This last weekend was my very first real Southern adventure…destination: Charleston, South Carolina. And it was a terrific start! Everywhere I looked, every bench I sat on…was historic as Charleston is one of the most preserved cities in America. It was heavenly!
I woke early, and I mean ungodly early, in order to get to Charleston by 9am on Saturday morning. I had just enough time to grab a cup of coffee, a life-saving action, and race to the Visitors Center to board the bus for the historic tour. Initially I was unsure about taking a history tour, but I AM so glad that I did, it was the most efficient, educational and entertaining way to learn the history of the centuries old city.
There were many historic people, important to both the Revolutionary War and Civil War, who lived here and it was fun to see their houses and picture there lives. It was also interesting to learn about Charleston architecture, as the city presents a very distinct style of houses.
Apparently, there are two traditional styles, the Charleston single and the Charleston double. The Charleston Single mean that the house is one room wide on each side of the door, with the hallway going right down the middle.
Similarly, the Charleston Double means that it is two rooms on either side of the door.
All houses must have a porch facing either the South or the West. Interesting the main door to the house is the door that encloses the porch and not the door that opens to the house. Basically, the porch is the front room.
Apparently, this style, with the side of the house facing the street, rather then the front was in response to the tax that the English put on the colonist for their houses that was determined by the width of the house facing the street. Hope that makes sense.
After the morning spent in Charleston, we headed up-river to tour. As General Sherman burned his way north, very few of the original plantation houses from the antebellum era are still in existence. However the grounds, outer buildings and slave quarters have all been loving restored and maintained so it was very easy imagine life from years ago.
Instead of boring you with endless facts here are the top four things I learned about Magnolia Plantation.
1) The plantation was originally given to a young couple as a wedding present, 300 years ago. It is still owned by the same family.
2.) The gorgeous antebellum house was burned by Sherman’s troops. The current house was the hunting lodge, moved brick by brick from North Carolina.
3) The main crop was rice, not cotton.
5) They have alligators. Everywhere. Clearly this blog is exposing all my ignorance, because I had no idea that alligators could be found this far North. Just in case anyone else missed this important fact and plan on camping in South Carolina let me share with you: the Carolinas are home to: copperhead snakes, horrid nasty spiders, chiggers and alligators, they also have stupendous fireflies, but I digress. The plantation’s water sources are connect the river to the marshes so the alligators (herds? Do alligators live in herds?) just live in the backyard, as normal as cats, ‘cept the keepers only name them if they get over six feet. Sweet eh? I was not fast enough to get good pictures...I swear they are in the pictures...but they blend well in their lairs....I mean habitats.
After a long day of history and an early morning, I was ready for a true Southern meal and bed. I found the perfect meal at Jestine’s Kitchen. Pecan-crusted chicken, fried okra and homemade macaroni and cheese, sweet tea….it was heaven! Remember jealously is a sin :D
No comments:
Post a Comment