<br><div><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em__fp gnt_em_vp__tp gnt_em__el" aria-label="Video - Developer sues 93-year-old over property owned by her family since the Civil War"/><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">A South Carolina family has reached a settlement after countersuing a real estate developer to keep land they’ve owned since after the Civil War, according to reports.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The family’s <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/10/18/tyler-perry-josephine-wright-hilton-head-developers/71227000007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">matriarch, Josephine Wright, lived on the property for at least 30 years</a>, many of which were spent with her husband, attorney Samuel Wright, until he died in 1998.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Wright herself died in January at 94 years old, but not before putting up a fight to ensure that children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and more could continue to gather and celebrate on their family’s land.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The property was a staple in her late husband’s family since the end of the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/12/josephine-wright-vs-hilton-head-south-carolina-developers/70400156007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">Civil War</a>. An enslaved person who had been freed purchased the property, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/sc-news/2024-03-14/family-of-hilton-head-island-woman-who-fought-developers-reaches-settlement" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">South Carolina Public Radio</a>.</p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The battle for the land began when developer Bailey Point Investment, LLC acquired land surrounding Wright's 1.8-acre property in 2014. </p><aside class="gnt_em gnt_em_cp gnt_em_cp__sp" aria-label="Josephine Wright: A South Carolina woman's struggle to keep her family home" data-c-cta="READ MORE:"><div class="gnt_em_cp_cw"><img class="gnt_em_cp_cw_i" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/11/USAT/202291fc-bd69-47e8-a2ba-91d0bb3ca601-josephine_2.jpeg?crop=2010,1508,x5,y0&width=258&height=193&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/11/USAT/202291fc-bd69-47e8-a2ba-91d0bb3ca601-josephine_2.jpeg?crop=2010,https://www.usatoday.com/1508,https://www.usatoday.com/x5,https://www.usatoday.com/y0&width=516&height=386&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt=""/></div></aside><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">The company is developing a 147-home subdivision in the area and at some point offered to buy Wright's property for $39,000, she previously told USA TODAY.</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:495px" fetchpriority="high" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/10/USAT/76ab75f4-48ff-4cb0-90d5-1d47fe25552f-josephine_3.jpeg?width=660&height=495&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/10/USAT/76ab75f4-48ff-4cb0-90d5-1d47fe25552f-josephine_3.jpeg?width=1320&height=990&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Josephine Wright, 93, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, who fought developers that she said sued her after unsuccessfully trying to buy her property."/></figure><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">Bailey Point Investment kicked off their developments in 2022 and worked both around and on her property, Wright previously told USA TODAY. </p><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">They cut down trees and their work caused dust to cover her car and house. She also noted that someone flattened her tires and a <a target="_blank" href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/07/12/josephine-wright-vs-hilton-head-south-carolina-developers/70400156007/" data-t-l=":b|e|k|${u}" class="gnt_ar_b_a" rel="noopener">snake was hanging</a> in a window.</p><figure class="gnt_em gnt_em_img"><img class="gnt_em_img_i" style="height:372px" fetchpriority="high" data-g-r="lazy" src="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/11/USAT/a495f53d-5de9-4f60-a865-f2559039245f-wright_property.jpg?width=660&height=372&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp" srcset="https://www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2023/07/11/USAT/a495f53d-5de9-4f60-a865-f2559039245f-wright_property.jpg?width=1320&height=744&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp 2x" decoding="async" alt="Debris spread out on a part of the property of Josephine Wright."/></figure><h2 class="gnt_ar_b_h2">Homeowner said developer used ‘tactics of intimidation’ to get her to sell</h2><p class="gnt_ar_b_p">In February 2023, Bailey Point Investment sued Wright and argued that...</p></div> <style> .wrapper { text-align: center; } </style> <div class="wrapper"> <a class="button" href ="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/20/josephine-wright-hilton-head/73039053007/">Read more <span>➤</span></a> </div>
