Plantation tour
Dec 2nd, 2011, 01:29 PM
#1
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Plantation tour
Hi All,
I'm going to be driving down through Virginia and North Carolina to South Carolina around Christmas and wanted to make stops along the way to visit plantations. I'm interested in locations that have old buildings still on the property, preferably with original slave huts. I'm interested in historic sites that have preserved the buildings in original condition. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
I'm going to be driving down through Virginia and North Carolina to South Carolina around Christmas and wanted to make stops along the way to visit plantations. I'm interested in locations that have old buildings still on the property, preferably with original slave huts. I'm interested in historic sites that have preserved the buildings in original condition. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Dec 2nd, 2011, 01:50 PM
#2
This is from my Trip Report posted this past summer. Boone Hall is just outside of Charleston, S.C. We stayed at a B&B that was just down the road.
Boone Hall is a working plantation in that they actually use their fields for growing produce that is sold to the public as well as a demonstration cotton field. We arrived after about a one minute drive - how convenient is that - paid our entrance fee and obtained a time for the house tour, a tour that was ok but not much more. The house is not particularly old, but it does have some interesting furniture and artifacts. They also have an enclosed butterfly garden that we looked forward to seeing, but it only had at most a dozen butterflys of what seemed to be only one species. So far it sounds that our impressions of Boone hall are negative. Not so.
There is much to learn at the plantation. First, after visiting the house, we headed over to a row of preserved slave quarters. These are made of brick and housed the more "important" slaves such as those with special skills such as carpentry and those who worked in the house. Each of the 9 small slave quarter buildings had a display with recorded narrative of elements illustrating a slave's life and of the Gullah culture. Since we were interested in Gullah sweetgrass basketware, we particularly enjoyed learning from one display of historical basket designs. There was also a woman who was making baskets and we watched her work, asked questions and learned some more about the technique and background of the craft. The absolute highlight of the plantation visit was a 1/2 hour presentation of Gullah (apparantly a shortened form of Angola the ancestral home of most Gullahs - the slaves from there being more valued than from other places because of their knowledge of rice cultivation)culture. The presenter was Jackie, and she was brilliant. Even if the plantation had nothing else to offer, Jackie's presentation was more than worth the price of admission.
Boone Hall is a working plantation in that they actually use their fields for growing produce that is sold to the public as well as a demonstration cotton field. We arrived after about a one minute drive - how convenient is that - paid our entrance fee and obtained a time for the house tour, a tour that was ok but not much more. The house is not particularly old, but it does have some interesting furniture and artifacts. They also have an enclosed butterfly garden that we looked forward to seeing, but it only had at most a dozen butterflys of what seemed to be only one species. So far it sounds that our impressions of Boone hall are negative. Not so.
There is much to learn at the plantation. First, after visiting the house, we headed over to a row of preserved slave quarters. These are made of brick and housed the more "important" slaves such as those with special skills such as carpentry and those who worked in the house. Each of the 9 small slave quarter buildings had a display with recorded narrative of elements illustrating a slave's life and of the Gullah culture. Since we were interested in Gullah sweetgrass basketware, we particularly enjoyed learning from one display of historical basket designs. There was also a woman who was making baskets and we watched her work, asked questions and learned some more about the technique and background of the craft. The absolute highlight of the plantation visit was a 1/2 hour presentation of Gullah (apparantly a shortened form of Angola the ancestral home of most Gullahs - the slaves from there being more valued than from other places because of their knowledge of rice cultivation)culture. The presenter was Jackie, and she was brilliant. Even if the plantation had nothing else to offer, Jackie's presentation was more than worth the price of admission.
Dec 2nd, 2011, 08:08 PM
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My favorite is probably Hopsewee, just below Georgetown SC along Route 17 above Mt.Pleasant. It's a private home, and many of the original furnishings are still there. Because it's not as well visited, the tour can become quite personal and filled with more information than what's possible in a larger group scheduled tour.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 04:06 AM
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You will undoubtedly have more clustered around Charleston or the James River in Virginia. There is Chinquapin in NC--not quite sure where that is--eastern NC. Latta Plantation outside Charlotte is an interesting and charming one because of its more "rustic" home--not a grand rice planter's home as in SC or the James River plantations in Virginia.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 06:16 AM
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Thanks all.
Not sure what route I am taking yet. Hoping to map out a route with the most plantations along it. I'm driving from New England.
These are great suggestions. Keep them coming!
Not sure what route I am taking yet. Hoping to map out a route with the most plantations along it. I'm driving from New England.
These are great suggestions. Keep them coming!
