds of every millennia dating back to 10,000 years which are held and preserved at Macburn.
Native American & European Settlement
With a full moon, on April 21, 1540 Hernando De Soto set foot into South Carolina. Thanks to the Spanish's insistence on documenting their travels, we know quite accurately with whom De Soto interacted, where, and when. That includes the area around Macburn, if not Macburn itself. Through the centuries, Spanish coins have been located on Macburn, commonly used as trade. At or around Macburn, De Soto encountered Cofitachequi: the famous paramount chiefdom founded about 1300 AD and encountered by De Soto in April 1540. The ceremonial center of Cofitachequi is still a mystery; however, most would account for it around the Camden area, a mere miles from Macburn. Unfortunately, De Soto famously kidnapped the "Lady of Cofitachequi" taking her to the mountains of North Carolina creating a cross-relationship between the Native Americans and Europeans. Future expeditions of Juan Pardo between 1566 and 1568 and Henry Woodard in 1670 appear to have traversed on or in the immediate area of Macburn. Unfortunately, this European contact lead to disease infecting the Wateree Indians and later the federally-recognized Catawba tribes and by 1701 the Cofitachequi chiefdom was abandoned. Thereafter, disparate settlement took place though the area became sought-after during the American Revolutionary War.
19th, 20th and 21st Century
Macburn has been touched by many of the nation’s most poignant events subsequent to the Civil War. The Influenza Plague of 1918 took the lives of an owner of Macburn and multiple of his children. Another generation, a mere days before being sent to Vietnam as a marksmen and sharpshooter suffered a severe accident causing him to be hospitalized for more than a year. Another generation left Macburn to be a stock-broker in New York only for the Great Depression to cause him to return to Macburn. Yet another ran away from Macburn and enlisted in the United States Army to fight in World War I, only to then be found by his mother and de-listed when she advised he was merely 16 years-old. Of note, given these hardships, for three of eight generations, Macburn was run and owned exclusively by women.
Now, the Clyburn family and its sixth, seventh, and eight-generation relishes Macburn and the story it tells. The Clyburn and MacSween family—direct descendants—comprise the namesake of Macburn.
WHITEHAVEN
Whitehaven is home to a 22-stall, two-story Morton barn with indoor riding arena, multiple living quarters, and formerly a breeding barn. It serves as Macburn’s stable as well as being home to Carey Ready Performance Horses. Carey and his team are renown for their training of quarter horses, having horses participate reguarly in Congress and implementing short- and long-term training regiments. More can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/CRPerfHorses/
Whitehaven also houses another “little” barn which is full of character. The barn has 6-stalls on the outside whereon in the inside is a two-story living quarter that doubles as the “party” barn. Immediately adjacent to it are additional pastures, a smokehouse, and one of Macburn’s private residences.
FOX HUNTING
Fox hunting is an English tradition started in the 1600s. First and foremost, contrary to what many people believe, in modern fox hunting the foxes are not killed. Rather, they are merely chased: first by the highly trained hounds and following closely behind, horses. It is not uncommon—in fact it is more common than not—that a fox hunt will actually be after a coyote.
At Macburn, the fox hunt is organized, run, managed, and fully operated by the Wateree Hounds. We would invite you to visit their website and enjoy the sights, sounds, and beauty of traditional English fox hunting. During the season, two hunts take place weekly. Macburn is proud to host these hunts along with Skuffel Farm and the Coxe families. The background photo is of the First Field led by First Field Master Ned Towell of Camden, South Carolina, through Macburn.
NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHEOLOGY
Studied by the likes of Christopher Judge and Christopher Moore, Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina along with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Native American archeology of Macburn is extensive with tools, shards, pottery, and other finds dating back as far as 10,000 years. There is a heavy presence of archeology from the period known as the Woodlands Period, which in South Carolina began around 2000 B.C. to perhaps around 1,000 A.D., along an even heavier presence from the period known as the Mississippian culture from about 1,000 A.D. moving forward. This period is marked by more sedentary living with increased farming, and thus a more robust need for pottery and storage containers.
The background image is that of a 10,000 year old, well-preserved arrow-head along with a stamp/decorative piece from the Mississippian period. Macburn takes diligent care in the preservation of these finds and the histories they tell.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR
The American Revolutionary War lasted between April 1775 and September 1783. South Carolina saw the infamous Battle of Camden in 1780—some mere miles from Macburn, in which General Cornwallis handed defeat to the American soldiers. Just a few months afterward, having still been in and around Macburn, one of the most famous figures of the war—Thomas Sumter—was handed another defeat on the banks of Macburn’s Lynches River. It is reported on March 6, 1781 ten American soldiers were killed along with twenty British troops after General Sumter “stumbled upon” British infantry causing the American’s to fire upon the British, but to immediately retreat north up the banks of the Lynches away from present day Bishopville toward Macburn. Col. Francis, Lord Rawdon wrote on March 7, 1781 that General Sumter “continued his retreat northward [necessarily through Macburn]; he had his family with him, so that I think he has entirely abandoned the lower country.”
Though Thomas Sumter did leave the area and arrive in the Waxhaw's, he would return to the Macburn area; eventually deeding it the family in which Macburn is still owned. Post-war General Sumter had some 150,000 acres of land grant holdings. It was in 1802 that General Sumter deeded certain of those lands to Angus MacSween, a Scottish born man born in 1783 at Inverness-shire. Angus would have ten children, the eight generation of which remain on Macburn.
