Originally, Ocean Ridge was used mainly as farmland.  The original land owners truly lived off the land by farming, raising livestock and fishing in the ocean nearby.  It was a different way of life in a bygone era.  Thankfully those memories have been preserved through the tales told by the remaining descendants.

John Franklin Somersett, born April 23, 1854 in Columbus County, was one of Brunswick County’s largest landowners.  He raised cattle, fished commercially, was a merchant and dabbled in real estate.  Active in politics, he ran for U.S. Senate in 1900 as a Republican, and he served as Sheriff from 1894 until 1898.  He furnished food and shelter for many needy area families and offered jobs to anyone willing to work.

Somersett married his wife, Mary Jane Milliken in 1875 and built a farm house the same year.  The house stood a few hundred yards from the stop sign on Castlebrook Way and Dartmoor Way, which was part of the original road running through the property.  The farm house was moved to its current location at the Plantation Gardens sometime after the last residents moved out in 1979 and before home development began in 1995.  When the house was moved to its current location the kitchen and bathroom were removed.  When it stood in its original location it would be in front of the gray stucco home on West Spencer.  Unfortunately when homebuilding began in Ocean Ridge, all remaining homes on the land had to be torn down.

The Somersetts lived in the farmhouse until 1940 and all told had ten children.  Three daughters – Ida Elizabeth Caison, Mary Ellen Andrews and Daisy Russ along with four sons – John William, Joseph Mance, Andrew Jack and Harvey Isaiah survived their parents in death.  Tragically three sons preceded them in death.  James B. Somersett who had moved to Oak Hill, Florida passed before them while Robert and Jesse both died young.  The Somersetts are buried at Bingham Field Cemetery on Gladstone Circle.  The cemetery is thought to be full and an agreement was made between the family and the new owners of the property to retire the family cemetery.  Some of the burial plots have lost their markers and the cemetery has no written records.  Surviving family members maintain the cemetery.

Larry Andrews and Charles Somersett are second cousins who remain in the area and are descendants of John F. Somersett.

Larry Andrews, manager of Brunswick Funeral Service, is the great-grandson of the original land owner John Franklin Somersett.  His father Julius was the son of Somersett’s daughter, Mary Ellen. Larry explained that John Franklin Somersett gave his property to his sons, Bill Somersett and Harvey Isaiah Somersett, who then gave the property to grandsons Bobby Somersett and George Somersett.  Bobby eventually became sole owner of the property until he turned it over to great grandson Sam B. Somersett in 1967.  Sam B. sold almost all 500 acres to Shallotte Farm Partnership in 1979.  The owners stayed in the farmhouse through 1985.  They had 12 riding horses and a stable nearby.  Together in 1985 Shallotte Farms Partnership and Sam B. sold the land to Ed Gore.  Home development began in 1995.

Charles Somersett of Shallotte is the grandson of John Franklin Somersett.  His father was Rufus Somersett, son of John Franklin.  Charles recalled living and working on the farmland of his grandfather after Sam B. Somersett purchased the land.  He grew cotton, tobacco, corn, beans, and peanuts.  Animals raised meat included chickens, cows, hogs, sheep and goats.  There was also a rail, Jackson Brothers Lumber Company, which ran from the property to its Longwood headquarters with lumber it harvested from the property.  Charles left in 1966 after Sam B. sold the land to Shallotte Farms Partnership.  He recalled that in 1954 Hurricane Hazel took down many of the Live Oaks that were on the property, which explains why there aren’t many here today.

“The bridge on Dartmoor Way near the Cemetery, used to be an old wooden bridge,” recalled Charles, adding “The kitchen in the old farmhouse was separate from the rest of the house.  We used to store the milk in the floor of the kitchen to keep it cool.  At one point, the porch on the back of the house burned down.”  He explained there was an old pack house where tobacco and corn was stored which stood not far from the clubhouse on Ocean Ridge Parkway.

“John Franklin was a generous man. He gave jobs to anyone willing to work and he had many other families living on his land,” said Larry Andrews.

When Sam B. bought the land in 1967, he allowed his in-laws, George and Lucy Hughes, to live in the old farmhouse until 1974.  Then from 1977-1979 Odell Hughes (Sam B.’s brother-in-law) lived in the house.

William Hughes, grandson of George and Lucy, is a math teacher at Shallotte Middle School.  He remembers running all through the old property when visiting his grandparents as a child.  He said his family dog is buried on this land.

In Doris McLaughlin’s original article about the Plantation Garden’s Farmhouse, family member Daisy Hewett, who lived in the farmhouse until 1940, recalled wonderful memories of “the good old days” while living here.  Doris wrote that Daisy, the sister of Sam B., recalled living in the little farmhouse with her parents, their 10 children and her grandparents.  She said the kitchen had a long table where the family ate their meals together.  The upstairs had a large bedroom separated by curtains where the older children slept.  The smaller children slept downstairs with the parents.  On cold days the oldest child was responsible for lighting the fireplaces.  Since there was no electricity, oil lamps were used for lighting.  Her family had a vegetable garden, and even grew sugar cane.  They walked or took a buggy to church services at Shallotte Baptist Church on Longwood Road.  They fished for spots, mullets,and flounder which were cooked on a wood stove.  Children used to play under the old farmhouse which was on stilts, while their grandfather chased them out by throwing sticks so they wouldn’t encounter any “critters” that may have been lurking underneath.

It certainly was a different way of life, but just like us, the original landowners lived, played, loved, and raised their family on the same land that we do.  While modern day conveniences change over time, the important things in life remain; family and friends.

Many thanks to Mary Wayne who published the original story.

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