The Waterloo Estate Tract located on John’s Island is a portion of the larger historic Waterloo Plantation founded by James Mair in the early 1800s. However, Waterloo Plantation itself was only a portion of an even larger plantation owned by the Raven-Mathewes family who were some of the first settlers of colonial South Carolina in the eighteenth century.

John's Island is one of the largest sea coastal islands on the east coast of the United States. It has a rich history of farming and is known for rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton. It has also seen its share of battles. Soldiers from both the Revolutionary and Civil wars fought on John's Island soil.