Visiting a Plantation

If you%26#39;re only going to visit one plantation... which one... and why?

I read that the Oak trees at Boone Hall are pretty fascinating.

The swamp at Magnolia plantation looked like it might be pretty neat.

But what do you all think?

Thanks.

Visiting a Plantation

Boone Hall is actually my favorite plantation in Charleston! I%26#39;m actually going back there on Monday...love to play tourist in Charleston! I love the fact it is still a working plantation (they have U-pick fields throughout most of the local growing seasons), the history of the plantation and it%26#39;s role in Charleston%26#39;s history is fascinating, the Avenue of Oaks is beautiful, the house tour is very interesting (have taken house tours of other plantations and was bored but this one is great), the slave cabins still remain (a 7 yr restoration recently completed) so you get a good history of their life on the planation, during the spring/summer/fall there is a $5 plantation tram tour, and there%26#39;s a great restaurant on the property that is very reasonably priced (it is undergoing renovations %26#39;til the spring so call to see if it is open if you%26#39;re coming in the spring). I could go on and on.

I spent all day yesterday at Middleton Place. It is a great plantation as well especially when all the flowers are in bloom. Some of the camellias were already in bloom due to some of the warm weather we%26#39;ve been having. I didn%26#39;t take the house tour as it is an extra $10 and in my opinion not really worth it as you only see a couple rooms and the tour guides primarily talk about the family portraits...just not of interest to me...give me scoop on the families! The grounds are great for walking around and enjoying nature and there is much to see. There is also a restaurant on property that serves lunch and dinner...the lunch is a pre-fix menu for $15.95 (a $2 increase since this summer) but very tasty.

Drayton Hall is another favorite spot of mine but some folks may not agree. The main focus is the house which is for the most part as it was when the Drayton first built it...there is not plumbing or electricity...because of this, there is no furniture or artwork in the house. I love the fact the house has been preserved rather than restored...really get the feel of what it would have been like back in the day. The grounds are a nice walk as well. You could spend about 2 hours here at most and see everything.

I%26#39;ll be hitting Magnolia Plantation in the next couple weeks and will give an update...haven%26#39;t been in about 2 years. And am going to Cypress Gardens today...will update on that as well...it has been YEARS since I%26#39;ve been there.

Visiting a Plantation

Really it depends on what you%26#39;re looking for... Magnolia and Middleton are known more for their gardens; Drayton and Boone more for the history. My personal favorites are Drayton (the house is amazing) and Middleton because they have the most quintessential ';plantation feel'; to them. I%26#39;ve heard a lot of visitors say that they were disappointed in Boone Hall, mainly because it%26#39;s a lot of reproduction and smaller than the other plantations.

a little further down the coast near Georgetown is Hopswee plantation home , in my view well worth the extra distance . The currant owners are wonderful and welcome you in their home , which they actually live in . The tour is wonderful and grounds that also have slave huts Beautiful and well worth the dollers , last june july I think I paid 8 or 10 dollers .

the sense of history you get this plantation home is a must to view ..

One great thing about Middleton Plantation is that there is a restaurant on the property. We really enjoyed eating lunch at the plantation. We also saw a lot of alligators last time we were there.

Oh one more thing, pc1oad1etter: We thought the same thing about the swamp garden at Magnolia-it sounded neat. Well it is really not neat at all.

You have to pay extra to get in, and you shouldn%26#39;t have to at all because there is nothing there besides are barely-there path through the woods and a few bridges to walk over through the swamp. Maybe it is different other times during the year, but when we visited in July, there were absolutely no alligators on site.

So I would say don’t bother with the swamp garden. Maybe we missed something though, so if anyone has a different story about this attraction please let me know.

You all are great; I%26#39;m so glad this forum is active enough to get several quick responses! Please keep posting more opinions.

I don%26#39;t know that my (then) wife and I will want to drive 45 minutes - 1 hour up the coast to the hopsewee plantation honestly!

Thanks for the comments on the swamp tour; we%26#39;ll see if anyone offers a differing opinion on the swamp @ Magnolia Plantation.

I feel like we will be more interested in the beauty of the buildings, the gardens, trees, etc. than in the history of the building itself (and we%26#39;ll be getting a lot of history in the town itself and @ Fort Sumter). So that would probably make me lean toward the ones you mentioned as being known for their gardens!

Thanks, keep commenting.

We%26#39;re going to Magnolia tomorrow, so I%26#39;ll let you know about that one.

We visited Drayton last weekend and while the house was facinating, it is a empty house, no furnishings or decor at all. Our tour guide was great and made it enjoyable. There is some ground walking to do, but not that extensive.

You know, maybe I%26#39;m missing something, but I hear lots of people say that they like Boone Hall, personally I didn%26#39;t think it was all that great. The house tour seemed short to me and I was disappointed to learn that it was not the original house but a rebuilt house from 1936. The Avenue of Oaks are magnificant though. The slave cabins are interesting. I guess it was the house itself that really let me down.

We did Middleton last weekend and even in the middle of winter, it was still beautiful. If I had to return to a Plantation at this point, Middleton would be the one I would choose. There is not much blooming at this time of year other than the Camellia%26#39;s, but springtime must be a sight to see. I would love to go back then. The large Oak tree is incredible with a spread of over 145 ft. The stableyard was interesting where you could visit various demonstrations such as carpentry, spinning and weaving and the blacksmith. We did not take the house tour though (which is extra), we have toured 4 houses in 3 weeks and bascially felt we were house toured out. They start to all look (and sound) alike after a while. lol

pc1oad1etter

45 TO 1 HOUR isn%26#39;t really that far and honestly you will definatly know it was worth the while .. But I understand how you feel .

The state of South carolina is Beautiful enjoy your vacation ....

Magnolia and Middleton are fairly close together. You could spend a few hours at one, have lunch and go to the other for a few more hours. I would skip the houses and spend the time on the grounds.

I just looked up Hopsewee Plantation on the Internet. I think I will go there next time I take a trip from Charleston to Mytrle Beach because it is about half way between the two cities.

This plantation actually offers classes on how to make sweetgrass baskets.

Has anyone else been to Hopsewee in Georgetown?