Middleton Place

11/03/2020

Nothings says Deep South more to me than a lush, vast plantation nestled along the river.

Maybe it's because I've read and seen Gone with the Wind so many times...

Kim and I spent one day strolling the grounds of two plantations, which are just a few miles apart from each other, just outside of Charleston.

Our Bed & Breakfast hostess Vaughan highly recommended Middleton Place, so we made that our first stop.

Acres and acres of meticulously landscaped gardens along the Ashley River.

See this massive live oak tree?

Estimated to be 900-1000 years old, it was already old when Columbus discovered America and even huger 250 years later when this plantation was established in the 1740s.

Oh, the tales this old tree could tell! Before white folks arrived, it marked an Indian trail along the river. It has survived countless hurricanes, earthquakes, and witnessed the Yankee forces storming the plantation during the Civil War and burning down many of the structures. Many of its old heavy limbs are now propped up for support (remind me of canes to help support the limbs of old humans!), but the tree still stands as a proud sentry over Middleton Place.

Tomb of one of the early Middleton family members...

We loved strolling the labyrinth of garden paths. At this time of year, not much was still in bloom...I can only imagine how breathtakingly beautiful it would be in the springtime. We must go back to see that one of these springs!

Kim is checking out an alligator in one of the ponds...

...while I try to sneak up on the ibises.

A few lovely blooms along the way...

When the Yankees came through, they burned the Middleton mansion to the ground. All that is left is the entryway (along with the carriage step) and a pile of rubble. To escape the fire, the family grabbed as many possessions as they could and fled to one of the smaller buildings flanking the home...

...and this is became their new residence.

Yes, this is one of the smaller buildings that were on either side of the main home...wow, hard to imagine what a splendid structure that must have been! This one is pretty darn nice...we took a tour inside, but no photography allowed. :(

I can't get enough of the Spanish moss hanging from the trees and swaying in the breeze...so romantic!

Even the springhouse is charming!

Stables...

We had lunch in a little restaurant inside one of the buildings. This was the view from our table...so lovely and peaceful....

Of course, as we know plantation life was not all strolling spacious gardens and Southern charm, there was also the ugly side of slavery. Plantations depended on slave labor. This is one of the remaining slave homes restored on the property, which likely housed 3 or 4 families. I have an inkling it looks better now than it did during Middleton's prime.

One of the guides was shocked I knew that this is a guineafowl. He told me his spiel about how they were native and familiar to the African-born slaves...yadda, yadda, yadda...yep, they are wild everywhere in Africa, have seen for myself many times.