Charleston Across the Ashley

This home was the family seat of the Drayton family from the early 1700s until the Civil War. It’s special because of the magnificent plantation house on the property. This was the only plantation on its side of the Ashley River that wasn't burned by the Union Army. The home is beautiful and the guides are wonderful. It is one of the finest examples of Georgian Palladian architecture in the U.S. It has been completely preserved as the family left it in the 1970s and has so many layers of history.

The property also has walking trails, including a swamp/marsh walk, and wonderful views of the Ashley River. There is also a really interesting Connections Tour that talks about the connection of the slaves on the plantation to their native lands in West Africa.

Drayton Hall is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. They are a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the "irreplaceable." All of the people who work there are very dedicated to the cause, and you can tell they love Drayton Hall.

Drayton Hall is open daily, except Christmas Eve and Christmas and New Year's Eve and New Year’s Day. It's also closed February 1 to 3 for annual cleaning. Tours are every hour from 10am to 3pm. The connections program occurs daily at 11:15am and 2:15pm.

Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for youths (12 to18), and $6 for children. Those of ages 5 and under are free. The price includes a house tour, the connections program, and admission to the grounds and trails. Allow 2 to 3 hours if you aren't doing the connections program and 3 to 4 hours if you are.

In April of 1670, after a terrible and bumpy 90-day trip from England, the first settlers dropped anchor at Charles Town Landing, up the Ashley River from Charleston. Together with the Native Kiawah tribe and Barbadians they had picked up, the English settlers managed to create England's first successful colony in Carolina. Due to the swampy climate (think Malaria) and the difficulty in defense (think the Spanish), they moved the settlement to Oyster Point (Charleston) in 1680.

Today, Charles Towne Landing attempts, quite successfully, to recreate the original conditions of the settlement. One of the most interesting exhibits (and the best for kids) is the Animal Forest. In this zoo, the animals that the original settlers would have encountered are on display. You can see bears, a puma, beautiful (and HUGE!) white timberwolves, and bison, among other things. They are all displayed in natural, fenced-in areas.

There is also a full-scale replica of the Adventure, a trading ship typical to the era. It really helps you understand and appreciate the people who founded this country. You can also see replicas of the original houses they would have lived in, what remains of the original fort-like protection, crops that would have been grown by the settlers, and a pretty garden.

My favorite thing wasn't actually an exhibit at all, but instead just the landscape. I had been wanting to go out into the marshes and get an up-close view of them, but I didn't think there was anywhere to do it. Well, at Charles Towne, you can go out onto them on bridges and see beautiful views to the Ashley River and Charleston. There is a dock in Old Town Creek that is really beautiful and peaceful.

You could really spend all day out here. Admission is cheap, and I had a wonderful time. I recommend renting the bicycles ($3 an hour + $3 deposit) because it can be a lot of walking. This is an excellent, inexpensive thing for the whole family.

Middleton Place is one of the three plantations on the Ashley River that are open for tours. Middleton, like Magnolia, did not survive the Civil War intact, but please do not let that keep you from visiting. It is probably the most complete plantation experience you can have in Charleston.

Middleton is famous for its beautiful gardens, "the oldest landscaped garden in America." They are not as large as Magnolia's or as diverse, but they are extremely beautiful. There are hundreds of species of camellias and some other unusual flowers I had never seen before. The most impressive thing are the huge terraces in front of the home site next to the river. You will see pictures of this in all the Charleston guidebooks, but you cannot truly understand the magnitude until you are standing on top of them.

Middleton truly shines in its reconstruction of plantation life. There are a number of costumed living history experts who work in various shops and can tell you about their craft and the history of what they are doing. When I was there, they had a weaver, potter, and cooper (barrel-maker) that were very fascinating.

They also have a huge menagerie of animals that would have been found on a plantation at that time. They have peacocks, pigs, horses, cows, more types of fowl and birds than you can count, bunnies, sheep, and goats. Luckily for me, I was there when there were two baby goats running around that were possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. You cannot even imagine how adorable a 2-week-old goat can be.

Middleton Place just opened a new exhibit that attempts to interpret slavery at the plantation. It was really incredible. Located in an old freedman's cottage, the small exhibit is a really fascinating look at the culture and daily life of Africans at Middleton. There is a large panel that manages to list many slaves owned by the Middleton family. It is very sobering to look at a panel of some 3,000 names and realize that most of these people lived and died as slaves. It is so easy to just think "slaves" and not realize that they were actual people who went through something terrible, but looking at their names and, in some cases, the value assigned to them by the Middletons was an eye-opening experience for me.

