Silk Hope Plantation was the home and burial place of Sir Nathanial Johnson, who was born in the County of Durham, England, in 1644, was knighted in 1680, served as a member of Parliament and Governor of the Leeward Islands, came to South Carolina in 1683, settled at Silk Hope, and from there sent samples of silk to England in 1699. He was Governor of South Carolina from 1702 to 1709. During the American Revolution, Lord Cornwallis had his headquarters there for several months.