Premier Golf, Yachting, and Tennis Community in the Heart of Hilton Head Island PO Box 4100, SC 29938.       111 Wexford Club Drive, SC 29928.       Tel: (843) 686-8810.       Fax: (843) 686-6210.

A Brief History of Wexford Part 1:

Compiled by Mary Tracy

The Original Development

Harbour Under Construction

The Developer and the Dream:

Wexford Plantation was planned by Marathon Oil Company to be the premier residential community on the East Coast. With that concept in mind they chose the Hilton Head Company, a major developer on the island, to carry out their ideas. The developer assembled a parcel of approximately 500 acres across from Shipyard Plantation running from Highway 278 to Broad Creek. They had an acute awareness of the unique natural beauty of the land and a desire to preserve it.

The Irish Connection:

History tells us that Alexander Trench sailed from Wexford, Ireland in 1690 to Port Royal Sound. He was the agent for John Bayley of Balinclough who owned 48,000 acres of land in the low country including Hilton Head Island, which for a time was called Trench's island. The name Wexford is derived from the Norse, Weissfjord, which is a fjord of freshwater mud flats. Our sister harbor in Wexford, Ireland is an open mouthed shallow harbor on the southeastern coast.

The Designer:

The developer chose Willard Byrd to design the layout for the golf course and plantation. He was inspired by a National Geographic article about the inland canals of Ireland, and conceived the idea of a lock-controlled harbor that would be the centerpiece of the plantation. A championship golf course would surround it, and homes would front on either the golf course or the harbor. There are only two other communities on the east coast with lock-controlled harbors.

Construction

A concrete barrier of three and a half miles of pre-stressed concrete was used to form the harbor bulkhead. 600,000 yards of dirt were moved to carve out the golf course fair-ways which surround the harbor. Seven bridges were built spanning lagoons and the harbor and forming four islands allowing island home-sites. Every home would have a view of marsh, lagoon, golf course or harbor. Originally 525 home-sites were planned but some lots have been combined and site plans altered so that only 460 remain today.

Ameneties:

The two most important facets of Wexford are the harbor and the golf course. In addition to there are six Har Tru tennis courts, a swimming pool and patio area, a croquet and bocce ball court and biking and walking trails. Gracing all this is a clubhouse designed in the British Colonial style and furnished with elegance and good taste.

Covenants:

A declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions was drawn up by the developer to allow the Wexford Homeowners Association to have a flexible and reasonable method for the administration and maintenance of the plantation.

Awards:

In the 1986 winter issue of World Class Resorts and Properties Wexford Plantation received a five star rating and took first place. At that time $10,000,000 worth of real estate sold in Wexford. Twenty-three homes were completed and fifteen were under construction.

Information & services on these pages apply only to members of the Wexford Plantation Homeowners' Association.

Updated: Feb/1/08 Copyright 2008