Historians In Awe Over Discovery At Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Property

Col. Ward: King Of The Rice Planters

Colonel Joshua John Ward owned several plantations in South Carolina. Ward served in the military and also served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina. However, that didn’t stop him from getting a “royal” title to his name. Ward was often referred to as “the king of the rice planters,” this is because he was the largest recorded American slaveholder.

In 1860, he reported that he owned 1,131 black human beings. He had them work on multiple plantations one of which was called Brookgreen Plantation. Brookgreen still stands today and is now a park called Brookgreen Gardens.