The Life and Legacy of Belle W. Baruch
Simply put, Belle Wilcox Baruch was more than just the eldest daughter of financier and influential economic advisor, Bernard Baruch. Although the family certainly lived in relative luxury, Belle’s life was more defined by action and service than leisure and decadence.
In addition to being a generous philanthropist, she was an accomplished equestrian, pilot, sailor, naturalist, and activist. Belle also held numerous responsibilities on the property. During her time there, she worked tirelessly to steward Hobcaw’s resources and infrastructure in a way that served the people who lived there then and those who would walk through its forests and drive its dirt roads in the future.
Whether by planting a Victory Garden or patrolling the coast as part of the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, Belle worked to protect the place she cherished, in the way she knew best.
Belle’s Gift
Prior to her death in 1964, Ms. Baruch established a foundation in her name dedicated to sustaining and studying the landscape of Hobcaw Barony. In doing so, she ensured that the 16,000-acre property on the South Carolina coast would be protected from the kind of development that transformed communities from Hilton Head Island to Myrtle Beach.
As part of 66 miles of relatively undisturbed coastline from the Waccamaw Neck to Bulls Bay, the property remains a vital link in a diminished ecological chain. As a haven for migrating birds, restored longleaf pine ecosystems, and vast marshlands, Hobcaw is a living laboratory to study the cultural and natural heritage of the Lowcountry.
-To learn more about the life and contributions of Belle Baruch, read a short profile here or schedule a tour at Hobcaw Barony.
Our History
From the beginning, Ms. Baruch intended the Baruch Foundation and the Baruch Institutes set up at Clemson University and the University of South Carolina to nourish learning and inquiry into forest sciences and coastal ecology. Even so, nature and culture have always been inseparable on Hobcaw.
In recognition of this, the Belle Baruch Foundation expanded its mission in 2011 to also address history and culture in addition to environmental studies. To further advance these efforts, the Foundation partnered with Coastal Carolina University and Francis Marion University on November 9, 2017, to create the Baruch Institute for South Carolina Studies. In its six years of existence, the BISCS has supported and promoted several, intensive research projects by and between faculty, students, and community members across multiple disciplines.
Our Purpose
The purpose of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for South Carolina Studies is to engage in the study and research of the cultural, historical, and archaeological heritage of South Carolina, to present educational programs, and to foster education about the relationship between humans and the coastal environment of South Carolina.
