by Jim Morekis
Owned and operated by the nearby Charleston Museum, the Joseph Manigault House (350 Meeting St., 843/723-2926, www.charlestonmuseum.org, Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 1pm-5pm, last tour 4:30pm, $10 adults, $5 children, combo tickets to Charleston Museum and Heyward-Washington House available) is sometimes called the “Huguenot House.” Its splendor is a good reminder of the fact that the French Protestants were far from poverty-stricken, unlike so many groups who came to America fleeing persecution.
This circa-1803 National Historic Landmark was designed by wealthy merchant Gabriel Manigault for his brother, Joseph, a rice planter of local repute. (Gabriel, quite the crackerjack dilettante architect, also designed Charleston City Hall.) The three-story brick town house is a great example of Adams, or Federal, architecture. The furnishings are top-notch examples of 19th-century handiwork, and the rooms have been restored as accurately as possible.
The foundations of various outbuildings, including a privy and slaves’ quarters, are clustered around the picturesque little Gate Temple to the rear of the main house in the large enclosed garden.
Each December, the Manigault House offers visitors a special treat, as the Garden Club of Charleston decorates it in period seasonal fashion, using only flowers that would have been used in the 19th century.
S Aiken-Rhett House
One of my favorite spots in all of Charleston and a comparatively recent acquisition of the Historic Charleston Foundation, the poignant Aiken-Rhett House (48 Elizabeth St., 843/723-1159, www.historiccharleston.org, Mon.-Sat. 10am-5pm, Sun. 2pm-5pm, last tour 4:15pm, $12 adults, $5 children) shows another side of that organization’s mission. Whereas the Historic Charleston-run Nathaniel Russell House seeks to re-create a specific point in time, work at the Aiken-Rhett House emphasizes conservation and research.
Built in 1818 and expanded by South Carolina governor William Aiken Jr., after whom we know the house today, parts of this rambling, almost Dickensian house remained sealed from 1918 until 1975 when the family relinquished the property to the Charleston Museum. As you walk the halls, staircases, and rooms—seeing the remains of original wallpaper and the various fixtures added through the years—you can really feel the impact of the people who lived within these walls and get a great sense of the full sweep of Charleston history.
While the docents are friendly and helpful, the main way to enjoy the Aiken-Rhett House is by way of a self-guided MP3 player audio tour, which is unique in Charleston. While you might think this isolates you from the others in your party, it’s actually part of the fun—you can synchronize your players and move as a unit if you’d like.
Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry
Yet another example of Charleston’s savvy regarding the tourist industry is the Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry (25 Ann St., 843/853-8962, www.explorecml.org, Tues. and Fri. 9am-7pm, Wed., Thurs., Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. noon-5pm, $10, free under age 1). Recognizing that historic homes and Civil War memorabilia aren’t enough to keep a family with young children in town for long, the city established this museum in 2005 specifically to give families with kids ages 3 months-12 years a reason to spend more time (and money) downtown. A wide variety of hands-on activities—such as a 30-foot shrimp boat replica and a medieval castle—stretch the definition of museum to its limit. In truth, this is just as much an indoor playground as a museum, but no need to quibble. Visiting parents and their children seem happy with the city’s investment.
Philip Simmons Garden
Charleston’s most beloved artisan is the late Philip Simmons. Born on nearby Daniel Island in 1912, Simmons went through an apprenticeship to become one of the most sought-after decorative ironworkers in the United States. In 1982 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him its National Heritage Fellowship. His work is on display at the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, among many other places.
ironwork design by Philip Simmons, fabricated by his nephew Carlton Simmons
In 1989, the congregation at Simmons’s St. John’s Reformed Episcopal Church (91 Anson St., 843/722-4241, www.philipsimmons.us) voted to make the church garden a commemoration of the life and work of this legendary African American artisan, who died in 2009 at age 97. Completed in two phases, the Bell Garden and the Heart Garden, the project is a delightful blend of Simmons’s signature graceful, sinuous style and fragrant flowers.
