America's oldest working plantation

Friday 06/05/2011

While in Charleston we visited Boone Hall, America's oldest working plantation. We only planned to be there for a couple of hours but ended up being there the whole day it was so interesting. Walking around the plantation and being taken back in time to this era of American History brought conflicting feelings to Pete and I. There was admiration for the early colonists and planters to establish their colonies but on the other hand we were very sad for the West African slaves that were used to achieve the establishing of America. The fight and struggle for freedom and equality was a very difficult road and was well depicted in the wonderful displays and commentaries set out in each of the slave huts on Slave Street.

A little bit of a giggle - a little boy going through the slave huts looking at the displays and TV presentations said to his dad in wonder, those slaves were lucky that they had TV's!  Dad had a bit of explaining to do. lol  

John Boone arrived from Barbados with the first fleet of colonists in 1670. Boon Hall originated as a land grant from King Charles II in 1681. In 1743 his son, Captain Thomas Boone, planted live oak trees along the 3/4 mile drive leading to the Hall Boone Hall - they are an impressive vision today! 

The original slave cabins are still preserved in their entirety and now house a wonderful display and commentary of plantation life from the slaves perspective. Artefacts from the cabins are on display.Excellent and very moving!

The Boone's became active during the war supplying cattle for the troops.

In 1861 the South secedes. An earthen fortification was dug through the plantation and was Charleston's northern perimeter defence during the war. Today Boone hall hosts the reenactment battles of the Civil War.

John Boone became Governor of South Carolina and author of parts of the US Constitution. His brother Edward was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.

In 1870 the Horlbeck brothers established one of the first commercial pecan groves. Some of the trees still flourish but others were destroyed in past hurricanes. The Horlbecks also made bricks and tiles on the plantation used to build the main house, the slave cabins, and the other brick buildings on the plantation. Some of Charleston's oldest structures, including Fort Sumter, are built from the distinctive Boone Hall bricks.

Boone Hall has been feeding the people of Charleston for over 300years. The fertile soils, still farmed today, yield a broad array of Lowcountry fruit and vegetables.  The plantation began originally with rice, indigo and cotton.

Boone Hall has one of America's oldest collection of antique roses  that date back more than 100 years.

Of course Hollywood has utilised Boone Hall. "North and South" was filmed there, as was the TV Series "Roots". "Pride and Prejudice" utilised the rooms in the Hall as settings for the film.

Live oaks line the 3/4 mile drive leading to Boone Hall

The original Cotton Gin built of the Boone Hall bricks

The stables

Slave Street with the  original slave huts

Boone Hall was the first place where Pecan's were grown commercially
Click to enlarge

One of the old Pecan trees

Boone Hall Mansion 

Looking back through the gates down the drive

Th gardens symmetrically line each side of the courtyard in front of the mansion

Colourful spring flowers were blooming amongst the healthy rhubarb 

The smokehouse built of Boone Hall bricks

Lovely paths to stroll through the gardens

The lawn and courtyard in front of the mansion

Boone Hall Mansion 

The porch and portico

Here are the rocking chairs again!

The tour guide who took us through the house
Again no photos allowed unfortunately - it was beautiful
Th family who own it today - a Canadian brother and sister - live on the third floor when they are there.

The back patio area

Side view of the mansion

The story of the Live Oak and the Spanish Moss
Click to enlarge

The grounds lead down to the river.
The river was used to ship the early crops - rice, indigo, and cotton down to
Charleston. With the river being tidal sometimes this would take quit a few days.

A Magnolia tree

A Magnolia

How many chimneys are there?

Th 6 rows of cotton left on the plantation

A Cardinal, such a beautiful red!

The lovely spring blooms

Boone Hall's famous roses

The Cardinal's mate 

The mansion overlooking the gardens

One of the antique roses

Another antique rose

And another

Wildlife on the plantation

Freshwater swamp.
South Carolina is only about 1-2 metres above sea level and
there is a lot of swampy land, hence the name the Lowcountry.
Home to quite a few gators!

An Egret sitting on her fledglings.
Mr Alligator underneath is waiting for them to learn to fly! or not learn!
Poor little things! Hope they have successful first flights!

A baby alligator in the swamp

The Hollywood cabin "Hendersons"  where Halle Berry sat on the porch in the "Queen" episode of "Roots"

The area where they do the re-enactment of the battles of the Civil War each year

On of the many Strawberry fields  on the plantation

A healthy crop

Part of the remaining earthen fortification that was built in the Civil War

Blueberries

Tomatoes

Boone's grave

Colourful flowers and butterflies in the Butterfly House

The Butterfly House

The first live oak planted

A slave hut built by the slaves themselves out of the Boone Hall bricks.
The slaves that lived in these were the skilled slaves.
The unskilled slaves that worked the fields lived beside the fields
in much more frugal accommodation

The Sweetgrass baskets, an old african craft, was brought to America by the slaves and was an
important part of the early rice plantations as a tool for carrying the rice.
Click to enlarge

A sweetgrass basket, a much sort after craft today

Slave home life
The ladder went to a simple loft, balanced on the rafters, were the children slept.

A cast the slaves  put the clay into to form the bricks

Artefacts found in the slave huts 

Archeological work being done in the huts
The slavs hid things underneath the floorboards.
They were not allowed to eat meat, but animal bones were found under the shacks
so the slaves must have been illegally hunting at night and eating meat.

The Gullah

Very sad - advertising of the slaves for sale to the planters

A slave tag that had to be worn by the slaves

Front of the slave hut 

People prominent in the movement for the freedom and equality of the slaves and  black Americans

Abraham Lincoln
Click to enlarge

Martin Luther King Jr
Click to enlarge

The Cotton Dock on the river where the cotton bales were loaded and taken to Charleston

A writer with Gullah ancestry spoke to us about the language
She has learnt the language from her grandmother and now writes poetry in Gullah.

Very interesting! She explained that the slaves being brought from West Africa came from all
different areas so they didn't speak the same languages and they didn't have the same religions or beliefs or ways.
Mixed with the seamens' and  colonists' different backgrounds and languages, communication and understanding each other was just about non existent! The creation of the Gullah language was a way for the West African slaves to communicate with each other in this new land and the dehumanising situation they found themselves in.