Charleston in the antebellum period was extremely diverse ethnically, religiously, socio-economically with a distinct and rigid social hierarchy with those of mainly of Anglo-heritage at the top (whose lives tourists gawk over). The tour group is given front of the line position with just our group! Follow Long Point Road and the entrance to the site will be on the right. They even offer wine and beer. Make yourself known to an official member of staff and/or call the national coronavirus helpline number on 800-232-4636. Board an air-conditioned coach and enjoy views of the rolling Lowcountry landscape as you make the 45-minute drive to Magnolia Plantation, one of the oldest plantations in the South. The Drayton family decided to sell Drayton Hall to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the State of South Carolina in 1974. Price: At Magnolia, a summer house was moved here after the Civil War to serve as the owners home. Private tours are also possible. The gardens are an outstanding example of the Romantic Garden movement, an Industrial-era gardening philosophy designed to emphasize beauty and escape over order and organization. Since 2018, the plantation museum has opened a new visitor center, exhibition space, garden, and a cafe. Most Unique: The focus on African American history, Gullah culture, and land cultivation. Just be sure to book your day tour in advance as some require you to book at least 24 hours or more before you tour date. Select an option below to see step-by-step directions and to compare ticket prices and travel times in Rome2rio's travel planner. Go approximately 7 miles and turn left onto Long Point Road. The Mansion tour was too crowded though. The trolley tour requires 4 steps to get into and out of the trolley. One reason is that the ticket price includes all the offered tours and attractions, so you dont have to pay extra to visit the house or take the tours. All of the plantations allow outdoor photography but most do not allow photography inside the main houses, exceptions being Drayton Hall and McLeod Plantation Historic Site. Take some time after the tours to taste some tea samples and to have a look at the gift store. But there's so much more to this antebellum plantation than just a Hollywood tear-jerker. Visitors can also explore a self-guided black history exhibit, front gardens, and butterfly pavilion on their own. 425 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29403 United States +1-843-7182327 | Email: . The carriage tour is OK but there isnt a lot of unique information presented here if you do all the other tours. See the Accessibility section for each plantation above. These later changes were made to make the house appear more grand. The Charleston Tea Garden, formerly the Charleston Tea Plantation, is a bit different from the other plantations listed here. It depends on the plantations but some you could easily spend half a day or more exploring and doing all the tours. Defining. A small percentage of the plantations continued on, many relying on tenant farming and the use of cheap labor from former slaves. cannot resit to take photos. But also art exhibits, jazz shows, a mystery dinner event, home baseball games (Charleston has a minor league team), and weekly farmers markets. However, there are services departing from Mary St / Meeting St and arriving at Dorchester Rd / Reserve at Ashley River via N. Charleston SuperStop on Rivers Ave. Can be very busy, especially during events. So it will just depend on your exact dates and your interests. Owners: The original plantation house (ruins) is believed to have been built by John Williams, the homes original owner, circa 1705. Most Unique: Drayton Hall is the oldest surviving plantation house on the Ashley River. finest examples of remaining Palladian architecture in the United States. The flankers were also Georgian in style, but the rebuilt flanker now standing is more Dutch Revival in style. Main Cash Crop: The plantation was used to grow indigo and cotton, and to raise cattle. Reservations are recommended for dinner. The national COVID-19 helpline number in Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is 800-232-4636. The Caretakers House was built after Emancipation and the exhibit here focuses on the lives of African Americans at Drayton Hall after the Civil War as many families continued to live and work here in maintaining the house, grounds, and doing phosphate mining until around 1960. Then a second two-story frame house with a one-story front porch was built later. that can be seen in the Gates Gallery, including items owned by the Drayton family. Many of the wealthy peoples town houses, plantation homes, and institutional buildings (churches, schools, clubs, banks) were built with slave labor (even children were often forced to make bricks). The house and gardens are open daily; an admission fee is charged. Leave yourself plenty of time to explore the plantations. