Harper’s Pond
Hampton, South-Carolina⁞235± ACRES
One of the finest lodges and private lakes in the Lowcountry!
- 235+/- acre high-quality recreational retreat in Hampton County, South Carolina
- 420 acre Contiguous Hunting Lease
- 26-acre professionally managed, stocked lake with new dam
- Located in a neighborhood of large landowners practicing QDMA
- Every acre of this property has been strategically improved and designed for wildlife management, primarily deer and turkey
- Exceptionally beautiful, open & park-like except for strategically placed areas of planted pines for deer bedding cover
- 20+/- acres of large new food plots
- Mix of beautifully thinned, mature pine, open quail woods, riparian corridors, and thick planted pines for deer bedding cover
- Wood ducks and ring necks on Harper’s Pond
- Professionally improved habitat
- Beautiful 4,365 +/- sq. ft 6 BD / 5.5 BA home
- Completely renovated
- Chef’s kitchen with modern appliances
- Warm wood details, heart of pine, brick flooring
- Large 1,000 sq. ft. screened pavilion with brick fireplace
- 1,200 sq. ft. Guest cottage with new kitchen and bath
- Located 7 miles west of Estill, SC
- Under 1 hour from Bluffton, 1 hour from Savannah, GA, and less than 2 hours from Charleston, SC
A Neighborhood of QDMA “Who’s Who” - Exceptional Deer, Quail Woods, Ducks, and Turkey - Located in one of the most game rich corridors of the South.
Harper’s Pond is a 235+/- acre high-quality recreational property just west of Estill, in a neighborhood of and bordered by numerous large, like-minded landowners. The property is a sportsman’s paradise. It features a 26-acre private lake, creeks, live oaks, a mix of mature pine, open quail woods, hardwood corridors, and thick planted pines for deer bedding cover. The property is consistently burned and park-like, except for strategically placed areas of planted pines for deer bedding cover. The 6-bedroom lodge was inspired by the Old Fields Plantation and is in exceptional condition. Located just seven miles West of Estill, SC, and one hour from Savannah, Georgia, this is a unique opportunity to step right into an exceptionally well-managed property.
Every acre of this property has been strategically improved and designed for wildlife management, primarily, deer and turkey. The neighborhood is a “who’s who” of QDMA. This part of the world is renowned for exceptional deer populations. Large agricultural fields surround the property that provide feed and nutrition for deer. The famed Groton Plantation itself borders the contiguous 420-acre transferable hunting lease giving this property a 655-acre hunting footprint among the “best of the best” hunting lands in the Lowcountry. On the 235 acres of deeded land an extensive and highly developed 20+/- acre food plot system, designed by legendary wildlife biologist Dave Edwards, supports the abundant deer, quail, dove, and other wildlife populations.
“I would say the average deer we’re seeing, at least we saw this year, was between 5, 15 and probably a max of 25 or 30 per set.” - Mathew Bridgewater, Landowner, Harper's Pond
Numerous plantings of sawtooth oak, Chinese chestnuts, trophy pears, apples and other mast species are planted throughout. “We planted a variety to give extra character to the food plots. We wanted to give bucks places to scrape, make scrape lines, make some social interactions, places where deer will want to congregate socially, so you get more opportunity to see something out of a stand.” - Ron Gibson, Land Manager. “So, what we tried to do with the property is just create a little piece for the animals to have security, to have bedding cover, to have food, to have protection. Places where the animals really don’t want to leave to wander off. They’ve got everything they need right here.” The wild Turkey population too is strong. “Last year, on a normal morning, if you walked outside the house, you’d hear 4 or 5 turkeys gobbling.” - Mathew Bridgewater.
Harper’s Pond itself is one of the signature properties of the area. Within the last three years it too underwent an intensive rehabilitation led by famed fisheries biologist Greg Grimes, bringing it into the forefront of modern lake management. This 26-acre deep lake is fed from 26,000 acres of farmland providing for a nutrient-rich fishery. Over 1,500 “feed trained” largemouth were stocked which are now averaging around 2 lbs. and fed by a series of 8 feeders. “These bass sew just growing and growing. They will certainly grow 6,8,10 pounds for sure. The fishery is just incredible.” - Mathew Bridgewater “The bluegill size is exceptional. You can have a fish fry in 10 minutes of fishing.” A series of aerators allows the fishery to continue to push the limits of size, growth and fish density. “I don’t care how many blue marlin you’ve caught, there’s nothing like a largemouth bass…and we’ve got ‘em," says Matt.
The lake also produces a healthy population of Ringneck and Wood Ducks.
Encapsulated by a gorgeous drive along the lake, the main home blends perfectly with its surroundings. A new driveway and landscaping give way to the 4,365+/- square foot, six-bedroom, 5.5-bath home. “A buddy of mine showed me this house and the moment I saw it, my wife knew we were buying it! It’s an incredible place!” - Mathew Bridgewater. The home was custom-built in 2009 and underwent a full renovation over the last three years. It has heart pine and cypress reclaimed from the “Peoples Place,” brick-lined flooring, a gourmet chef’s kitchen, and grand living spaces. The large welcoming foyer/dog trot runs the length of the house allowing one to view the beautiful pond immediately upon entry. The spacious master suite sits privately tucked away to one side while of the 1st floor, on the other side, the foyer opens up to a beautiful dining room and living room space. This area is surrounded by windows so one can take in nature while enjoying a good meal and great company. Beyond this space and past an ample bar is the chef’s kitchen, cozy family room and breakfast nook, also with a wall of windows overlooking the pond. Finally, with ample space for lounging, perhaps the most intriguing of the many spaces, is the outdoor pavilion, 1,000 sq. ft with a large outdoor brick fireplace and wood-fired pizza oven. “We’ve hosted Thanksgiving here; we’ve hosted Christmas here. You can bring a bunch of people here and everybody’s comfortable. It’s just an incredible place to entertain people.” - Mathew Bridgewater
The 1,200-square-foot guest cottage nicknamed the “Dam House,” is located adjacent to the pond. One enters through the front screen porch, reminiscent of farmhouses from yesteryear. Inside, is a beautifully restored open floor plan, complete with a kitchen and bathroom. “It turns out, the Dam House is the most popular spot on the property.” - Mathew Bridgewater
The property is very private, rural and makes an exceptional Social Storm Property ™. This is exactly the kind of place one would take their family during the next pandemic, or worse. The Social Storm ™ score is exceptional. “It’s a true fact that on our security cameras we see far more tractors going up and down the road than we do cars. The neighbors are great. They’re friendly and they’re committed to the same wildlife goals that we are.” - Mathew Bridgewater
Every acre of the property has been strategically and thoughtfully improved over the last three years with the thought of Mathew and his family owning this for the rest of his life. Being in the boating business, he is a stickler for the elusive goal of “zero deferred maintenance” and it shows. However, an opportunity came up to buy a property where his kids grew up and he can’t pass that up.
This is an opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind property; easy to operate and ready to enjoy in one of the most game-rich areas of the South.
“When we bring guests, customers or employees of our company, when they come up here, they feel free, they feel space, they’re in nature. There’s everything that you want here at Harper’s Pond.” - Mathew Bridgewater
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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.
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
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.
Prior to joining Jon Kohler & Associates, Walter Hatchett served for 30 years as a land manager to several of the south’s most esteemed properties, including Rock Creek. As a former property manager himself, and a consistently ranked “Top Sales Producer” nationwide and achieved “APEX Top 20 Land Broker” multiple times, Walter has a keen eye for the best in habitat management.
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.
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.
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.