Kindly transcribed by Molly, who writes “… This is not my family, so I would have no further information to add. In respect to descendants - I don't work for the state of Georgia! I understand some of what is written, sounds like a sales pitch, but other information about the family, and the in-depth account of the plantation, I am sure, would be of great help to your genealogy. Good luck with your research, and enjoy reading the article & viewing the photos, which were also published as part of this article.”

Published in the Winter 2000 issue of Georgia Neighbors

Hofwyl-Broadfield story

Article written by Jennifer Whittaker --

BRUNSWICK - Time has stood still at the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation since 1973 when the last owner of the former rice plantation died, but the family's legacy continues as some 20,000 visitors tour the historic site yearly. It's a Legacy that spans almost 170 years - dating back to 1806 - and directly reflects the changes that occurred in Coastal Georgia as history unfurled. Through the years, Hofwyl-Broadfield evolved from a rice plantation to a dairy farm to a historic park operated by the state of Georgia. Each stage in the plantation's evolution kept the plantation off the auction block, leaving Georgia with a rare jewel.

"Hofwyl-Broadfield is a typical rice plantation and it's still intact, including furniture in the house. It's the only one open to the public," said Bill Rivers, site manager. "It's historically very accurate. It's not Hollywood's version." But the grounds of Hofwyl-Broadfield and its story have Hollywood blockbuster written all over it. Ancient live oaks draped in Spanish moss are scattered majestically around the plantation farmhouse built in the early 1850's. Although the two-story house is much simpler than the elaborate Greek Revival style commonly associated with plantations, it houses antiques dating back to the 1790s that are sure to make collectors drool. A Charleston secretary found in the parlor will be featured on the cover of a soon-to-be-released book about Charleston furniture. An upstairs bedroom displays one of three known rice beds

carved by Thomas ELFE, the original creator of the rice bed.

~Legacy of coastal agriculture lives on at Hofwyl-Broadfield~

The story of the BRAILSFORD - TROUP - DENT family and its struggle to maintain the plantation would keep an audience riveted to the big screen. Ophelia DENT, the last surviving heir of Hofwyl-Broadfield came from a long line of determined ancestors who were dedicated to maintaining the plantation despite being plagued by debt. The property located along the Altamaha River between Darien and Brunswick, was first acquired in 1806 by William BRAILSFORD who moved to the Georgia Coast from Charleston to grow rice on a plantation he named Broadfield. After his death in 1810, his son-in-law, Dr James M TROUP assumed management of the plantation and purchased it in 1834. After purchasing several parcels of adjoining land, TROUP died deeply in debt in 1849. He left a stipulation in his will that the estate was not to be divided among his children until all of his debts, which totalled $80,000, were paid. Once Dr TROUP's debts were paid, one of his daughters, Ophelia Troup DENT, inherited a portion of the original plantation named West New Hope. She and her husband, George C DENT of McIntosh County, renamed their plantation Hofwyl for an agriculture school that George had attended in Switzerland. The 1850s was a great decade for rice production which was the backbone of Georgia's coastal farming community. Hofwyl produced rice until the outbreak of the Civil War. George Dent and his 15-year-old son, James, left the plantation to serve in the Confederate Army. Ophelia and the other children moved to a refugee settlement near Waycross. After the Civil War the family sold large sections of the estate to pay taxes. James took over the plantation in the 1880s and continued to grow rice.  He married Miriam G. COHEN of Savannah in 1880 and they had three surviving children - Gratz, Miriam and Ophelia. James became a pioneer in coastal Georgia by becoming the first planter to believe that mosquitos caused malaria. In 1903 he placed screens on the windows and fireplaces of the plantation house and continued to live on the rice plantation during the malaria season instead of retreating to the family townhouse in Savannah.

Despite his progressive thinking, Dent died in 1913, deeply in debt.  His son Gratz, who graduated from Yale and later served as an agricultural extension agent in Savannah, realized rice production was no longer practical and established a diary on the plantation. His sisters, Miriam, who was born in 1886, managed the day-to-day operations of the dairy until 1942. Miriam capped the bottled milk and made butter while Ophelia made milk deliveries. Gratz married late in life and lived in Savannah.

During the dairy's most prosperous period, about 35 Jersey and Guernsey cows produced between 100 to 150 bottles of milk a day. The DENT sisters ran the dairy for 27 years until regulations requiring milk to be pasteurized were passed. By this time the plantation was out of debt.

"These sisters were very much in control of their lives and lived their life the way they wanted to," said Faye Cowart, a Hofwyl-Broadfield tour guide. "Miriam was an intellectual and Ophelia was a people person."

The DENT sisters never married, making the preservation of the family plantation their life's work. They lived anything but a boring life, having the likes of Margaret MITCHELL and Alice and Pierre DE PONT as close friends. Ophelia travelled frequently with the DE PONT s. Numerous souvenirs of their trips to Europe are displayed throughout the house. As a token of their friendship, the DE PONTs gave the DENT sisters an electric chandelier for their dining room. Because the sisters preferred to dine by candlelight, they kept the chandelier hanging from a window in the adjoining room. When the DE PONTs would cable to say they were coming for a visit, Miriam and Ophelia would call a Brunswick electrician to hook up the chandelier.

"Ophelia was a crackshot with a gun, an excellent swimmer and an amateur tennis champion," Cowart said. "Miss Ophelia would make her milk rounds and then give tennis lessons."

Miriam died in 1953, leaving Ophelia to carry on the family tradition alone. Twenty years later, at the age of 87, Ophelia died one morning after sitting down for breakfast. Having no heirs, Ophelia left the plantation to the Nature Conservacy who turned it over to the state of Georgia.

With the exception of personal items left to friends, everything in the plantation house has been left exactly as it was at Ophelia's death. Squares she was knitting still lie on her nightstand. Touring the plantation house gives visitors a glimpse not only into the history of the family but into the personality of the DENT sisters, as well.

"This home is not a museum," Cowart said. "A lot of our visitors say they could move in and live here." And that is exactly what the DENT sisters wanted - to leave a living memorial to their family and the plantation entrusted to them for five generations.

[end of extract]

(The last of the article gives location, directions, etc... Hofwyl-Broadfield is located on US 17, one mile east of I-95, six miles south of Darien and 10 miles north of Brunswick. Hours are Tues - Sat 9am to 5pm, Sun 2pm to 5:30pm. Closed Mondays. Call 912-264-7333)