on the day after thanksgiving, we drove up to boone hall plantation which is one of the oldest working plantations in the country. driving into the plantation brought us through the avenue of oaks, a corridor of 80 or so oak trees planted in 1743.
there was a row of original brick huts where the slaves lived. an interesting tidbit we learned was that since slaves did not have last names, after emancipation, freed slaves had to pick a surname for themselves. if their plantation owners had been kind enough to them, many chose to take on their ex-owner’s name (eg. some african-americans have german surnames). the ones with cruel owners would often choose something generic like washington or jefferson.
we went on a tour of the house, which was rebuilt in 1936, by a canadian ambassador. the plantation had gone through a a number of owners since 1681.
back in charleston in the afternoon, we took a quick walk through king street, the shopping district (opted to avoid black friday shopping).
we were lucky to catch the last tour of day at the nathaniel russell house, built in 1808 for a wealthy shipping merchant. the house was preserved well because it fortunately was always inhabited through the years. it is most known for its free-flying spiral staircase (free-flying meaning it doesn’t attach to the wall). really beautiful, but no photos allowed inside. interior photos i found on the internet.
One comment
very interesting history. Rebecca is starting to look like a little girl (sniff, sniff).