Bulow
Bulow Cottage & Home Site — Restored 1880s Cottage and Homesite Under Live Oaks, Nine Miles from Downtown Charleston
- 4.39 +/- acre Home Site with 1880's Historic Cottage in Charleston County, SC
- Located only nine miles to the city of Charleston
- One of the finest remaining home sites in the Lowcountry — a live oak–shaded build location ready for a major primary residence.
- 1,726 sq ft Historic Cottage built in 1,880's; fully restored and remodeled
- Heart-pine floors, 12-foot ceilings, wainscoting, original fireplace
- New Roof, plumbing, wiring, encapsulated crawl space with HVAC
- Sunroom off the back opening off to a deck
- Bulow Plantation is set inside 750 wooded acres with a shared deep-water dock on Rantowles Creek
- Owners at Bulow Plantation share a 75'x35' party barn with kitchen, fireplace, outdoor deck and oyster pit
Pull up the drive and the first thing you notice is the oaks. Six of them across the front of the house, planted when the cottage was built in 1880, their canopies now meeting overhead in the kind of moss-draped arch that takes a century and a half to grow. Azaleas and magnolias fill in the understory. A porch swing on the front porch. A small, white, immaculately restored cottage at the center of it all.
This is a 4.39 +/- acre home site at the end of the road located just nine miles from downtown Charleston.
"When I first visited this cottage, given the atmosphere, the surrounding live oaks, the history that I learned — it just gave me a great feeling.” — Bill Thomas, Landowner
What You’re Buying Today
Two things, really. A signature restored 1880s cottage. And one of the finest remaining home sites in the Lowcountry — a live oak–shaded build location ready for a major primary residence.
The cottage was personally restored by Bill Thomas, the developer of Bulow Plantation, between 2010 and 2023 — original heart-pine floors, 12-foot ceilings, wainscoting, and the original fireplace all preserved; everything behind the walls and under the floor brand new. New roof. New wiring. New plumbing. Encapsulated crawl space with HVAC. A renovated kitchen with gas cooktop and island. Two full baths. A primary suite with a proper closet. A sunroom off the back opening off to a deck.
"This cottage is the last historical building standing from the Bulow plantation days.” — Bill Thomas, Landowner
"They stood out to me the 1st time I drove down this road. The ancient live oaks here were planted, they had a purpose. This is the last remaining structure of a once vast industrial empire that shaped the course of Charleston itself. Its an honor to represent this property." — Jon Kohler
Outside the cottage:
- A two-car garage, insulated, renovated in 2020, with an attached two-car carport
- A new 14×24 insulated boat house / workshop / office (2023) covering the 500-foot well
- A whole-property reverse osmosis water system
- LP gas, underground utilities, X-Zone flood designation (no flood zone)
- Fenced perimeter and a separate rear access point
Step outside and the property opens up. A grove of mature American chestnut trees still drops fruit every October — the kind of grove that’s nearly impossible to find anywhere in the East today. Walk out the back door at dawn and there will be deer feeding under them.
The Live Oak Home Site
This is what makes the property different from anything else on the Charleston market in this price range.
Beyond the cottage, the 4.39 acres include a separate live oak–shaded home site ready for a major primary residence. The covenants permit it. The HOA welcomes it. The rear access point is in place. A future owner can build the substantial Lowcountry home they want — under the oaks — and let the restored cottage become a guest house, in-law quarters, or caretaker’s residence.
The property offers something increasingly difficult to replicate in the Charleston market: a premier homesite within one of the Lowcountry’s most protected and thoughtfully developed communities. The existing cottage can serve beautifully as a guest house, family retreat, or caretaker’s residence while a future owner creates a more substantial primary home beneath the live oaks.
The vision is already proven. On this road sits Thomas Hall Plantation—a custom Lowcountry estate overlooking Rantowles Creek and historic rice fields. Built in 2014 on approximately 125 acres, Thomas Hall demonstrates the caliber of estate that can exist within this setting while preserving the character and conservation values that define Bulow Plantation.
