The view as you drive into the estate is beautiful. It is a driveway lined with huge Live Oaks.
Our tour guide told us that these trees live 500-600 years and the ones that line this driveway are about 250 years old. I started thinking about that. What that means is in the early 1800's the landscaper who designed this knew enough to space the trees so they would create this beautiful tunnel as it were and not crowd the trees out. My best guess would be that you could park at least 4 cars between each tree. I find that amazing. You have to have vision to design this.
As you approach the house - this is the site you are met with:
I love the way the tree lined drive frames the house. I find that I am again amazed at the thought that went into the design and landscaping.
We arrived early and school had already started in South Carolina so there were not a lot of people the day we visited. We learned that this was not only a working plantation but a brickyard. They handmade bricks here for decades. We were told that most of the bricks used for the buildings in Charleston from the late 1800's to early 1900's came from here.
The brick-house is being supported by a lot of beams. They cannot allow it to fall down because it is a Historical Landmark.
The slave houses are the original ones from the 1700's. I'm sure they didn't have the nice lawn and trees surrounding them like they do today. I like how they have these set up. There is a recording in each house telling you the history of slaves in the South. This really was a sad time for American history. I'm glad we rose above this barbaric practice. How if we can only learn how to heal from this and really move forward.
They even had a butterfly garden out behind the Butterfly Cafe.
It was a very enjoyable day. I would definitely recommend visiting this plantation if you get the chance.
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