CIVIL WAR
Given Macburn’s keen location, it should come as no surprise that it is home to dramatic events in the Civil War, with infamous names attached to the events. As paraphrased and supplemented from the State of South Carolina’s historical marker:
In 1865, General Sherman’s Federal Army advanced Northeast from Charleston to Charlotte. It is reported General Sherman was written a letter from a West Point colleague to not burn Camden, and General Sherman granted the request. Due to this shift in plans, General Sherman’s Army—lead by General John A. Logan and his XV Corp—traversed the backcountry, eventually settling at Macburn. However, torrential rains came as the XV Corp arrived flooding the Lynches River. Unbeknownst to the Union soldiers, on the other side of the Lynches, Confederate soldiers lay in wait. When the flood-waters subsided, the Union soldiers began crossing the Lynches River into what is now Darlington County only to fired upon, resulting in casualties on each side.
Still to this day, the expansive field which slopes slightly toward the Lynches River paints the picture of men in War camped upon it. Boxes of “cleaner” bullets, silver-ware, full and in-tact swords, bayonets, pistols, and more are found at Macburn. Due to the flooding and delay it caused General Sherman’s troops, little was damaged at Macburn and the “fine china” was buried by the family. The commanding officer of General Sherman’s Army—General John A. Logan—would later unsuccessfully run for the Vice Presidency of the United States on the ticket with James G. Blaine in 1884.
To more fully bring to life the events above-described, consider the personal diary notes of Carroll M. Bills, an officer in the Union army, who contemporaneously described the event as:
Were ordered in line of Battle at daybreak. Moved forward at 7 ½ AM in the center of the Div and Flank of the Train, marched eight miles, reached Lynches Creek & _____ Rains had swollen the Creek so that it over-flowed its banks, and the bottom land adjacent a quarter of a mile in extent on each side, water in many places being waist deep. As soon as the 1st Brig. had crossed, the 3rd Brigade moved forward. The most of the men having taken off their clothes preparatory to wading; and through the water reached their arm pits in places, the ____ crossed without loss, and went into camp a mile beyond in the sight of road in line of battle; ____ up Earth works in front, the enemy living in our immediate vacinity[sic]. The Brigade, train did not affect a crossing until the next day. Tolerably heavy skirmishing ensued after crossing by our advance.
The diary is housed in the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum. The background is the XV Corp's marker, many of which reside at Macburn.
CONSERVATION
Since the early 1800s, cotton has been king. In fact, a well-known picture published at the South Carolina State Fair was taken at Macburn in the 1960s showing a field of cotton rows which reached an entire mile! This is quite the rarity in South Carolina. But in the 1980s moving into 1990s, Billy Clyburn—the current owner—had the foresight to recognize erosion, changing weather patterns, and market disruptions were making row-crop farming all the more challenging. This spurred a dramatic shift from Macburn famously having cotton from “ho-rizon to ho-rizon” to a gradual shift toward long-leaf pines, quail habitat, and native grasses.
The story goes that Thornwell “Fatty” Clyburn—the father of Billy Clyburn—was at a cotton conference in Texas in the mid-1900s and was offended by how Texans referred to how the deep South cultivated cotton. Consequently, Fatty stood up to the group and hollered how cotton grew from “ho-rizen to ho-rizen” with a thick South Carolina accent. Fatty’s namesake was earned too; and thus these antics accompanied by his generally boisterous self caused Fatty to garner quite a name for himself, eventually serving in South Carolina’s General Assembly.
But the shift to longleaf has taken shape at Macburn, drastically changing the landscape and improving the environment at the same time. Now, Macburn is home to over 60 covey of wild quail, counted annually. In addition, the wildlife increases yearly with a healthy stand of deer, turkey, dove, and migrating ducks. Macburn has worked closely with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in partnering with it on what are commonly referred to as Conservation Reserve Programs (CRPs). Macburn was one of the first in South Carolina to sign a long-term contact with the USDA for implementing CRP programs which include the planting of native grasses, pines, and related conservation efforts. Macburn also works closely with Clemson University Extension agents on timber management practices to best capture its conversation efforts.
WILDLIFE
Macburn's historical row crop heritage did not bode well for wildlife for nearly two centuries. However, the progressive and forward-thinking of current generations and transition to native grasses, pine trees, and favorable quail habitat has transformed the landscape and wildlife population. Coupling that with the hiring of George Hutto as Macburn's wildlife manager, who for twenty-plus years managed the renowned Backwoods Quail Club, Macburn has one of the largest wild quail populations in the Southeast. Macburn does not allow the quail to be hunted at current as Macburn concerns itself with continued management.
Where there is quail, there is deer, turkey, and other healthy wildlife populations. Traditionally, Macburn hosts approximately four dove shoots in the fall, and Mr. Hutto guides numerous turkey hunts and facilitates deer hunts on the few dozen deer stands across Macburn. In addition, a duck impoundment is near completion off of Clyburn Pond.
Should you be attending a hunt at Macburn, the typical location to meet is The Lodge: 5292 Lucknow Road, Bethune, SC.
VISITING
Macburn is family-owned and private. Notwithstanding, the family’s greatest pleasure is seeing close friends and family enjoy what Macburn provides. If Macburn beckons to you and would like a tour of the facilities, historical narrative, or simply to enjoy nature: reach out below. Macburn is particularly emotive for wildlife artists and photographers, writers (authors and song-writers), ecclesiastical leadership, arborists, and adventurers.
Of course, you may partake in a trail ride offered by Second Wind Thoroughbred Project or join the Wateree Hounds in a chase you won’t soon forget.