Dec 3rd, 2011, 09:04 AM
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Personally I would just stay on the coast. You have more than enough to see dropping straight down. Go over to the coast at I40 to Route 17. Wilmington may have "something"--they do have an historic waterfront on the river.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 10:42 AM
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Last summer I visited Montpelier, James Madison's mansion near Orange, Va. If you decide to go to Monticello, Montpelier is very close (about 30 miles away) in a beautiful part of the state.
From my trip report: Montpelier is a fascinating site. A huge restoration project to restore the mansion to the way it looked when the Madisons lived there has been completed in recent years, and the process of furnishing the interior is underway. The home was purchased by the Dupont family in the early 20th century, and the Duponts added a huge addition which has been torn down for this restoration.
The main emphasis now is on the Madison era, and there is a good tour of the house. There is also some information on the Duponts in the gallery adjoining the visitor center, and that is worth visiting, too. Two of the rooms from the Dupont era have been recreated, and the story of the Dupont's stay is very interesting.
I spent about 3 hours touring the site and could easily have spent more. I was disappointed that the exhibit about the freeman's farm that is on the estate was closed (only open on weekends). there is an interesting new exhibit at the train station used by the Duponts. It focuses on the Jim Crow era and shows the separate entrances and waiting rooms for blacks and whites.
My major criticism of the site is the way it handles the history of slavery at Montpelier. It is mentioned but the main exhibits talking about it are in the basement of the house which most people on our tour did not visit. Madison owned over a hundred slaves, and the tension between this reality and the ideals he wrote about is fascinating to me.
From my trip report: Montpelier is a fascinating site. A huge restoration project to restore the mansion to the way it looked when the Madisons lived there has been completed in recent years, and the process of furnishing the interior is underway. The home was purchased by the Dupont family in the early 20th century, and the Duponts added a huge addition which has been torn down for this restoration.
The main emphasis now is on the Madison era, and there is a good tour of the house. There is also some information on the Duponts in the gallery adjoining the visitor center, and that is worth visiting, too. Two of the rooms from the Dupont era have been recreated, and the story of the Dupont's stay is very interesting.
I spent about 3 hours touring the site and could easily have spent more. I was disappointed that the exhibit about the freeman's farm that is on the estate was closed (only open on weekends). there is an interesting new exhibit at the train station used by the Duponts. It focuses on the Jim Crow era and shows the separate entrances and waiting rooms for blacks and whites.
My major criticism of the site is the way it handles the history of slavery at Montpelier. It is mentioned but the main exhibits talking about it are in the basement of the house which most people on our tour did not visit. Madison owned over a hundred slaves, and the tension between this reality and the ideals he wrote about is fascinating to me.
Dec 3rd, 2011, 01:06 PM
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Haven't seen mention of the three Ashley River Road plantations in Charleston, SC, all of which I greatly enjoyed: Drayton Hall (has the best house of the three), Middleton Place (has the best grounds of the three), and Magnolia Plantation. Well worth seeing. Haven't been to Boone Hall.
Dec 5th, 2011, 11:06 AM
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The Ashley River Plantations are high on my list. I have permission to photograph inside Drayton Hall. Trying to identify at least one more excellent plantation to spend another day at. Drayton looks great, but would like a plantation with original slave huts if there is such a place.
Dec 5th, 2011, 12:23 PM
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Do be aware that Drayton is the only one preserved not restored since most were, ah, burned. Drayton was spared. It is not furnished.
Boone Hall, like basingstoke12 stated, has some preserved slave quarters.
Not a plantation but south of Charleston, just off 17 near Beaufort, are the Old Sheldon Church ruins. The church was burned twice, but the ruins are interesting, the light is beautiful, and the onsite gravestones are interesting.
Boone Hall, like basingstoke12 stated, has some preserved slave quarters.
Not a plantation but south of Charleston, just off 17 near Beaufort, are the Old Sheldon Church ruins. The church was burned twice, but the ruins are interesting, the light is beautiful, and the onsite gravestones are interesting.
Dec 5th, 2011, 01:30 PM
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Well, when talking about Charleston plantations, it would be those Ashley River ones.
Another really nice site near Charlotte is Historic Brattonsville with a number of buildings dating from the mid 1700s (I think) to a fine Civil War plantation house. A nice coninuum of dwellings. Nice site near York, SC.
Another really nice site near Charlotte is Historic Brattonsville with a number of buildings dating from the mid 1700s (I think) to a fine Civil War plantation house. A nice coninuum of dwellings. Nice site near York, SC.
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