Behind the old Hampton Plantation the kitchen / cooking building still stands.
Now owned by South Carolina the land and buildings had been in the same family since 1686.
1790, Plantation Kitchen Building
Category Archives: Shooting A Grand Old House
Hampton Plantation, McClellanville, South Carolina.
The plantation was established in 1735, and its main house exhibits one of the earliest known examples in the United States of a temple front in domestic architecture. It is also one of the state’s finest examples of a wood frame Georgian plantation house. (Wikipedia)
The house has an evolutionary construction history, begun in 1735 and ending roughly in 1790-91. The original owner of the land, and first section of the house was a French Huguenot refugee. Successive owners were each among the founders of South Carolina, and Charleston.
The final owner Archibald Rutledge was a poet laureate and educator. The property is currently owned by the state and is a National Landmark.
The site is in the Santee Delta of South Carolina.
Old Plantation In The Delta
Like most people I had an image of plantation houses, they were ‘Gone With The Wind’ mansions.
I have only seen one building that looks close. Most are much more modest, large, but not ornate.
The really old ones, out in the marshlands where rice, indigo, and sea island cotton were grown, were built over long periods of time. Many were replacements (not this one) for buildings that had burned or been destroyed by wars.
Common to most all is a porch, bricks, tall windows for breezes to pass through, and multiple sections added over years. This building dates to 1790.
Old Dock Street, Charleston Theater
From an unscheduled stop at the old theater.
‘On February 12, 1736 the original Dock Street Theatre opened with a performance of George Farquhar’s play The Recruiting Officer. Built on the corner of Church Street and Dock Street (now known as Queen Street), the Historic Dock Street Theatre was the first building in America built exclusively to be used for theatrical performances. Flora, the first opera performance in America, took place at the Historic Dock Street Theatre.’ (Wikipedia)
The first building, and much of Charleston burned in 1740.
The current theater was originally the Planters Hotel, a hotel for plantation owners and traders. The upstairs bar originated the rum drink ‘Planters Punch’.
Plays are still performed through out the year. I have attended performances here and the quality is what you would expect from the oldest theater and group in the US. Besides, you are sitting in the middle of history all through the show.
Whenever going by and discover the doors are open we wander inside.
Dock Street Theater, French Quarter, Charleston.
Bedon-Lucas High House
Built around the 1820’s this is an example of a Lowcountry ‘High House’. There are not many left around here.
The idea is simple, all through the Lowcountry it is wet and damp. As a planters house the owners knew the value of getting above the ground. In the early 1800’s this would have been a significant expense.
The home has been complete renovated and is now a historic site in Walterboro, South Carolina. The town is just outside Charleston and a place we like to explore on a quiet Sunday morning.
An Old Friend, Peacock
He is another sure sign of spring. No dancing the other day, but he did yell at me.
And his colors are extremely vivid now.
He also knows how to play for the camera.
The plantation opens to the tourist in another hour so this is last minute practice.
Garden By The Ashley, South Carolina
Taken at Middleton Plantation, Charleston, South Carolina.
A far corner of the formal gardens. This backs up to retaining ponds, old rice fields, and the Ashley River.
I have forgotten the details of the statue seen here. However it was one of several that were removed and buried on the property as the northern army moved towards Charleston in the US Civil War.
On A Walk
Ellen grew up on farms. I know where to find here.
I’m from the (big) city. Not so ‘touchy feely’ here.
Shooting a little wider here suits me fine.