Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation
In the early 1800s William Brailsford of Charleston carved a rice plantation from the salt marshes along the Altamaha River, and for five generations the Dent family lived in the antebellum house until Ophelia Dent, the last heir, willed it to Georgia in 1973. Of all the children raised within its walls, only little James Dent Jr. never grew up — he died of croup at four and a half years old in 1887, the single Dent child lost in infancy. He is the one who lingers. Staff and visitors over the decades have described a small boy sitting on the porch steps or standing quietly at the foot of a bed, and at least one site manager says he has spoken with the child, as if the youngest Dent is still seeking the recognition his short life never gave him. On October nights the state historic site leans into the legend with its "Ghosts and Legends" walking tours through the old rice coast.
📍 5556 U.S. Highway 17 N, Brunswick, GA 31525, Brunswick, GA · Get directions