The Baroness Of Hobcaw

Belle Baruch is a conservationist and a key figure in the history of the Hobcaw Barony. Her family has been famous since setting foot on the shores of America. Bernard Baroch was a trusted advisor to seven US presidents, from Wilson to Eisenhower. He was also a consultant on matters ranging from finance to national security. He once said he had a talent for making money the way Fritz Kreisler had for playing the violin. His daughter inherited his intensity and drive. She became a successful businesswoman. The family also had many famous sons. They were all successful in their own fields.

Belle Baruch was born in 1899. She was a great athlete and a successful equestrian. Belle lived a very unusual life. She lived openly as a lesbian and championed progressive political causes. In her twenties she won more than 50 sailing trophies. After her father was sent to Paris in 1919, Belle spent time abroad. Her book, Baroness of Hobcaw, is published by USC Press. It's about her life and her passion for riding and hunting. The author, Mary E. Miller, used interviews with those who knew Belle. For more information, visit the website.

Belle worked for the Red Cross and studied radiotelegraphy during World War I. She was also a suffragist and close to Evangeline Brewster Johnson, heiress to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Belle had one serious affair with a man, Charles "Chita" Davila, the Romanian minister in Washington, DC, but he refused to marry her. After the affair, she used the money from the engagement to build one of the finest stables in Europe. She kept mostly to women, forming profound and abiding relationships. Her father, Bernard Baruch, was aware of her sexual orientation.

Belle bought 5,000 acres of land from her father in 1936 and two decades later bought the remaining acres. She took an interest in the welfare of the residents and especially in schools. Belle died from brain cancer in 1964 at the age of 64. She wanted to establish a private educational trust for conservation. Baruch declined the honor and it was named for her. The Belle W. W., Baroch Foundation. It is named after her late father. He bought several properties nearby and combined them into one plantation he named “Little Hobcaw”. They were all named in his honor.

Discover Hobcaw Tour offers information on the property's coastal ecosystems, native wildlife, and endangered species. The tour stops at the mansion that played host to Winston Churchill, Belle's home and stables, Friendfield, one of the villages occupied by enslaved Africans and their descendants. Special events and tours include an in-depth tour of four villages for the enslaved, the Rice Fields Boat Tour, a look at HobCaw’s Native American history geared for children, hikes and classes in sweetgrass basket sewing and photography.