Exploring Charleston, South Carolina ~ April 12 - 15, 2019
Exploring Charleston, South Carolina ~ April 12 - 15, 2019
April 12, 2019
The drive to Charleston was somewhat tedious due to a traffic tie-up. We suspected some sort of crash due to the fact that two tow-trucks passed us on the shoulder. But who knows what snarled things up? We passed the time listening to more of Becoming. It really is a beautifully written book, and we both are enjoying learning more about this first lady and her husband.
By the time we got to the condo, it was 4 p.m. so we moved our stuff in and then went out in search of something to eat. We had not eaten lunch, so we decided to have an early dinner and then have a snack later if we needed it. We found a great little pizza place called Community Pizza. We each had an individual sized wood-fired pizza along with beer and wine. My pizza, sausage and peppers (both sweet and something that tasted like peppadews) was absolutely delicious, and I enjoyed every bite. Jeff had his old stand-by - Margherita, and he polished his off as well. Next we found a grocery store and purchased provisions for this stint of our trip.
This condo is a 2 bedroom 2 bath place in North Charleston - a bargain price compared to what I could get in Charleston. It's quite lovely with a pretty living room with fireplace, a small, but adequate kitchen, a dining room, a tiny screened in porch, and the aforementioned two bedrooms. Very clean and comfortable, I might add. There is a washer/dryer.
April 13, 2019
What a great day it has been! We have walked our legs off and are tired, but happy to have had such a grand day. We arrived and parked the car adjacent to the Visitor's Center and got some recommendations, brochures, and a map from a lovely young lady. We went first to the Joseph Manigault House, a magnificent antebellum structure, built in 1803. Built for Joseph by his brother, Gabriel, who had studied architecture in London before the Revolutionary War.
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| Joseph Manigault House |
From this house we walked down through Liberty Park to get to the dock to cross over to see Fort Sumter. Everybody knows about Fort Sumter, so I won't bore folks with all that history. It was a great day for a boat ride - about a thirty minute trip across the harbor.
Lots of dramatic sky today as we stood in line waiting to board the ferry that would take us across.
The museum on site is really very interesting and well done with lots of pictures and a very complete history. It was well worth the time we spent.
From there we walked to Ted's Butcherblock, a combination butcher shop and deli, where we had a nice lunch before ambling back uptown to view the Aiken-Rhett House. Unlike most historic houses, this one has been "preserved as found" rather than restored to an arbitrary time period from it's past. It was constructed in 1820 by John Robinson, a Charleston merchant. When Robinson lost five ships at sea in 1825, he was forced to sell the house, and it became the property of William Aiken Sr. in 1827. Aiken was an Irish immigrant who had amassed a large fortune as one of Charleston's leading merchants, and he used the house as a rental property. He died suddenly in a carriage accident, and his estate was divided between his wife, Henrietta, and his only son, William Aiken Jr.
William married Harriet Lowndes, and in 1833 they decided to make the house their primary residence, embarking on a major renovation. William was a successful businessman, rice planter, and politician as well as one of South Carolina's wealthiest citizens. He became Governor of South Carolina. After his death in 1887 his wife continued to live in the house until her death in 1892. Then her daughter, Henrietta, and her husband, Major A. B. Rhett raised four sons and one daughter in the house. A member of the family lived in the house until 1962.
The Historic Charleston Foundation acquired the property in 1995. We took a self-guided audio tour of the property, which is a fascinating approach to historic preservation.
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| Aiken-Rhett House |
One of the more remarkable things about this house, in my opinion, is that so many of the outbuildings and the "work yard" still exist, giving historians (and tourists) an insight into house the "enslaved people" (the new term for "slaves") worked and lived.
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| Stables |
Kitchen, which was housed beneath the slave quarters. Another thing this museum has tried to do is to give names to the enslaved people whenever they could. I think that so much of this history is lost due to the fact that enslaved people were not allowed to learn to read and write by law, so much of the history is left to inventories or records that slave owners kept. Perhaps it is a measure of the way that they thought of their slaves in that some of them named their people on the inventories, whereas others just listed gender and approximate age. It does make one think about such things as one visits these homes and plantations.
This work yard was also the site of a Revolutionary War trench -- we did not get a lot of detail about this, but it is something I want to learn more about. I also loved the roots of the tree on the right -- they spread out for four to five feet in all directions.
Everywhere we looked we saw dust and decay, and moments of sheer beauty. A beautiful staircase, a marble bust - covered with dust, but preserved.
Crystal chandeliers coated with dust. I do wonder why they haven't tried to "preserve" and care for the artifacts in the house -- it would have made them stand out more clearly, I think. To allow them to gather dust made me feel somehow sad, while still appreciating what they are attempting to do. Freezing time isn't easy, I guess.
Back to our condo we went for a meal, some wine, and some badly needed sleep.
April 14, 2019
Up and out early this morning with a plan to park "south of Broad" for the day and visit the two "companion houses" to the houses we saw yesterday. First stop, though, was the Exchange Building - something we stumbled upon as we made our way from the parking garage to our first house.
The Exchange was completed in 1771 and has been a commercial exchange, custom house, post office, city hall, military headquarters, and museum. We first toured the "dungeon" - a place where prisoners were kept during the Revolutionary War.
Our guide, Hannah, was excellent as she told us stories about the prisoners who were kept in the Provost Dungeon. The exhibit was quite well done with life-like figures and spooky lighting.
Upstairs there were several rooms of exhibits. The Constitution was ratified by South Carolina in this hall.
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| Post Office |
As we walked along the city, the history of the place was striking! Just about every house has a story (or many stories) to tell.
I loved the colors of this flower!
We made our way through the historic part of town to the Heyward-Washington House. The house is a Georgian-style double house built in 1772 as the town home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence. Heyward was a patriot leader and artillery officer with the South Carolina militia during the Revolutionary War and was captured when the British took Charleston in 1780. George Washington stayed in the house for a week in May 1791, which is why the house is known as the Heyward-Washington House today.
When we arrived, we purchased our tickets and were ushered out to the gardens and work yard to wait for our tour to begin.
The garden was rather spectacular which many flowers in bloom. After the bleak winter at home, the riot of color we saw in the gardens of Georgia and South Carolina were even more welcome than usual.
The book case on display was absolutely gorgeous. It was not made for this house, but was acquired to showcase the artistry of South Carolina's cabinet makers - many of whom where enslaved people.
What stood out for me at this house was the large collection of American-made colonial furniture, and some truly spectacular Charleston-made furniture.
We then headed to our last house visit: the Nathaniel Russell House. Russell was a wealthy shipping merchant who commissioned this Federal-style home, built in 1808. The house is 9,600 square feet in size.
The weather was threatening with tornado warnings up, so we decided to head back to the condo. As it turned out, the bulk of the storm missed us. We don't think we even got any rain. We have been fortunate with the weather throughout this trip!
Tomorrow we head for Washington, DC -- a two day trek!
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