Wednesday 21 May 2014

South Carolina Plantations: Boone Hall

Right from the very beginning of the year I knew that one of the things on my Year Abroad Bucket list was to visit a Plantation House in South Carolina. I’m sure that for many people the word ‘Plantation’ is synonymous with slavery and the pre-Civil War era. But, without dwelling on America’s harrowing past I decided I wanted to visit a real plantation to see the history and reflect for myself.  

With over hundreds of plantations to choose from, I was kind of spoilt for choice. In the end I decided on Boone Hall in Charleston. Boone Hall Plantation is one of America's oldest working plantations; it has been continually growing crops for over 320 years!

The large Colonial Revival plantation house was built in the 193Os and replaces the original antebellum house. On my visit I found out that it’s actually the fourth house to stand on the plantation grounds, the original dating back to 1790.

What made Boone Hall stand out was the fact that there are nine original slave cabins still on the property. Although an exact date of construction is not known, it is estimated that they were built between 1790 and 1810. All of the cabins are built of brick which was probably made on the plantation brickyard and they sit in a row along the Avenue of Oaks.

When you enter the property you have to drive down a breath taking, long, straight driveway with live oak trees engrossing the path either side with branches intertwining as Spanish moss drapes down from the leaves. The slave cabins are arguably the first thing you notice upon entering the plantation, and it has been disputed amongst historians that this was a way for the owner of the plantation to show off his wealth.

The weather was incredibly warm for the beginning of May and the girls and I strolled through the beautiful gardens and took in the history. Boone Hall has now become somewhat of a desirable location for filming and high class events, for example, it is most recognisable as Allie’s house in the film The Notebook and has held private events such as Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s wedding.

I thoroughly enjoyed my historical day trip out, but, after all the lessons, the learning about Boone Hall and the workings of a Carolina Plantation, I still felt like there was a piece of the story missing. Something a little eerie. So whilst I viewed some of the buildings and immersed myself into discussions about how a plantation ran and what crops were grown on it, I couldn’t help but think I was getting a tainted perspective. I was only learning the information the tour guides wanted to share, the history they were told to give. So what about all the untold stories? What about all the voices and opinions of those too low down on the social scale to be noticed? Because, after all, that’s where the real stories lie. 






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