A South Carolina Summer ~ Sweet Tea & Plantations

Friday, July 3

Ahhh, Summerville. Summerville is a thriving city on the outskirts of Charleston. Summerville has the big chains, including Best Buy (where I bought my new computer, yay) and Buffalo Wild Wings! Double Yay!! It's the small things in life!! Summerville has a quaint historic downtown district. The Village Knittery, is just as quaint. I did some serious damage while there!!

so glad I discovered this great shop!

We discovered Summerville while day-tripping to a couple of plantations. There is a difference between restoration, preservation and preservation through stabilization. While in Louisiana, we visited plantations that had been restored. These plantations had been restored to what the home was like (furnishings, etc.) much as it had been back in it's prime. We decided it was time to visit two of the latter types of plantations.

Hampton Plantation sits along the Wambaw Creek in McCellanville. The Georgian Home was built in 1735 and expanded in 1757. Once a wealthy rice plantation, it is now an interpretive site. Hampton House is a great example of preservation. Hampton House was named after a home on Hampton-on-the-Thames, England.

front of Hampton House

Many prominent South Carolina families have lived at Hampton House, including the Pinckneys, Horrys and the Rutledges. President George Washington visited the plantation in 1791 which is how the "Washington Oak" that sits in front of the house received its name.

Using enslaved labor, the whole entire house was put together using mortise and tenon joints secured with pegs. Each piece of wood for the frame of the house was cut and marked with roman numerals and then put together like a puzzle. Evidence of this type of construction is still seen in the house.

detail of the porch

George Washington Tree.

plaque that sits on the ground in front of the tree

According to legend the tree received its name when Eliza Pinckney Horry asked President George Washington whether she should have the tree removed (she was concerned that it was blocking the view). Washington told her to leave the tree, and it remains today...

George Washington Tree. Hampton House in background

our tour guide. flash photography was not allowed in the home

love the tall windows

archaeologists have been working in this fireplace

At the height of rice production, over 300 enslaved persons lived and worked on the plantation. At any given time, that number was closer to 100.

portrait of Daphne, one of the enslaved workers. Daphne was a kitchen slave. She helped cook &
deliver three meals a day to the big (main) house

detail of the floor. there were no seams; each
board was 36 feet long

detail of the ceiling. I have the utmost respect & admiration for those enslaved workers
who crafted this wood work. they did not have use of the modern tools we have today,
which makes this work even more amazing.

ornate work on one of the fireplaces. the craftsman ship is simply amazing

again, the craftsmanship on this staircase is outstanding

looking into one of the upstairs bedrooms

another bedroom

locking the door using a "skeleton" key

back of the house. notice the three chimneys

another view of the back of the house which faced towards the Wambaw River. the river was
the main source of transportation for goods and services

the kitchen house where Daphne worked. due to fire concerns, the kitchen was usually
set apart from the main, or "big" house

Following the Civil War, some families returned to Hampton House and began lives as tenant farmers. The Rutledges were the first family in the area to utilize tenant farmers.

this chimney is all that remains of the Alston tenant home. materials were salvaged
from other homes to build their home

Friday, August 21

We once again drove through Summerville to Ashley River Road, home of the historic plantation district. Our destination was Drayton Hall. Drayton Hall was the only plantation house on the Ashley River to survive intact both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars; it is a National Historic Landmark; one that

exemplifies Georgian Palladium architecture.

Drayton Hall. an example of preservation through stabilization.

reflecting pool on the front lawn of the home

Utilizing enslaved labor, Drayton Hall was built for John Drayton in 1747. His father owned Magnolia Plantation, four miles down the road. Seven generations of Draytons have lived and owned the house until 1974.

Drayton Hall was John Drayton's "corporate headquarters". He owned more than 100 rice and indigo plantations.

House tours are given every 30 minutes. Lucky for us it was a slow day at Drayton. Ron and I had a private tour -- we were the only ones on our tour!

Betsy, our tour guide, explained that the more ornate rooms were the "public" rooms -- the rooms that were used for entertaining. The less ornate rooms were those that were strictly used by the family.

looking into the great hall from the entrance hall

great hall, or what we would call the living room

ceiling of the great hall

this space would have been used as a dining area

incredible craftsmanship

"faux door" in keeping with the symmetry of the Georgian palladium architectural style,
originally a door covered this brick wall. a door to nowhere!

not nearly as ornate, this space was a non-public room

these narrow stairs located at the back of the house were used by slaves. I can't
imagine carrying dishes up & down these stairs

a Drayton family tradition. childrens names
& heights were recorded on this wall.
plexiglas now covers the wall

the railing was made out of mahogany 

Betsy, our tour guide.

the upstairs rooms were mainly bedrooms. notice the window seats

view from the upstairs porch overlooking the grounds

basement. love the floor

fireplace in the basement; used for cooking

back of the house, which faces the Ashley River. notice the door below the
staircase? it is the entrance to the basement

privy

Following our house tour, we took Cooper for a nice walk down to the 

Ashley River...

nice path along the river

Along the way, we found the foundation for the garden shed...

garden shed foundation. Drayton Hall is located behind where I am standing

Ashley River

taking a break

While on the grounds, we visited the African American Cemetery... 

Records indicate this was a "burying" ground for enslaved people by the 1790's. Archaeologists have located the graves of more than 40 people. This place is a memorial to those who lived and died here...

Wow!! We learned so much and had lots more fun. We are so blessed to be able to do the things we love!

Til next time,

Dawn, Ron & still the birthday boy, Cooper!!