Major Pierce Butler (the third son of an Irish baronet) came to America and married Mary Middleton of South Carolina. Butler's sell of his military commission was used to purchase several plantations in South Georgia including Butler Plantation approximately 1 mile south of Darien Georgia.
Major Butler left this property not to his children, but his grandchildren if they would change their last name to Butler. So Pierce (Mease) Butler ended up with title to this property that had been cultivated with dikes and canals for the purpose of growing rice.
The property has been turned into a wildlife preserve. What brings attention to most tourists driving down Highway 17 is the old rice mill chimney that still remains.
The home is now owned by the Department of Natural Resources and is used as a private residence.
Most people's familiarity to Butler Plantation are the writings of English actress Fanny Kemble Butler, wife of Pierce Butler. Although Fanny only spent 4 months in Georgia on a trip with her husband to view his estates, Fanny hated slavery. This caused a divorce which ended with her only being allowed to see her two children two months a year. Fanny returned to her acting career but later published "Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation".
Now the Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area and Howfyl Plantation, Butler Plantation is an protected asset of the Department of Natural Resources and the state of Georgia.
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