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A visit to South Carolina would not be complete without visiting at least one or two plantations; after all it is the history on which much of the Lowcountry is built.
The dark past of these antebellum plantations is in stark contrast to their inspiring natural beauty, and you may feel compromised in deciding to visit. Nevertheless, it is important to recognise Charleston’s history and positively experience the journey on which the LowCountry has travelled towards equality.
Farming rice and other high value crops became a staple of the Charleston economy. Profits were invested in plantations, some of which are still in existence today and visitors can experience how they operate while stepping back in time to the pre-Civil War time in the South.
Here are three plantations I would recommend visiting:
Magnolia Plantation
This enchanting plantation, just half an hour from the city of Charleston, was one of the first rice plantations along the Ashley River. Magnolia dates back to 1676 when Thomas and Ann Drayton established the plantation, and it has now been under the control of the Drayton family for over 300 years. The film in the orientation theatre is really worth a visit to give you the history and context for the plantation.
Named one of “America’s Most Beautiful Gardens” in Travel + Leisure Magazine, it is the only garden recognised with this title in South Carolina. This does not surprise me as Magnolia felt like entering a fairy tale world made up of cypress trees, Spanish moss, reflective swamps, egrets, anhingas (or snakebirds) , and swathes of azaleas and camellias with bursts of colour. Around each corner was another absorbing scene, akin to a Monet painting. There are flowers in bloom at Magnolia all year, making any season perfect for a visit. However, I am sure I couldn’t have picked a better time of year, with the sheer abundance of floral beauty and nature.
Anhinga
General admission is $20, but there are additional tours for $8 each, such as the historic house tour, the ‘Slavery to Freedom’ tour, nature train and the nature boat, although beware of the mosquitoes particularly in the summer. The slavery tour gives you an opportunity to explore the slave cabins and understand the role of the Gullah people in the history of the region (descendants of the enslaved Africans who resided in the Lowcountry).
There is also a petting zoo included in your general admission, where you can walk amongst animals such as white-tailed deer and goats, as well as the peacocks that parade around as they wish.
I would allow a minimum of a half day at Magnolia.
Middleton Place
Another few minutes down the Ashley River Road from Magnolia Plantation is Middleton Place , created in 1741 and the oldest landscaped gardens in America. A much more formally designed plantation than the natural Magnolia, Middleton is just as remarkable. The classical garden design of Europe in the early eighteenth century was employed here by Henry Middleton, who was a planter and one of the largest landowners in the colony as well as the second president of the First Continental Congress. The symmetrical design is clear with the twin butterfly lakes, so-called because they appear like open butterfly wings. This, with the curved terraces, the camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons, and the view of river create geometry and peaceful elegance.
This all sounds very tranquil until you happen upon a baby alligator lying by the side of the pond, almost camouflaged by the grass. The fact that it was baby didn’t do anything to dissuade us from pursuing a quick change of course.
The plantation has been under the ownership of the Middleton family for more than 300 years. Uncover the lives of the historic family while on the house museum tour for $15, including son of Henry – Arthur who succeeded his father in the Continental Congress and later was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Don’t forget to sit on the Joggling Board outside the house. Legend apparently has it that there was never an unmarried daughter at the home of a Joggling Board. You will still find them on porches and gardens around the Lowcountry.
There are lots of guided tours some of which are included in your admission. We enjoyed a very interesting garden tour by volunteer Jean who explained about the design, history and horticulture as we walked around various gardens.
Middleton is still a working plantation and you will learn about plantation life and the labour that the enslaved people would carry out. Venture into the stable yards where you will find Belgian Draft horses, water buffalo, a blacksmith and carpenter demonstrating their skills and you can even have a go at milking a cow. A walking tour will explore the work involved at the rice mill, and take you to the plantation chapel, the slave cemetery, and Eliza’s house for an insight into domestic life. Eliza’s house was a freedman’s dwelling. The abolition of slavery came in 1865 and a freedman was a slave who had been emancipated. Although, many slaves stayed on at their plantations as they felt they had no other opportunities or reasons to leave.
Allow most of the day here if you want to do a few of the tours and explore every part of the plantation, and especially if you want to make time for lunch in the restaurant to taste some southern cooking.
General admission $28.
Boone Hall
Boone Hall, one of America’s oldest working plantations was founded in 1681 by the English Major John Boone and has provided the setting for movies like The Notebook. Boone is also half an hour from Charleston, but in the opposite direction and over the Arthur Ravenel Junior Bridge into Mount Pleasant.
As you arrive you are greeted by a long driveway encased by live oak trees draped in Spanish Moss, known as the ‘Avenue of Oaks’ creating a gradual unveiling of the house ahead. The Mcrae family took ownership of the plantation in 1955 and it has been open to the public since 1956.
The plantation coach tour gives you a sense of the 738 acres that is Boone Hall Plantation and the various crops grown, though I warn you it is open-air and although this may be welcome in the heat of summer, in spring you may be wise to take a hat and a jumper in case it feels somewhat chilly. Boone was predominantly known for its cotton and pecans and still grows a variety of crops such as tomatoes, peaches and strawberries.
In 1936 a Canadian – Thomas Stone purchased the estate. He and his wife envisioned a slightly more grand home and thus the existing house was demolished and replaced by the one you see today. The house tour is given by a costumed guide who brings to life this home with gusto and fun. It was explained to us that Boone Hall was used as Allie’s home in the film ‘The Notebook’, featured in the mini-series ‘North and South’, and more besides. However, the guide was at pains to tell us that ‘Gone with the Wind’ was not filmed at Boone, unless you count the fact that the live oaks along the driveway were photographed or sketched and then painted into the movie.
The grounds contain nine slave cabins, each with a different part of the slave life stories to be told. These cabins were positioned to the side of the house in full view and as a sign of wealth. They were still occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century.
I would recommend a half day as sufficient time to visit Boone Hall Plantation.
Admission is $24, inclusive of all tours.
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Read my previous blog on 10 irresistible Reasons to visit Charleston
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