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (464 acres, 187.77 hectares) is a historic house with gardens located on the Ashley River at 3550 Ashley River Road, Charleston County, South Carolina. It can be difficult to choose which plantation you want to visit in Charleston. How to get to the Charleston plantations? But at the root of Charlestons antebellum development, wealth, splendor, culture is slavery of Africans and the limited freedoms of mixed race peoples as well as lower caste Anglos and other Europeans (I am waiting for this history to be addressed in tourism one day). Tripexpert score: 9 / 10. Directions From Myrtle Beach: The McLeods grew cotton until 1922 when the crop was wiped out by the boll weevil. They also offer a specialized bird walk on Sundays led by a local ornithologist. We recommend choosing 2 or 3 of the following: McLeod Plantation Historic Site, Magnolia Plantation, Drayton Hall, and Middleton Place. Once you purchase they tell you where to meet. I think years ago, there was almost no discussion of slavery and African culture on plantation tours, but it is great that this has slowly changed over time. Despite having 55 rooms, it can book up quickly so plan ahead and book online. No drones allowed on site. Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum is located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, at the mouth of the Cooper River on the Charleston Harbor, across from Charleston. Charleston Historic District to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens bus services, operated by CARTA, arrive at Dorchester Rd / Reserve at Ashley River station. There are 3 ways to get from Hyatt Place Charleston - Historic District to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens by bus, taxi or car. We personally saw several species of birds, squirrels, turtles, and alligators during our visit at Magnolia. It is too bad that many of the other plantation buildings on the estate did not survive the wars and natural disasters over the centuries. Getting to any of the plantations will require some form of transport, as none are located within the city of Charleston. In recent years, a lot of development and new offerings have been added to the Drayton Hall estate. The gardens and Audubon Swamp Garden can be toured on ones own. Directions to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. It also offers a variety of tours from the house tour to the slavery talks to the tractor tours of its farm. I think a lot of people see a photo of the house and assume that it an antebellum house and that they will get to fully explore the inside of the house. Gift Shop: There is a gift shop located in the Visitor Center. The final private owner, William E. McLeod died in 1990. LENGTH: 45 minutes . Magnolia Plantation is probably best known for its gardens which were planted in the 1840s by Reverend John Drayton. The Horlbeck family owned the plantation from 1817 until 1935, and they greatly expanded the plantations brickyard and planted pecan trees. The national COVID-19 helpline number in Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is 800-232-4636. If you are going far from the city center, pricing might become prohibitively expensive. A few possibilities include: To help you start planning your time in Charleston, take a look at our suggested 2 day Charleston itinerary. Henry established the gardens and later built the North and South flankers. Boone Hall is one of the oldest continuously working farms in the country, and has been producing crops for over 300 years. But the family was able to rebuild the north flanker in 1869 and use that as their new residence. The journey, including transfers, takes approximately 2h 10m. Harborside at Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina 6.1 mi from Magnolia Plantation and Gardens Fully refundable Reserve now, pay when you stay $147 per night Rome2rio displays up to date schedules, route maps, journey times and estimated fares from relevant transport operators, ensuring you can make an informed decision about which option will suit you best. We were sitting for the Gullah presentation and I felt the perspiration running down my back:) It was so interesting, though, and I learned so much. After the Civil War, the land was also used for phosphate mining. Visitors can only currently see the 4 rooms on the ground floor as the top floors are a private residence. When we arrived, we were taken on a 45 minute guided tour of the gardens, then a tram ride to see the various alligators, turtles, and birds that live in the swamps on the property. Not recommended. There's so much to do here. Although the tea plantation is not that old, the history of tea growing in the Charleston area goes back to 1799 when French botanist Franois Andr Michaux planted some near Charleston Middleton Barony (now Middleton Place). It takes 12 miles between Charleston and Boone Hall for you to drive there. Harris and Nancy McRae purchased the plantation in 1955 and the McRae family still own the plantation. