The Lovers, the Pirates, and the Vanished Gardens of Pierates Cruze on Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant’s history is full of quiet corners and whispered stories, but few are as haunting—or as strangely persistent—as the tale that drifts through the moss‑draped oaks of the Old Village. It is a story of forbidden love, feuding families, and a pirate’s treachery, woven into the early fabric of the Lowcountry like a local echo of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. And like all enduring legends, it leaves just enough truth behind to make you wonder.

The legend begins in the early 1700s, when two prominent landowners—each holding vast acreage across the Cooper River in the area once known as North Point—found themselves locked in a bitter feud. Their children, a young man and woman whose names have been lost to time, met in secret beneath an oak grove overlooking Charleston Harbor. For months they carried on their clandestine romance, slipping away from their families’ watchful eyes. When the lovers secretly married, the discovery ignited the feud into open fury. Fearing retribution, the couple fled to Sullivan’s Island and joined a band of pirates. It was a desperate choice—and a fatal one.

According to the tale, the pirate captain soon became infatuated with the young bride. He ordered his crew to kill her husband, hoping to claim her for himself. Believing her lover dead, she fled to the grove where their romance had begun. The captain followed. Overcome with despair, she plunged a knife into her own chest. Moments later, her husband—having escaped the murderous plot—arrived and confronted the captain. The duel ended with the young man dying in his wife’s arms. Their grieving fathers, the story says, erected a stone pillar in their memory.

The story obviously mentions no names. However, after examining Mount Pleasant's history and matching various components of the story to specific names and places, I propose the following conclusion: George Haddrell and William Hort fit the bill of the feuding landowners and parents of the two doomed lovers of this tragic tale.

Haddrell, a major figure in the town’s early development, owned roughly 500 acres stretching from Shem Creek toward what is now Highway 703. Hort, an early settler from Barbados, held waterfront land beginning near today’s Alhambra Hall and extending to Cove Inlet. In 1775, Hort recorded in his diary that his daughter, Elizabeth Haddrell Hort, was born in a house owned by none other than George Haddrell.

Elizabeth carried both surnames—Haddrell and Hort—just as the legend describes. And the lovers’ secret meeting place? A grove of oaks on Hort’s land that locals later called Hort’s Grove. A stone marker known as Hort’s Pillar once stood near the present‑day neighborhood of Pierates Cruze.

Even the pirate connection has historical footing. Charleston was a favored haunt of notorious captains like Charles Vane and Calico Jack Rackham, both active in the region during the era the story suggests. Whether either man played a role in the tragedy is impossible to know, but the timing—and the temperament—fit.

Fast‑forward two centuries. On the very land once owned by William Hort, a new chapter unfolded—one that would give the area its most unusual name. In the late 1920s, Massachusetts transplants Dana and Laird Osgood purchased a five‑acre parcel overlooking the harbor. They built a home encircled by a moat and imitation drawbridge, giving the property a whimsical, pirate‑themed character. The name they chose for their estate—Pierates Cruze—was a playful twist on “pirates’ cruise,” a nod to Charleston’s swashbuckling past.

The Osgoods didn’t stop at theatrics. During the 1930s, they transformed the grounds into seven elaborate gardens, each with its own personality: The Sea Garden, Wind’ll Blow, Little Wheel, Twyfy’s Garden, Eight Bells, Wiggins Walk, and Amalfi. Thousands of camellias and azaleas bloomed beneath the oaks. Spanish bayonet plants lined a harbor‑side walkway that ended at a Spanish mission‑style bell wall. Visitors paid $2 in winter and $1 in summer to wander the grounds, and advertisements invited them to “See the spires of Charleston against the sunset across the wine‑dark sea.” In 1947, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded Mrs. Osgood its prestigious Gold Medal for her hybrid camellias. Pierates Cruze had become one of the Lowcountry’s most enchanting attractions.

By 1959, the gardens closed. The land was subdivided, with lots selling for $10,000 each. The original house and moat disappeared, and the gardens were lost to time—except for a few surviving columns from the Amalfi garden, still standing along the seawall like quiet sentinels of a vanished world. Hurricane Hugo destroyed the bell wall in 1989, but homeowners rebuilt it using the original bricks, replacing the bells with ship bells in homage to the estate’s playful past.

Today, Pierates Cruze is a peaceful residential enclave. Children ride bicycles beneath the oaks. Neighbors chat along the sidewalks. The pirate moat is gone, the gardens erased, the pillar vanished. And yet, something lingers. Perhaps it is the echo of the Osgoods’ whimsical vision. Perhaps it is the memory of the gardens that once drew visitors from across the country. Or perhaps it is something older—the whisper of a tragic love story carried on the harbor breeze.

An Early 1900s Mount Pleasant Horticultural Attraction--Pierates Cruze and an Epic Story

Interwoven into the early history of Mount Pleasant is a story similar to Shakespeare's epic tragedy, Romeo and Juliet. The interchangeable components include two star-crossed young lovers and an age-old feud between two powerful families that erupts into bloodshed.

