Woodlands

A National Historic Landmark. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

From the record

“Woodlands, or the William Gilmore Simms Estate, is a historic plantation estate in Bamberg County, South Carolina. The property is nationally notable as the home for many years of author William Gilmore Simms (1806-1870), considered one of the leading literary voices of the antebellum Southern United States, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971.”
Wikipedia article Woodlands (Bamberg, South Carolina), CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 13 National Register listings published here for Bamberg County · listed in 1971 · category: Building · a National Historic Landmark.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

Address. 3 mi. S of Bamberg on SC 78, Bamberg, 29003
When was it listed? November 1971
Category. building
Census division. Bamberg
National Register reference number. 71000742 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

194 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 194 fires within 5 miles of Woodlands between 1992 and 2020, burning about 737 acres in total. 8 started naturally. 13 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Debris and open burning	80
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	63
Equipment and vehicle use	16
Arson/incendiarism	13
Natural	8
Smoking	7
Misuse of fire by a minor	7

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
9 September 2008	Equipment and vehicle use	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
9 September 2002	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
8 September 2007	Debris and open burning	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
28 September 1996	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
27 September 1996	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
22 September 2004	Debris and open burning	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named
2 September 2018	Natural	under an acre	South Carolina Forestry Commission	not named

Every fire recorded in Bamberg County

Mines and quarries near this property

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Woodlands: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Calcium, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Embree Sand Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Past Producer	Sedimentary
	Kirkland Pit	Calcium	Past Producer