There is also part of the original house complex, but it is only a flanker that survived the burning. It was restored after the war, and isn’t anything that special. I’d spend the money on another house museum.

Middleton Place can be expensive. My suggestion is to avoid the house tour. It is boring and doesn't have much historical value. You can also take a carriage tour for an extra $13. Admission to only the grounds is about $12 and gets you into everything but the house.

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is a bit of a misnomer. Really, it should be called "The Gardens at Magnolia Plantation." That’s why people visit. And that’s why you should, too! There is a house on the site today, but it isn’t original. It was put here after the other house was burned by General Sherman’s Marauders, so it isn’t very old. It is picturesque, though, and provides a nice backdrop to the grounds. The house is available for tours, but you have to pay extra for it. I would save your money and go to Drayton Hall instead.

Magnolia has got to have some of the most beautiful gardens in the world. I have been twice, once in December and once in April. In December, even though it was the dead of winter, it was still beautiful, because all of the camellias were blooming. They were stunning. I wasn’t expecting what I found in April. Just about everything was blooming. There were incredible amaryllis’ all over the gardens, and the irises were everywhere, in just about every color possible. Even some of the daffodils were still blooming, but they were on their last leg. The delphinium, foxgloves, verbenas, azaleas, and blooming shrubs added so much color, it was like walking through a Van Gogh painting.

It seems like there are miles of trails that wind around the grounds. There is a lot of variety, too. Most of the trails are wooded paths, and they open up onto ponds, bridges, Ashley River, and open areas. They have a big swampy area that leads into an Asian-inspired bamboo garden. I really enjoyed that area. Bamboo just isn’t something that I get to see growing very often. After awhile, I was, quite frankly, ready to be done with it, and I have to admit that I skipped a few things.

Magnolia has things other than the gardens. They have an indoor Barbados Garden that showcases tropical plants. One of my favorite things is the petting zoo that has a variety of goats, deer, and sheep and all kids of birds. They were all very friendly, so don’t feel nervous. Also, keep in mind that there are peacocks all over the place, and they make this horrible screaming noise. If you haven’t ever heard this, just be prepared. It can be quite unnerving. With the price of admission, you get to see a short video introduction to Magnolia, but don’t waste your time. Not only is it boring, but it had some glaring errors. Probably the worst was when they said the slaves who lived at Magnolia had a happy life, all because they were taught to read (just a heads up, if you are looking for history, don’t expect it from Magnolia. It isn’t their thing.)

Admission to only the gardens is $14. You can see the house, nature train, nature boat, and swamp garden for extra charges.

My favorite part of Magnolia Plantation is the Audubon Swamp Garden. This atypical garden is in 60 acres of blackwater swamp and is a haven for all manner of animals: birds (John James Audubon visited here in the 1800s to get specimens of water birds!), turtles, alligators, and others that were good at hiding. You go through the swamp (I should say, over and into the swamp) by raised boardwalks. Now, sometimes these are a little spotty, and there were quite a few occasions where I was walking and the boards sunk down a good few inches. It made my stomach lurch, and the wood made a funny noise, but they were okay. I imagine they keep these in good condition, not wanting visitors to feel unsafe. I can think of few things worse than being pitched into a dark, scummy swamp.

The reason I like this so much is that it is just so unusual. It is very rare to get a chance to see one of the rich, important habitats close up. Even though I am horrified of snakes (and I’m sure a lot of them live here), I can almost forget that threat while I am walking through the swamp. It is such a strange, otherworldly place that is hauntingly beautiful. You get the feeling that you are invading some secluded habitat that no one has seen for hundreds of years. Despite all of the wildlife, everything is so still, almost suspended in time. You will get occasional movement from birds flying across the swamp or hear the familiar splash of snapping turtles sliding off a log, but the silence is stunning, especially if you visit after the regular gardens, where there are hundreds of people all over the place.

Make sure to bring your camera, binoculars, and bug spray. I cannot emphasize the bug spray enough. Now, I’m from Alabama originally, and we certainly have mosquitoes. Big, tenacious ones. But the ones that they have here in Charleston are like nothing I have ever seen. They are the size of baby swans. If they organized, they could take over the city. Get some bug spray (with DEET in it) and slather it on. Nothing will ruin your trip like getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Admission to the Swamp Garden only is $7 and totally worth it. If you are planning on visiting the other plantations, you could probably cut out Magnolia. The gardens at Middleton aren’t as pretty, but they have more to offer. If you don’t plan on seeing the main gardens at Magnolia, you should stop in for the swamp, because you won’t find that anywhere else.

