This was the home plantation for the Marion Family. Belle Isle was home to Gabriel Marion and his brother General Francis Marion. Several important grave sites are located there. Most of the archeological sites have been protected.

Francis Marion died Feb 27, 1795, in his 63rd year, and was buried here at Belle Isle Plantation, home of his Brother, Gabriel. His own plantation, Pond Buff, was about 15 miles up river and is now under Lake Marion. He was born in South Carolina, the descendant of French Huguenot immigrants. The exact date and place of his birth are unknown.