SC: Charleston : Boone Hall Plantation

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We had a half day to kill in the Charleston area, so we decided to visit the Boone Hall Plantation.
Boone Hall is one of America's oldest, working plantations, it is still producing many fruits & vegetables; historically, it produced pecans & cotton. It was opened to the public in the 1950's and the interior is furnished as it was back in the 1800s. [Warning: Spoiler] However, as we toured, we were dismayed, maybe a little duped, that this actual house was built in 1936. That explains the similarities we noticed to our own house, much of the same moulding and fireplace mantels, etc. And the columns, of course, the whole front porch looks like ours, but much, ahem . . . larger.
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The previous-to-current owners bulldozed the original house and built this one. All the other buildings are original.
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The drive from the road up to the house is spectacular. You drive up between these live oaks that were planted in 1743 and are now draped with moss. It is a scene native to Beaufort, SC, a sign of southern longevity. I wished we had time to take the carriage tour and ride under these oaks & breathe them in. Driving under them just isn't the same.
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Parallel to the row of live oaks is the row of slave houses, referred to as slave street. All of these are open to tour and each one renders different accounts of slave history and slave life. We went through them all, first enjoying a gullah story and re-enactment at the foot of the row. It was sobering to see how the slaves lived, to read the accounts of their day to day living, to read the documentation that recorded slaves as personal property. Sobering to think that a civilized people could consider this acceptable.
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A copy of Mary Boone's will was displayed in one of the houses. Her inventory includes slaves right there next to a silver tea pot.

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The row of brick slave houses was located at the plantation's entrance probably so people driving up would see how wealthy the plantation owner was. These bricks were most likely made right there at the plantation. It was not common for slave homes to be brick, wood was more common, & the field hands here probably had wooden houses. Again, the brick was probably to show-off the plantation's wealth. An entire family would live in one of these and it's a single room inside, usually with a loft.
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The backyard of the mansion extends to Boone Hall Creek, formerly Wampacheeoone Creek. There was a bench down there and you know I wanted to go sit there and read awhile.

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The best surprise about Boone Hall plantation, for Ross, was the Zapp's Chips he found in the cafe' -- Louisianna Chips that you can't usually find around here. Zapp's have been featured on Kathie Lee & Regis, as well as Oprah, just so you know.

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We all stocked up on 'em. Ross likes the Cajun CrawTater, but I preferred the ol Salt & Vinegar - they had a pucker that knocked my socks off.