Stop 4: Wade Hampton Oak

Wade Hampton Oak - 428 Main Steet, Conway, SC

Stop 4: This oak dates back to 1605 and is named after S.C. Governor Wade Hampton III. Governor Wade Hampton III visited the area in 1876 during his political campaign. This oak was part of a grove of trees in the expansive front yard of the house you saw at stop 3. It is said that when workmen prepared to lay track for the first railroad to enter Conway, Mary Beaty, wife of Thomas Beaty, stood armed with a shotgun and threatened dire consequences to anyone who cut the tree down.

Qwaygo Insider Tips: The tree’s circumference is 16’2”, and it is over 420 years old.

The Mary Beaty Oak

The Mary Beaty Oak dates back to 1768 and stands on the same block as the Wade Hampton Oak. A brick planter also surrounds it. This oak is named after Mary Elizabeth Brookman Beaty (1824 - 1901), who defended the Wade Hampton Oak with a loaded shotgun when railroad workers threatened to cut it down.

Qwaygo Insider Tips: The tree’s circumference is 9’4”, and it is over 250 years old.