Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation
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UnclaimedA Georgia state historic site preserving a former rice plantation, its historic house, and surrounding marshland near Brunswick.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation is a historic site on the Altamaha River in Glynn County, Georgia, near Brunswick. It preserves the landscape and surviving structures associated with a large coastal rice plantation that operated from the early nineteenth century through the Civil War era and later became a dairy farm. The site is now managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as a Georgia State Historic Site and functions as a public heritage, interpretation, and conservation destination rather than as a commercial plantation or agricultural enterprise. The property was originally known as Broadface. William Brailford acquired the land in 1806 and renamed it Broadfield. By the early nineteenth century, the plantation had become a major rice-producing operation, encompassing more than 7,000 acres. Its agricultural productivity depended on the forced labor of enslaved people, many of whom were of West African origin, including people connected to Senegal and Sierra Leone. This history is central to understanding the site: Hofwyl-Broadfield was not simply an agricultural estate, but part of the coastal Georgia plantation economy built on enslavement and racialized coercion. After Brailford's death, ownership passed through the family to Dr. James M. Troup and later to Troup's daughter Ophilia and her husband, George Dent. Troup's estate included hundreds of enslaved people and thousands of acres. The Dents added the name Hofwyl to Broadfield around the middle of the nineteenth century, and the present main house was constructed in the early 1850s. The house, rice-field landscape, marshes, and associated agricultural setting together convey the changing fortunes of the property. The Civil War disrupted plantation operations. George Dent and his fifteen-year-old son James served in the Confederate Army, while Ophilia Dent and her children relocated to a refugee camp near Waycross. After emancipation, the plantation's labor system and economic foundations changed permanently. Much of the property was sold to meet tax obligations, and by the time James Dent assumed control in 1880, the family's former wealth had substantially declined. Rice cultivation became unprofitable by 1915, in part because owners could no longer rely on enslaved labor and the postwar agricultural economy was less favorable. The Dent family subsequently shifted to dairy farming. James Dent and his sisters Miriam and Ophilia operated the farm until 1942. At its peak, the dairy reportedly kept about 35 cows and produced approximately 100 to 150 bottles of milk per day. The dairy's closure marked the end of the property's active commercial agricultural history. The two sisters, representing the fifth generation of the family to live at the house, remained there until Ophelia Dent's death in 1973. She left the property to the state of Georgia. Georgia's management transformed Hofwyl-Broadfield into a public historic resource. The plantation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, the same year that state management began. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources manages approximately 1,268 acres, including about 696 acres of marsh. Former rice fields have increasingly returned to marshland, making the site valuable both for cultural interpretation and for the preservation of a coastal ecosystem. Public interpretation addresses the house, the plantation economy, rice cultivation, slavery and emancipation, the Civil War, the Dent family's later dairy operation, and the property's environmental change over time.
History
The land later known as Hofwyl-Broadfield was first identified as Broadface. William Brailford purchased it in 1806 and changed the name to Broadfield. From approximately 1800 through 1915, the property formed part of the rice-growing economy of coastal Georgia. The plantation expanded to more than 7,000 acres and used the forced labor of enslaved people. Historical accounts describe a large enslaved workforce, including people whose origins were connected to West Africa. The site's agricultural success therefore rested on the institution of slavery and on the specialized labor required to cultivate rice in a tidal marsh environment. Following Brailford's death, the property passed to his son-in-law, Dr. James M. Troup, and subsequently to Troup's daughter Ophilia and her husband, George Dent. Troup died in 1849 with a large landholding and hundreds of enslaved people. During the Dent period, a new main house was built in the early 1850s, and the name Hofwyl was added to Broadfield. The plantation's buildings and landscape reflected the wealth generated by rice production before the Civil War. The war fractured the family's control of the estate. George Dent and his teenage son James joined the Confederate Army, while Ophilia and her children moved to a refugee camp near Waycross. Emancipation ended the labor system on which the rice plantation depended. After the war, land was sold to cover taxes and the family lost much of its wealth. James Dent took over in 1880, but the property remained financially weakened. Rice production continued for a time but became unprofitable by 1915, when the owners could no longer exploit enslaved labor and the broader economic conditions for rice had deteriorated. The family adapted the property to dairy farming. James Dent and his sisters Miriam and Ophilia maintained a dairy operation until 1942. The farm's peak output was approximately 100 to 150 bottles of milk a day from a herd of around 35 cows. Closing the dairy finally allowed the property to emerge from debt. The Dent sisters continued living at the house, and Ophelia, the last surviving member of that generation, died in 1973. Her bequest transferred the property to the state of Georgia. Since 1976, Hofwyl-Broadfield has been managed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources as a state historic site. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. State management preserves the main house and interprets the site's agricultural, architectural, social, and environmental history. The managed area includes approximately 1,268 acres, of which about 696 acres are marsh. Former rice fields have been reclaimed by marsh vegetation, demonstrating the long-term ecological transformation of the plantation landscape. The site consequently links public-history interpretation with conservation of the Altamaha coastal environment.
- 1976
Public historic-site management begins
[2]The site entered management by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1973
Property bequeathed to Georgia
[1]Ophelia Dent, the last surviving Dent sister at the property, died and left the estate to the state of Georgia.
- 1942
Dairy operation closes
[1]The Dent family's dairy operation ended after producing milk for the surrounding area.
- 1915
Rice cultivation becomes unprofitable
[1]Rice production ceased to be economically viable, and the property's agricultural role shifted toward dairy farming.
- 1880
James Dent assumes control
[1]James Dent took over the financially weakened property after substantial postwar land sales.
- 1865
Enslaved labor ends
[1]The Civil War and emancipation ended the plantation's forced-labor system and fundamentally altered its economy.
- 1861
Civil War disrupts the estate
[1]George Dent and his son entered Confederate service, while Ophilia Dent and her children relocated to a refugee camp.
- 1850
Current main house constructed
[1]The surviving main house was built in the early 1850s, during the Dent family's ownership.
- 1849
Estate passes after James M. Troup's death
[1]Following Troup's death, ownership passed to his daughter Ophilia Troup and her husband George Dent.
- 1807
Plantation development expands
[1]The plantation developed into a large rice-producing estate, eventually covering more than 7,000 acres.
Products and positioning
A publicly managed Georgia heritage destination that interprets the history of a former rice plantation, including enslavement, Civil War disruption, postwar economic change, the later dairy period, and the recovery of the coastal marsh landscape.
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