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the plantation and the tour guide does not talk the entire time as ther is traffic to attend! Is it okay to bring food and drink on the tour? It takes approximately 1h 57m to get from Charleston to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, including transfers. If your primary reason for visiting is to learn about slavery and African American history, we recommend visiting the McLeod Plantation Historical Site. Read our range of informative guides on popular transport routes and companies - including Bali: What to do if Mount Agung erupts, Italy Travel Guides and Train travel in Spain: A guide to Renfe - to help you get the most out of your next trip. There are 399+ hotels available in Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. The current house was constructed on the site of the former house in the early 1870s. The tour of the house only includes 2-3 rooms, not the whole house! 9 Charleston: 90-Minute Ghost and Dungeon Walking Tour. From thousands of Yes, the driving distance between Charleston to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is 21 km. Tours at McLeod Plantation focus on the history of African Americans in relation to the plantation, understanding Gullah culture, and the cultivation of cotton. I love history and he had plenty. The house is not wheelchair accessible, and requires 6 steps to get inside and another several steps to visit all the rooms. There are also Sunday bird walks. Address: 325 Country Club Drive, Charleston, SC 29412 Your email address will not be published. We enjoyed our visit to the Charleston Tea Garden and it is a great place to learn about the process of tea making for any tea lover. 2.2 Accommodation in Atlanta. Our tour guide comes along to add a few details and answer questions. Guides also share information about past residents to try to give voices to the history and also point out buildings and artifacts when relevant. Louisiana plantations along the River Road, SpringHill Suites by Marriott Charleston Downtown/Riverview, https://ccprc.com/1447/McLeod-Plantation-Historic-Site, 15 Best Travel Journals for Travelers Guide to Choosing the Perfect Travel Journal, Slum Tourism: 17 Responsible Travel Guidelines for Travelers, Nairobi Travel Guide: 24 Top Things to do in Nairobi Kenya, Guide to Visiting Galeries Lafayette in Paris. The site has been dedicated as a Sankofa memorial garden. Main House Furnishings: There is little to no furnishings in the main house or outbuildings. Before the Civil War, there were hundreds of plantations located outside Charleston, growing indigo, cotton, rice, and other cash crops. Drayton Halls African-American Cemetery is one of the oldest African-American cemeteries still in use, dating from at least 1790. You can visit the inside of the main house on your own as it is not included as part of the tour (only the first floor is currently open to the public). But some definitely focus on it more than others. Charleston to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens bus services, operated by CARTA, depart from Mary St / Meeting St station. Some of these will likely open to the public in the future after more stabilization work is done. Photography is allowed everywhere except inside the main house. The gardens here are more wild and natural. Other places to visit on site include the newly-built Visitors Center and Stephen and Laura Gates Exhibit Gallery. Except for Alan's dry, non-funny approach to leading tours, he had a lot of knowledge of the area and was willing to share it all. Click here to see our current giveaway and enter! However, it is exciting to know that this site has decided to focus on the subject of slavery and African American life which has often been whitewashed at plantations. After the Civil War, the gardens would become neglected, but they would be restored and expanded by J. J. Pringle Smith (descendant of the Middletons) and his wife Heningham in the 1920s and they would also open them up to the public for the first time in the late 1920s. Currently about a half a dozen plantations near Charleston are open to visitors. One could tell that individuals who visited on their own did not have the in-depth experience that we did. This is probably the best plantation for those who enjoy nature, as you can also take the Nature Tram Tour, boat tours, and/or wander along the Audubon Swamp Garden. Wear comfortable practical shoes. You might also consider checking out books about South Carolinas plantations and historic homes. You can take a bus from Charleston to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens via N. Charleston SuperStop on Rivers Ave and Dorchester Rd / Reserve at Ashley River in around 1h 57m. McLeod Plantation is the only one of the 6 we havent had the chance to visit so looking forward to visiting on our next trip to Charleston. The plantation focuses not only on the lives of the enslaved but also the lives of the formerly enslaved and their descendants after the Civil War to the 21st century, which is a time period less often mentioned during plantation visits. Middleton Place is well known for its 65 acres of lush gardens, and they are the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. 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