Mepkin Abbey is a Trappist monastery in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The abbey is located near Moncks Corner, at the junction of the two forks of the Cooper River northwest of Charleston, and is located in the Diocese of Charleston.

History

The area has been known as Mepkin for centuries, dating back to the Native American tribes who lived in the area. The first record of the name was a 1681 grant to the sons of Sir John Coleton, one of the Lords Proprietary of South Carolina. In 1762, one of his descendants sold the land to Henry Laurens of Charleston. Laurens built his home there, and it was known as the Mepkin Plantation.

thumb|Charles Fraser, Mepkin, the Seat of Henry Laurens, Esq., May 1803

After a few generations, the Laurens family sold the property, and it passed through several hands. In 1936 the well-known publisher Henry R. Luce bought the property. The plantation, which was created from several smaller plantations, contained over when Luce bought the property for a reported $150,000. When the Luces bought the plantation, Laurnes' house was already gone; the then-current house had been built in 1906. Mepkin Abbey defended itself by citing their compliance with the animal welfare standards of the United Egg Producers. It was discovered shortly after the release of the video that many scenes shown in the video, such as those of dead chickens of the floor, were actually shot at a separate facility rather than at Mepkin Abbey. In December 2007, Mepkin announced on its website that it would phase out the egg production operation which had been its main income, citing the concerns and its disturbance of their monastic way of life. They eventually decided on a mushroom production operation.

Botanical Garden

The grounds began as the Mepkin Plantation, home of American patriot Henry Laurens. The house itself was burned by British forces during the American Revolutionary War and again by the Union army in the Civil War. Today's garden was established as landscape gardens on the country estate of noted publisher Henry R. Luce and his wife Clare Boothe Luce (who are buried on the site). The grounds feature live oaks and a camellia garden designed by landscape architect Loutrel Briggs. The garden is open to the public daily except Mondays.

Leaders

Abbots/Superiors

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Years

! Abbot

|-

| 1949–1974

| Anthony Chassagne

|-

| 1974–1989

| Christian Carr

|-

| 1990–2006

| Francis Kline

|-

| 2007–2018

| Stanislaus Gumula

|-

| 2018–present

| Joseph Tedesco

|}

See also

  • List of botanical gardens in the United States

References

  • Mepkin Abbey web site