The History of Drayton Hall begins in 1679, when the Drayton family first came to Charleston from England via Barbados. There is much speculation about what sort of life they came from. The family tradition says that they were nobility, originally Normans from France, but some historians at Drayton Hall think they may have actually been indentured servants. Well, whatever their history, they were now in the New World, prepared to make their fortunes.

In the early 1700s, Thomas and Ann Drayton had begun to build their empire. They had built their country seat, Magnolia Plantation, and were in the process of gathering together land, slaves, and power. In 1715, their last child and third son, John, was born. Thomas died soon after.

By 1738, the boys had taken their inheritance and started their lives. Because of Primogeniture, John got very little from his father's estates, but through business savvy (that he most likely inherited from his clever mother), he was able to gain enough money to buy 350 acres from his neighbors on which to build his grand home. Drayton Hall was born.

Tragedy struck John early in his life. His young wife and their two baby sons all died in a 15-month span. John was 24, his family was gone, and the grand home he was building for them had turned into a mausoleam. John bounced back quickly, marrying his neighbor Charlotta Bull, daughter of the powerful Lt. Governer of South Carolina. She bore him two sons, William Henry and Charles, and died of complications related to childbirth soon after her second son was born. John was devastated. It would be nearly 10 years before he married again.

He did marry again, twice, and had many more children, but it is Charles who concerns the history of Drayton Hall. During the Revolution, Drayton Hall became a center of military activity. In 1779, John and his young wife Rebecca got word that the British were coming toward Charleston from the south. John fleed with his wife and children to Mt. Pleasant, where he died, most likely of a stroke. The house passed to the ownership of his wife.

Charleston was one of the most important places in the colonies, but it could not be taken by water. Thanks to Ft. Moultrie and the navigational hazard they called a harbor, the city had excellent defenses. In 1780, the British fielded a huge army to try to take Charleston. General Clinton, the British Commander, had 10,000 troops at his command in the area. He sent out a general order to prepare to cross the Ashley River. "I caused the elite of the army to advance to Drayton Hall."

The home was used as a headquarters by the British command in 1780 and later, when the Continental army re-took the city, General Anthony Wayne used it similarly. By 1784, Rebecca Perry Drayton had probably had enough of the house. It had been overrun with troops no less than five times since she had owned it, and her stepson Charles was expressing interest in the home. She sold the house to him, and took herself, her children, and the furniture to a home downtown.

For 20 years, Charles Drayton owned and improved the house. He was a surgeon by profession and a horticulturalist and intellectual by hobby. It was through his meticulous diaries that so much history of Drayton Hall is preserved. But Drayton Hall was already in its decline. Charles was a planter, but not in his heart. Educated in England for most of his early life, he did not have the planter mentality that his father so wanted him to. The fortune began to drift away, and the money went elsewhere.

By the Civil War, there were multiple owners of the property. The most notable was Dr. John Drayton, a surgeon working for the Confederate Army, treating the slaves who were being used as a mobile workforce. After an altercation about the treatment of his patients, he left the army in disgust and retired to Drayton Hall. He set up a smallpox hospital, and when Sherman's army blazed through South Carolina, Drayton Hall was the only house on that side of the Ashley that was not destroyed.

But the South was gone, and many people who once called it home had nothing to return to. Dr. John was one of the many who moved on, first to Texas with some other members of the family and then on to Mexico, where he later died. Drayton Hall ceased to be used as a primary residence after this point and became the country retreat of the Drayton Family.

While many families fell into poverty, the Draytons got a break. The soil of the plantation was also rich in phosphate, a rock used in fertilizer. Drayton Hall was turned into a vast strip-mining operation, and the family made enough money to build a grand new home on the Battery in the 1880s. The property was owned and operated by Charles Henry Drayton, who updated the house in the new Victorian fashions. It is from this period that the accents in the front yard of the house date from--the pond, mound, and well. The property was also home to many African Americans who were slaves before the Civil War and were now the workforce on the old plantation.

Until 1969, the home was used by Miss Charlotta Drayton, the last Drayton to use the house on a regular basis. She would often go to Drayton Hall for a few weeks and "camp," if you can call having a chef and a maid camping. Sadly, Miss Charlotta died in 1969, and the house passed to her nephews Charles Henry III and Francis Beatty.

In 1974, Drayton Hall was purchased by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in order to keep the house in a condition that would allow it to last. In 1976, the house was opened to the public, so that anyone could walk through history and see one of the most remarkable homes in America.