GEAR UP FOR A FRISKY FOX HUNT
AT SOUTHWOOD MANOR
 
 
 
 “I’d like my guests at Southwood to remember their stay
as both inspirational and spiritually rejuvenating.”  —Judy Adamick
 
 
Driving beneath a grand canopy of  century-old pecan trees, we verge upon Southwood Manor, a Georgian Colonial Plantation. Sitting  amidst twenty acres of cotton fields and pecan groves, the structure’s magnificence reminds me of an elegant queen sitting upon her throne. I imagine the flamboyant peacocks as her loyal subjects.
 
The original home, on the one-hundred-year-old farm, burned in the early 1900’s. Joseph Calhoun Watson, a gentleman farmer, developed the estate into a cotton plantation in 1918 after receiving a government contract to grow as much cotton as he could. With World War 1 underway, cotton was in demand for parachute uniforms and the seats of planes. The cotton was shipped out, by rail, after being processed at South Carolina’s oldest cotton gin—a gin located across the street from Southwood Manor and still in operation.
 
Mr. Watson’s home was designed by his younger sister, who was in her early twenties at the time and without any architectural training. The manor’s original smoke house remains in tact on the property, and Miss Watson’s  blueprint for the home  is in safekeeping.
 
Judy and Mike Adamick, the fourth owners of the manor, transformed their home into a bed and breakfast in 1994. Judy is a talented artist who teaches art; she once painted in Monet’s gardens of Giverny, France. An aviation buff, Mike provided open cockpit  bi-plane rides in the Myrtle Beach area for two years prior to opening Southwood Manor as a bed and breakfast inn. The Adamicks live on the premises.
 
 Land of Cotton, my favorite room for couples, is tastefully decorated in hunter green and shell pink. It features a four-poster, king-size  bed,   floral balloon draperies, ivory carpeting.  The bathroom adjoins Beachstormer (the name of Mike’s bi-plane),  a spa- cious room with two single beds, to form a suite for four guests.
 
Southwood Manor offers several amenities seldom found at B & B’s: a swimming pool, tennis courts,  a 2000 foot grass airstrip for fly-in guests, and a “horse motel” for guests traveling with a horse. However, one of the most exciting events available, while staying at Southside Manor, is an opportunity for participation in a fox hunt breakfast. Arrangements can also be made for riding on the tally-ho wagon during the seasonal (November-Februaury) fox hunts, an activity for which the area is famous.
 
Southwood Manor’s morning repast suffices for breakfast and lunch. Unlike most inns, breakfast is served whenever, within reason, guests desire. Broiled grapefruit, apricot crepes, an herbal omelette, incomparable homemade sourdough English muffins, fruitcake, muskadine jam—the combinations are all wonderful While enjoying a background of classical music, guests dine in an elegant dining room with a woodsy view. A fire warms the rooms on chilly morns. Judy’s presentation of her meals reflect her artistic abilities. Unusual herbs, like Cuban oregano and pineapple sage, grown in her herb garden, garnish Judy’s delicacies. Freshly baked goodies are offered for an afternoon snack.
 
I may be a “city girl,” but I suspect a few trips to Southwood Manor could convert me into a “country girl” in a New York minute.  Maybe I just feel at home in a nut grove!
 
 
 
 
AT-A-GLANCE 
   

 INN: Southwood Manor 
 LOCATION:  P. O. Box 434 
                         Ridge Spring, SC 29129 (near Columbia) 
 TEL.: 1-888-806-9898 (reservations)  
 FAX: 803-685-5263 
 ACCOMMODATIONS:   3 rooms w/pb  
     or 4 rooms (including 1 suite, sharing a bath) 
 HANDICAPPED FACILITIES: Yes 
 TELEPHONES/TV IN ROOM: No/yes 
 BREAKFAST:  Full gourmet 
 RATES: $65-$75  
                ($125/ea. during Master’s Golf Tournament in Augusta) 
 CREDIT CARDS: M/C & VISA 
 SPECIAL RECOGNITION: 1994 Governor’s “Job Creator Award” 
 OPEN: All year  
 SMOKING: Designated areas only 
 CHILDREN/PETS: Yes/considered 
 PUBLICATIONS:  
          Sandlapper 
         Carolina Style 
         Saluda Standard Sentinental 
  DISCOUNTS:  
        20% corp. discount 
        10% AARP & AAA discount 
   INNside Scoop rating of inn: "Highly Recommended"   
  RECOMMENDED AREA RESTAURANTS:  
           Blake’s (532-4343)  -- Highly recommended         
           Sawyer Alley (275-4128) -- Excellent 

 
 
Reviewed by Maxine Pinson for Winter 1998-99 issue of The INNside Scoop. Copyrighted 1998 by SSD, Inc.