Dixie Plantation, owned by the College of Charleston Foundation since 1995, remains a mystery to many students on campus. The College is renovating the plantation, while it is still performing due diligence on McLeod Plantation.
“I had no idea that we even owned a plantation,” junior Megan Saylor said.
Dixie is in Hollywood, S.C., about 30 minutes from downtown Charleston.
“There are very limited uses for the time being because there are no facilities on site,” C of C Facilities and Planning Vice President Monica Scott said.
Biologists, geologists and archeologists primarily use the plantation for research and experiments. The property does not offer students much purpose these days, Scott said.
However, Scott said that Dixie Plantation has a bright future.
“It has huge potential, not only for the College, but also for the Southeast region. It is a very unique piece of land,” Scott said.
The next few months will mark the beginning of dramatic change to the College’s plantation use.  The College expects to begin constructing a 4.3 mile nature trail in Phase I of Dixie renovations in February.
“The trail will take you through the meadows and forest and around the four ponds. There will be benches along the way as well as interpretive signage with historic information,” Scott said. “The nature trail will be a great educational opportunity.”
Building improvements will follow Phase I. One barn in particular will be onverted into a gathering space. The John Henry Dick Studio, named after the original owner of the property, will be restored to commemorate his life work.
“The idea is to have an academic village for students to live and go to class,” Scott said. “But that will depend on fundraising.”
In addition to the renovations at Dixie, the College of Charleston Foundation will soon make their final decision on the purchase of the McLeod Plantation from the Historic Charleston Foundation.  The C of C Foundation was given three months to finalize the deal in the fall of 2009. However, the Foundation and the HCF extended due diligence from Jan. 13 until the end of February. During this time, the Foundation, C of C administration and the Board of Trustees have explored, tested and investigated the property. Along the way, the Foundation has modified their plans based on their findings.  
Originally, the College spoke of using the land for recreational fields. Friends of McLeod, a nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of the plantation, has spoken out against the College’s tentative purchase and renovation of the land for athletic purposes.
“We stress three goals: preservation of the buildings, protection of the land, and that it be open and accessible to the public,” said Friends of McLeod member Carol Jacobsen.
Friends of McLeod members spoke to President Benson as well as several vice presidents at the College in September and again in December about the development issues. C of C has taken into consideration not only the Friend’s perspective, but other community groups as well.
“We certainly heard their concerns. We are strongly considering not using fields for recreation based on feedback from various groups,” said Business Affairs Executive Vice President Steve Osborne. “Instead, the plantation would primarily be used for academic purposes.”
Junior Marc Herbert says he thinks it is unnecessary to buy McLeod since so many students are unaware of the plantation the College already owns.  
“There is already so much history to see downtown and if we already have a plantation, why buy another one?” Herbert said.
Herbert said more publicity on the renovations at Dixie would educate students about its benefits.
The College and the Foundation will continue to evaluate their options with the McLeod Plantation over the next month before a final decision is announced at the end of February.