South Carolina - February 2010

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Charleston

Charleston is another beautiful old city, established in 1670. Originally "Charles Town", (after Charles II of England).

We visited Boone Hall, one of America's oldest working plantations, established in 1681. A wonderful 3/4 mile long avenue of live oaks leads up to the present house (dating from 1935), which was featured in the TV mini-series civil war drama "North & South".

There are still some original brick slave cabins, placed prominently next to the main house to show visitors the wealth of the plantation owner. These cabins were reserved for the slaves that worked in the house and the carpenter or blacksmith slaves. The field slaves would have dwelt in very simple structures which have not stood the test of time. One of the brick cabins would have been used by up to two families, up to a dozen or so people. They remained in use right up until the 1940's.


Back on the road we stopped at the Angel Oak, one of the oldest trees in the country, estimated at being over 1,400 years old. It is 65 feet tall, 25.5 feet in diameter and shades an area of a whopping 17,000 square feet.


We returned to town to watch the New Orleans Saints beat the Indianapolis Colts to win the Super Bowl. And hell did not freeze over! My first football game that I actually watched through to the end. We saw the incredible celebrations on Bourbon Street on TV and looked forward to arriving there soon.

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Photos

Can You Tell...
...I have a thing about houses?

Avenue of Oaks
On the way to Boone Hall Plantation.

Slave Street
Slave cabins.

Slave Cabin
These cabins were reserved for house servants and skilled slaves. Two families would commonly have had to share one cabin.

Oldest Live Oak
Estimated to be over 1,400 years