Bulow is not simply a neighborhood. It is a community of larger homesites, protected landscapes, and like-minded landowners—where forested approaches, conservation acreage, and shared amenities create a setting that feels worlds away, yet remains less than fifteen miles from downtown Charleston.
You don’t have to choose between the story and the size. You get both.
“This is probably one of the finite places in the Lowcountry that you can bring your family to the party barn. Have a cookout. An oyster roast. Dock your boat. Swim. Crab. Fish, and lastly — watch a beautiful sunset.” — Bill Thomas, Landowner
The Neighborhood
Bulow Plantation is 24 home sites ranging from three to seven acres each, set inside 750 wooded acres with a deep-water dock on Rantowles Creek, an 88-acre conservation field, and 377 acres of permanently passive county park directly across the road. What’s wooded today stays wooded. That’s recorded, not promised.
Owners share a 75′×35′ party barn with full kitchen, fireplace, outdoor deck and oyster pit. HOA dues are $1,500 per year. Publix is under five minutes. Johns Island, James Island, and Kiawah are minutes the other direction. Downtown Charleston is a fifteen-mile drive.
It’s the end-of-the-road feeling, with the city close enough to use.
"You’ll notice when you come — it’s forested on both sides. That will never change.” — Bill Thomas, Landowner
Why Charleston, and Why This One
Charleston is the number-one place in America people come to buy a home with a story. That’s the draw — the history, the architecture, the sense that the place you’re standing in has been standing there. But most of what’s for sale in Charleston with a real story is downtown, on a fifty-foot lot, with neighbors on both sides and tourist traffic at the curb.
Bulow Cottage is the rare exception. It has the story. It has the documentation. And it has four acres of live oaks and chestnuts around it, a dock down the road, and crickets at night.
The story is real and worth telling: in 1880, the Bradley family was running one of the most profitable operations in the Lowcountry, and this cottage was built as part of that enterprise. During the restoration, original employee pay tickets came out of the walls — still legible, dated, signed — along with one of the copper coins the Bradleys minted for their on-site commissary, stamped Bradley Store — 10 Cent.
Both the pay tickets and the coin convey with the property. So does an original 30-inch Coca-Cola sign found on the place during the cleanup. So does the cast-iron clawfoot tub pulled from a back field — once a cattle trough, now reglazed and set in the second bath.
This is the last standing structure from the original Bulow Plantation era. Everything else is gone. This one cottage remains because someone chose to save it — and did it right.
"When it comes to cherishing everything that's right about the Lowcountry few people have the passion and the ability to restore and preserve wha left more than Bill Thomas." — Jon Kohler
Come See It
The cottage and the home site both show best in person. The oaks, the chestnut grove, the pay tickets in the case on the mantel, the sound of the place at dusk — none of that travels well in photos.
Speak with a JKA advisor about Bulow Cottage → (850) 508-2999
The price you see on this listing was built by a process — one we developed over 35 years of specializing in this niche and closing over $2B of similar properties. Every transaction we've closed, including the largest recreational land sale in Georgia history, sits inside our Interactive Land Sales Map. Every one of them informs how this property is priced today.If you're seriously considering this property — or one like it — that knowledge can be working for you. A JKA advisor will walk you through the pricing, the value, and the comparable sales behind both, privately and on your timeline.
Speak With a JKA Advisor About This Property → (850) 508-2999
If you're searching for a unique property — or weighing what yours is truly worth — you no longer have to rely on public records and appraisals.We have the largest private sales database ever put together in this niche, with the real-time knowledge of closing an average of $700,000 in recreational land every day, seven days a week. No buyer or seller in this market has ever had that kind of inside view.
When you speak with a JKA advisor, we'll walk you through:
• How this property's intrinsic features have been broken out and valued
• Where it sits in the broader marketplace
• The premium sales and category benchmarks shaping today's market
• Comparable transactions you won't find on any public site
Every property — and every buyer and seller — is different. The conversation is built around your situation, not a template.
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Bulow
- Minutes away from Johns Island, James Island, and Kiawah
- 15-mile drive to Downtown Charleston
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From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.