ABOUT DUNES WEST GATE COMMUNITY GOLF CLUB
Searching for a place to call home? Dunes West offers a combination of lifestyle, security, amenities, and natural beauty unlike any other community in the Charleston area. Neighbors stand and chat at their mailboxes, and runners, walkers, and bikers enjoy the trails – while golfers enjoy the beautiful course designed by Arthur Hills!
With approximately 2,910 acres and an incomparable lifestyle, Dunes West offers a true sense of community. Located in the town of Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, and fronting the Wando River, as well as Wagner and Toomer Creeks, the Dunes West community features high ground with superb views.
Dunes West is an old fashioned neighborhood that you’ll be pleased to call home!
History of Dunes West
Dunes West is blessed with a strong history. Evidence of inhabitants date back 8,000 years to the Indians who harvested the resources of the rivers and streams, particularly oysters and shellfish.
The first historic record is a grant of 1,000 acres to Edmund Bellinger in 1696. Apparently, he never developed the property and sold it to Major Alexander Parris in 1704. In 1712, the land was purchased by Captain John Vanderhorst, Joseph Vanderhorst, and Thomas Lynch. Lynch was the grandfather of Thomas Lynch, Jr., a signatory of the Declaration of Independence. During this time, the property was known as “Four Men’s Ramble.”
In 1738, John Vanderhorst’s share went to Arnoldus Vanderhorst I. By 1754, he had acquired all of the land between Toomer and Wagner Creeks. Arnoldus Vanderhorst II owned the plantation until his death in 1802. By the end of the American Revolution, he was a Colonel. The Vanderhorst family also owned a lot of land on Kiawah Island. The plantation primarily manufactured bricks, but there was some cotton and rice farming. The main house and its outbuildings were established in the area where the Dunes West Golf clubhouse now stands.
After the death of Vanderhorst III in 1827, the plantation was sold to A. S.Willington, the first editor of what is now known as The Post and Courier. The plantation then became known as “Lexington.” Willington sold the plantation to Effingham Wagner in 1830. Wagner died in 1837, and his wife Emma sold Lexington in 1861 to Paul Waring, Jr., a fearless Confederate Army Captain, who was later killed in battle in 1863. Emma Wagner repurchased the land following Waring’s death. There is a small cemetery located at the entrance to Hartford Village in which a number of Legare children are buried. Many speculate that one of the Legares acted as overseer for Lexington. The Legare children were the grandchildren of Effingham Wagner.
In 1857, widow Wagner sold Lexington to James McElroy, who owned the property until 1902. By this post-Civil War period, the original Lexington main house was in ruins. It may have been burned by Union soldiers, as so many other homes were in South Carolina.
Lexington changed hands several times until 1930, when it was bought by Henrietta Hartford, the widow of Edward V. Hartford. Known as one of the nation’s wealthiest women, Mrs. Hartford developed an elaborate estate, which included the addition of a row of oaks along the avenue, a saltwater pool, tennis courts, nine hole golf links, stables, a guest house, servants’ quarters, and gardens designed by the Olmstead Firm. Some of these additions remain today.
In 1937, Mrs. Hartford married the charming and handsome Prince Guido Pignatelli of Italy. The Prince and Princess visited Lexington plantation until it was mysteriously burned in 1942. Princess Pignatelli never utilized the property again. In 1947, the land was sold to O. L. Williams Veneer Company, Inc. (which later became part of Georgia Pacific).
In 1991, the Dunes West Golf Club opened, owned by Scratch Golf and designed by Arthur Hills. The main clubhouse is located on the original site of the Lexington Plantation, with the old oak trees leading the way.
Prepared from a report written for Scratch Golf by Lucy B. Wayne and Martin F. Dickinson of SouthArc Inc., Gainesville, Florida
There’s so much to do in Dunes West!
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