Charleston - Magnolia Plantation and Charles Town Landing

House at Magnolia Plantation

We headed to Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, the oldest continuous public garden in the U.S. We started at the house which is the 3^rd on this property.  This was originally a rice plantation (the primary cash crop before the civil war). The first mansion was made with British bricks, but it burned. The bricks were used in a smaller 2^nd home.  The current home is built on the foundation of the 2^nd home which was destroyed by Sherman’s army in the Civil War. It started as a simple 4 room lodge, but has been expanded over the years. It is still in the family of the original owners. After our tour, we visited the romantic gardens. Rather than formal gardens, these gardens tie into the natural scenery around the plantation. Unique to this garden, was a biblical garden, built of the plants that are mentioned in the old and new testaments. Of course, these gardens would be most spectacular in spring with their azaleas and gardenias (though this year was disappointing because of an early warm spring, followed by freezing weather). But there were many flowers along the paths as well as deep wood forests. Bridges cross the many lakes on the grounds. We saw quite a few cranes and a few alligators on our walk. With the heat and humidity we were glad for our lunch break in the shade.

Strolling the Gardens

In the afternoon, we went to the Charles Town Landing State Park. This is the site of the original South Carolina colony. They’ve done their best to recreate the history as determined by the archeological digs. The Visitor Center did a great job of explaining the founding of the settlement. The original landowners, their servants, and slaves took 4 months to reach Barbados, where they learned about sugar plantations, which was the cash crop there. They continued on to find Carolina, but through mistakes, storms, and bad luck, it took another 5 months and two of the three ships were lost. They found Charles town 12 miles inland from the ocean, primarily for protection (fear of the Spanish who controlled Florida.) Even before they planted any crops they built a stockade and mounted cannons around it. Without the help of the friendly Indians, many would have starved. The climate was too cold, so what would be their cash crop? The first crop turned out to be timber. Barbados had been stripped of its forest, so they needed timber for fuel and building. Ships would take timber from Carolina, ship sugar and rum to New York, and cattle would be shipped to Carolina. After 20 years, the town was moved to Charleston on the harbor for easier shipping, and the land around the river became one of many plantations, most of which planted rice, and after the Civil War, cotton. The park has recreated the stockade, several feet from the original, which can be seen as a darker strip of soil. They’ve recreated typically housing and a cargo ship. It was quite interesting. They also have a plantation garden and a zoo of typical animals from this region. But we were pretty whipped after walking the historical trail.

Charles Town Landing