Every working recorded in Bamberg County

Storms near this property

60 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bamberg, the town this property stands in, in 68 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 46 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 3 flash flood, 3 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
January 2024	Tornado (EF2)	Bamberg	$1,800,000	A National Weather storm survey team confirmed an EF2 tornado, with peak winds of\|125 mph, in Bamberg SC. The tornado began 1.75 miles south of the City of Bamberg\|along US Hwy 601, near Cry Baby Road.\|\|Moving north, the tornado then proceeded to flip a mobile home and cause substantial\|EF2 damage to a barrel plant at the intersection of US Hwy 601 and US Hwy 301. Door\|and window failure contributed to the collapse of the middle section of the building\|and partial collapse of the front section. The collapsed portions of the building were\|tossed across Chevrolet St into a water tower.\|\|The tornado continued north-northeast along US-301 causing widespread EF1 roof and\|tree damage before moving into downtown Bamberg.\|\|As the tornado entered downtown Bamberg, it strengthened to EF2 intensity and\|caused substantial structural damage to a series of 2-3 story historic buildings just\|south of the intersection of US Hwy 78 and US Hwy 301. The newer roof section of a\|building on the west side of US Hwy 301 was thrown completely off onto the adjacent\|structure. There was a complete collapse of the upper stories of two buildings on the\|east side of US Hwy 301 with the corner torn off another. Preexisting missing portions\|of the roof and gaps in the exterior wall of the former City Hall likely contributed to its\|collapse due to wind intrusion. \|\|The tornado then moved north and quickly weakened as it crossed US Hwy 78 before\|dissipating 0.4 miles north of downtown Bamberg along US Hwy 301.\|\|The National Weather Service would like to thank wind engineers from the Insurance\|Institute for Business and Home Safety for their expertise assisting with surveying\|some of the structural damage.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$80,000	Times Democrat reported trees down in Bamberg. One fell on a home causing moderate damage and another destroyed a barbershop.
June 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$20,000	Sheriff reported numerous trees down in Bamberg.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$16,000	Sheriff reported trees and powerlines down arcoss northern portions of the county.
April 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$14,000	The Highway Patrol reported several trees down in Bamberg. Media also reported a pet shelter had its roof partially torn off.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$12,000	Sheriff reported many trees and powerlines down in Bamberg with widespread outages in town.
June 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$12,000	Dispatch reported trees down countrywide.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$12,000	Sheriff reported trees down in the area of Charleston Augusta Highway as well as Govan and Voorhees.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$12,000	A home off Hunters Chapel Road had minor damage to the porch and roof and moderate damage to the carport. Trees were also down and debris from the carport was found 30 yds away.
September 2024	Flash Flood	Bamberg	$10,000	Bamberg County Government reported significant flooding along Hwy 301 in the town of Bamberg.
June 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$5,000	Trees blown down and a transformer knocked out by winds.
July 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$4,000	DOT reported a few trees down in the Bamberg area and over to Denmark.
July 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$4,000	Sheriff reported trees down in Bamberg.
May 2009	Flash Flood	Bamberg	$4,000	Sheriff reported several roads flooded with 1 to 3 feet of water in Bamberg and the surrounding area.
March 2012	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$3,000	Several trees down in Bamberg.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$2,000	Storm survey found several trees down along SC49 northwest of Bamberg.
August 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	$2,000	DOT reported trees down on hwy 645.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Reported power lines down in the road along North Street in the Town of Bamberg.
June 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Reported trees down on Orange Grove Road.
September 2014	Hail	Bamberg	-	Bamberg Fire Dept. reported quarter size hail in the town of Bamberg.
March 2012	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff dispatch reported nickel to qaurter size hail along Hwy 301 southwest of Bamberg.
March 2012	Hail	Bamberg	-	The public reported lots of nickel size hail in Bamberg.
March 2012	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported quarter size hail in Bamberg.
May 2012	Hail	Bamberg	-	Bamberg police reported quarter size hail on the north side of town.
May 2011	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported quarter size hail near Bamberg.
May 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Emergency Manager reported trees down in Bamberg and Ehrhardt.
April 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down on hwy 301 just south of the Orangeburg county line.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Paw Paw Country Club reported trees down in the area.
June 2008	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported nickel size hail on highway 78.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	EM reported many trees down in the Canaan Community and on Hudson and Canaan roads.
April 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported numerous trees down in and around the Bamberg area.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	DOT reported several trees down SC Hwy 81.
January 2006	Tornado (F0)	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported a small tornado touched down on Jay Street and took down a grove of trees.
April 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Utility reported trees down on power lines
May 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported powerlines down on hwy 362.
May 2006	Tornado (F0)	Bamberg	-	Storm survey found trees and powerlines down south of Midway off hwy 78. Utility company was present repairing powerlines.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Public reported trees down in Bamberg.
July 2006	Hail	Bamberg	-	Public reported 1.75 inch hail.
August 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down on SC Hwy 362 southeast of Bamberg.
July 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down.
May 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down on hwy 601.
May 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Edisto Electric reported trees and powerlines down on Edisto River Road.
July 2003	Hail	Bamberg	-	Public reported 3/4 inch hail.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down on hwy 78 and also near Ehrhardt.
August 2003	Flash Flood	Bamberg	-	Police and Sheriff reported roads flooded in Olar and on Hwy 301 near Bamberg.
May 2002	Hail	Bamberg	-	Emergency manager reported dime size hail in Bamberg.
May 2002	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported dime size hail.
March 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported trees down on hwy 301 north of Bamberg.
August 2001	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Rivers Bridge State Park reported trees down.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Post Office reported trees down along hwy 21.
June 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Hwy Maint reported trees down on hwy 301 s of Bamberg.
August 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Police reported numerous trees down in the Bamberg area.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Newspaper reported trees down. One fell on propane tanks and ingnited a large blaze.
July 1999	Hail	Bamberg	-	Sheriff reported 3/4 inch hail in town of Bamberg.
August 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	EPD reported trees down around Bamberg.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Highway Maintenance Dept reported trees down along SC highway 20 from Bamberg to the Orangeburg county line.
May 1998	Hail	Bamberg	-	SKYWARN spotter reported 3/4 inch hail.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	A cluster of thunderstorms produced several downed trees in Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun, and Sumter counties.
August 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	Trees and power lines down.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Bamberg	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Bamberg County

Newspapers printed here

10,509 digitised pages

1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 1,440 issues, 10,509 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.

Newspaper	Published
The Bamberg Herald	1891 to 1972

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

4 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Bamberg Historic District	4.8 miles	1983
Bamberg Post Office	5.1 miles	2007
Bamberg City Hall	5.1 miles	2005
Gen. Francis Marion Bamberg House	5.9 miles	1976

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 71000742 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Bamberg County	All 13 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.