Middleton Place boasts very old landscaped gardens

MIDDLETON PLACE is a National Historic Landmark and a carefully preserved 18th-century plantation that has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake. It was the home of four important generations of Middletons, beginning with Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Henry, Governor of South Carolina and an American Minister to Russia; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. [Text taken from their web site].

Middleton Place is about a 30-40 minute drive from downtown Charleston on I-61 North.

This is a very enjoyable and relaxing estate to visit. The grounds are perfectly landscaped. One will see a very large reflective pond upon entering the grounds. Travel to the house museum area by foot or by horse-drawn carriage (for a fee).

There is a fine restaurant on site. Make sure you save room for the huguenot torte dessert. Also save time for a walk through the stableyards, the House museum, the outdoor program, and the gift shop.

The original estate was built by Henry Middleton starting in 1741 when he married Mary Williams. There were originally 200 acres as part of the estate.

The main house was originally three stories and then two flanker houses were added to either side of the main house in the 1750’s. Middleton Place was burned by Federal troops in February 1865 and the only structure remaining that was restorable was the south flanker structure, which is what one can see and visit today.

When touring the House Museum one will see many items from the personal family collection covering the years of 1740s to the 1880s, including, china, paintings, documentsm Civil War memorabilia, books, furniture and silver.

The North flanker had a library with 10,000 volumes in it. Many were destroyed by the fire in 1865 as well as untold numbers were thrown into a heap outside the home and simply rotted instead of being rescued.

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A real treasure - The South Carolina Historical Society

The Civil War Gazette highly recommends a visit to the South Carolina Historical Society in downtown Charleston.

Their web site states:

“In 1855 some of South Carolina’s most distinguished citizens came together to record and preserve the past-for the sake of the future. Motivating them was the fear that if they did not act, South Carolina’s rich historical legacy would be lost to future generations. They founded the South Carolina Historical Society, which today is the state’s oldest and largest private repository of books, letters, journals, maps, drawings, and photographs about South Carolina history. The mandate of our founders remains our mission today: “to collect information respecting every portion of our state, to preserve it, and when deemed advisable, to publish it.” The Society’s holdings, located in the historic Robert Mills Fireproof Building in Charleston, S.C., are vast and grow constantly with the addition of materials from 200 years ago and from two weeks ago. It is especially rich on South Carolina’s colonial and antebellum eras and the American Civil War. The Society is a private, non-profit organization depending entirely on the generosity of its members to preserve and extend awareness of South Carolina history. We receive no local, state, or federal funding for our operations.”

Don’t expect to take pictures. The staff are very helpful.

We did some research in there recently and found that one visit gathered more information than several years of research done by distance.

Confederate museum you don’t want to miss . . .

When walking around the streets of downtown Charleston you’re likely to pass the Market Hall (home of the Confederate Museum) several times. It’s on the corner of Meeting and Market Streets.

This museum is run by the Chapter #4 United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) since 1899. Market Hall was built in 1841 and is a copy of the Temple of the Wingless Victory in Athens, Greece.

You won’t find anything about Zeus or Apollo in Market Hall but you will find some real gems of memorabilia related to the Confederacy. The collection is quite impressive and diverse. The display and exhibit standards could be improved however.

Most of the collection was received when a call went out to former soldiers to donate personal items for the museum’s collection.

Check out the 1861 red secession flag on display.