Arcadia Plantation (Fairfield)

By 1770 Joseph Allston owned the land later named Fairfield which measured 700 acres on the Waccamaw River north of Hobcaw Barony. His son, William, dropped an “L” from his last name, and William's descendants are known as Alstons. Alston built a four room house and installed an overseer to manage the plantation. The house was enlarged in 1793, and Alston, after fire destroyed his Clifton Plantation, moved his large family here. Between 1839 and 1881 Fairfield was the home of his son, Charles Alston, and remained in the Alston family until 1936. Sold to George Vanderbilt, Fairfield became the first part of Arcadia.