I love this town! The history and architecture are unbelievable. South Carolina was the first state to succeed from the union and the first shots of the civil war were fired here. This is not your usual southern town, they are quite proud of their past while embracing the 21st century. Our lunch was at a cute little cafe where you could get the tradition fare like green beans, tomato pie, collard greens along with vegetables that were not dripping in oil nor were they fried! Fresh produce and bring your own bag to the farmers market.
Now back to the traditional. I wanted to see a plantation with the beautiful home, fabulous gardens, etc. Well in South Carolina the plantation homes are much more like farm houses because the lady of the house wasn’t living out in the swamp! The beautiful homes are in town along the battery. We visited Boone Hall Plantation where we learned about plantation living and the lives of the slaves.
Driveway lined with giant oaks
The grand estate
Boone Hall Plantation is a working plantation today. The home was built in the 1930’s to replicate some of the grandeur of the civil war times.
Slave cabins
Theses cabins were along the entrance drive to the plantation home. At Boone Hall Plantation the cabins of the slaves that had a trade, bricklayer, craftsmen etc. were housed out front so that their skills could be advertised to the community. Tours are not usually my thing but I am becoming a convert. I’m aware of slavery and the effect it had on the people but when you take these tours it makes it so much more powerful. There was a wonderful lady that presented Gullah history. That was powerful! I had never even heard of Gullah or Geechee (their language). Did you know the song “Swing Low Sweet Chariot” was the slaves way of telling each other that someone was going to escape through the underground railroad soon! Yep, they had their own language so they could communicate and the owners would not understand.
Tours about old furniture and history just does not interest a 4 year old!
After learning about plantation life we headed downtown where the homes are grand and no signs of slavery here although the slaves ran these homes also.
The veranda’s and patios are huge. Most have outdoor fans. There are blocks of these homes, all near the river. Very few are open for tours because they are just homes today, residents live here in this historic district, have jobs, children and fancy cars!
City Hall!
And of course they have the churches that line the skyline with their steeples
And a park dedicated to George Washington, in Washington Park
Towards the end of our day of touring I got a surprise call from our old neighbor, Barb who was in Charleston visiting her sister! Wow, we were planning to leave that evening so we loaded the rig up, figured out where there would be a large parking lot and had her and her sister over for tea!!!