The story takes place in Charleston's early-1700s. It is about the son and daughter of two prominent landowners who owned large tracts of land across the Cooper River beyond Hog Island in the area known as North Point. Unknown to their feuding parents, they fell in love and for months met secretly in an oak grove along the shores of Charleston's harbor. When their parents discovered they had secretly married, the couple fled and joined a band of pirates on Sullivan's Island. Apparently they didn't read the book Never Trust a Pirate.

The pirate captain became enamored with the young woman and hatched a diabolical plan. He instructed the crew to kill her husband. Learning of her lover's fate, she fled to their secret grove. Determined to have her, the captain followed. Overcome by hopelessness, she buried a knife into her own chest. As she lay dying, her husband, having averted the malicious plot, arrived. Confrontation was forthcoming. Losing a duel with the pirate, he expired in his wife's arms. The grieving fathers of the young couple erected a stone marker as a memorial.

The story obviously mentions no names. However, after examining Mount Pleasant's history and matching various components of the story to specific names and places, I propose the following conclusion. George Haddrell and William Hort fit the bill of the feuding landowners and parents of the two doomed lovers of this tragic tale.

George Haddrell was a prominent name in Mount Pleasant's early history. He owned 500 acres. It included most of the area beginning at Shem Creek and bordered today's Highway 703 to Center Street.

William Hort was an early settler from Barbados and owned land along the harbor waterfront beginning near Alhambra Hall and extended to Cove Inlet. In 1775, he wrote in his diary that his daughter, Elizabeth Haddrell Hort, was born in the house of Shem Creek tavern owner Jonathan Scott. Ironically, George Haddrell owned the house. Elizabeth interestingly was identified with both names by her father, Haddrell and Hort. As stated in the story, the couple would secretly rendevous at an oak grove. It just so happens a stand of oak tree's on the land owned by Hort became known as Hort's Grove. A stone marker called Hort's Pillar by the locals once stood near today's Pierates Cruze, the memorial erected by the parents.

The pirate captain could possibly have been Charles Vane or Calico Jack Rackham, but can not be said with any certainty, just a hunch. Their Charleston connections make them a likely consideration and both had a reputation that could match the individual in the story. In August of 1718, Vane raided Charleston and took eight ships. William Rhett pursued him but never caught him. Calico Jack was known for his affair with Charleston's pirate native, Anne Bonny.

Deep in Mount Pleasant's Old Village just southeast of Alhambra Hall on the land once owned by William Hort is the residential borough of Pierates Cruze. The name Pierates is obviously a play on the word pirates and Cruze for the word cruise. In the late 1920s, this five-acre parcel was home to Massachusetts transplants Dana and Laird Osgood. A small moat with an imitation drawbridge encircled the house. The property had something of a pirate's den feel.

The Osgoods erected a very substantial concrete seawall along the entire length of the property that withstood numerous storms and several hurricanes. In the 1930s, the owners transformed the grounds into seven spectacular gardens. They were named: The Sea Garden, Wind'll Blow, Little Wheel, Twyfy's Garden, Eight Bells, Wiggins Walk, and Amalfi. There was an abundant variety of flowers, shrubs, and trees, including thousands of prize-winning camellias and azaleas.

The Osgoods opened Pierates Cruze to the public on February 20, 1943. A popular tourist attraction in the 1940s and 1950s, entrance fees were $2 from December to May and $1 the rest of the year. Ads for the attraction included a photo of the Amalfi garden. Plants with dark green, stiff, dagger-like leaves projecting from thick, trunk-like stems called Spanish bayonet lined a walkway along the harbor that ended in a Spanish mission-style bell wall. "See the Spires of Charleston against the sunset across the wine-dark sea," the ads raved. A brochure stated: "More than one hundred varieties of camellias bloom luxuriantly here; as do flowering shrubs, wisteria, azaleas, roses, tulips, pansies and violets." In 1947, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society awarded Mrs. Osgood the prestigious "Gold Medal" for the development of new varieties of hybrid camellias.

The gardens were closed in 1959. The land was sold and subdivided with each lot priced at $10,000. There are homes of varying styles on the property now. Some of the old oak trees still overshadow the quiet enclave, but the original house and moat are gone. No trace of the seven gardens survived the reckoning of residential expansion except for Amalfi's original garden columns, which remain on the seawall and are reminiscent of the Italian mission structure that stood there. The belled wall was no match for Hurricane Hugo in 1989. It was completely destroyed. However, the property owners reconstructed the wall from the original bricks and replaced the bells with ship bells in a tribute to Pierates Cruze's wild history.

The Osgoods celebrated Charleston's pirate past and named their garden estate in recognition of it with a twist. Perhaps, they knew of the tragic love story that haunts Mount Pleasant's moss-covered trees along with the secret grove and the pillar. Pierates Cruze has faded into the sunset of history like the infamous pirates that prowled Charleston's surrounding waters. However, hints of its existence remain to mystify curious seekers of what was before. If you would like to learn more about the Old Village of North Point bounded by Shem Creek, Simmons Street, Cove Inlet, and the Harbor, Mount Pleasant offers a tour that explores several of the historical sites located within its original settlements. The pirate story is courtesy legends and lore.