Brookgreen Gardens is a unique melding of art, nature, and history.

Since its founding in 1931, by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington, Brookgreen has been a cultural center for our community.

We hope residents and visitors will take pride in the fact that in their midst is one of America’s premier gardens and one of a few select places in the United States to have earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as well as being designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Every day, Brookgreen offers a selection of tours, programs, and exhibits for all ages. You may stroll through the gardens on a guided tour or explore these beautiful spaces on your own. Each season, new exhibitions and special events make Brookgreen Gardens…Ever Changing. Simply Amazing.

See you in the gardens!

Page Kiniry
President and CEO

When Archer Huntington and noted sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, his wife, purchased property in South Carolina in 1930, the original idea was to build a retreat from the world while Anna, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis, recovered her strength. However, 18 months later, on July 13, 1931, the property was incorporated under the laws of South Carolina as a private, not-for-profit corporation entitled “Brookgreen Gardens, A Society for Southeastern Flora and Fauna.”

From its inception, Brookgreen had a three-pronged purpose: first, to collect, exhibit, and preserve American figurative sculpture; second, to collect, exhibit, and preserve the plants of the Southeast; and third, to collect, exhibit, and preserve the animals of the Southeast. Collecting and exhibiting, it became the first public sculpture garden in America. Today it is the finest outdoor museum of its type in the world. (source: Robin R. Salmon, Brookgreen Gardens, Arcadia Press, 2006, p. 7)

Archer Milton Huntington was one of the wealthiest men in America. He was the foremost Hispanic scholar of his time, a poet, industrialist and founder of Brookgreen Gardens and several cultural public institutions.