Old Bethel United Methodist Church
The history of the Old Bethel United Methodist Church (222 Calhoun St., 843/722-3470), the third-oldest church building in Charleston, is a little confusing. Completed in 1807, the church once stood across Calhoun Street, until a schism formed in the church community over whether black parishioners should be limited to sitting in the galleries (in those days in the South, blacks and whites attended church together far more frequently than during the Jim Crow era). The entire black congregation wanted out, so in 1852 the original building was moved aside for the construction of a new church for whites, and then entirely across the street in 1880. Look across the street and sure enough you’ll see the circa-1853 Bethel Methodist Church (57 Pitt St., 843/723-4587, worship Sun. 9am and 11:15am).
HAMPTON PARK AREA
Expansive Hampton Park is a favorite recreation spot for Charlestonians. The surrounding area near the east bank of the Ashley River has some of the earliest suburbs of Charleston, now in various states of restoration and hosting a diverse range of residents.
Hampton Park is entirely bordered by streets that can be fairly heavily trafficked because this is the main way to get to The Citadel. But the park streets are closed to traffic Saturday mornings in the spring 8am-noon so neighborhood people, especially those with young children, can enjoy themselves without worrying about the traffic. This is also where the Charleston Police Department stables its Horse Patrol steeds.
The Citadel
Although for many its spiritual and historic center will always be at the Old State Arsenal in Marion Square, The Citadel (171 Moultrie St., 843/953-3294, www.citadel.edu, grounds daily 8am-6pm) has been at this 300-acre site farther up the peninsula along the Ashley River since 1922 and shows no signs of leaving. Getting there is a little tricky, in that the entrance to the college is situated behind beautiful Hampton Park off Rutledge Avenue, a main north-south artery on the western portion of the peninsula.
The Citadel (technically its full name is The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina) has entered popular consciousness through the works of graduate Pat Conroy, especially his novel Lords of Discipline, starring a thinly disguised “Carolina Military Institute.” Other famous Bulldog alumni include construction magnate Charles Daniel (for whom the school library is named); Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, South Carolina governor and longtime U.S. senator; and current Charleston mayor Joe Riley. You’ll see The Citadel’s living legacy all over Charleston in the person of the ubiquitous cadet, whose gray-and-white uniform, ramrod posture, and impeccable manners all hark back to the days of the Confederacy. But to best experience The Citadel, you should go to the campus itself.
There’s lots for visitors to see, including The Citadel Museum (843/953-6779, daily noon-5pm, free), on your right just as you enter campus; the “Citadel Murals” in the Daniel Library; “Indian Hill,” the highest point in Charleston and former site of an Indian trader’s home; and the grave of U.S. general Mark Clark of World War II fame, who was Citadel president 1954-1966. Ringing vast Summerall Field—the huge open space where you enter campus—are the many castle-like cadet barracks.
The most interesting single experience for visitors to The Citadel is the colorful Friday afternoon dress parade on Summerall Field, in which cadets pass for review in full dress uniform (the fabled “long gray line”) accompanied by a marching band and pipers. Often called “the best free show in Charleston,” the parade happens almost every Friday at 3:45pm during the school year; you might want to consult the website before your visit to confirm. Arrive well in advance to avoid parking problems.
While The Citadel is rightly famous for its pomp and circumstance—as well as its now-defunct no-lock “honor system,” done away with after the Virginia Tech shootings—the little-known truth is that to be one of the 2,000 or so currently enrolled Citadel Bulldogs, you don’t have to go through all that, or the infamous “Hell Week” either. You can just sign up for one of their many evening graduate school programs.
Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark
When you hear Charlestonians talk about “The Joe,” they’re referring to Joseph P. Riley Jr. Ballpark (360 Fishburne St., 843/577-3647, www.riverdogs.com, $8 general admission), the charming minor-league baseball stadium that’s home to the Charleston River Dogs, a New York Yankees Class A affiliate playing April-August in the venerable South Atlantic League. It’s also another part of the civic legacy of longtime mayor Joe Riley, in this case in partnership with the adjacent Citadel. Inspired by the retro design of Baltimore’s Oriole Park at Camden Yards, The Joe opened in 1997 to rave reviews from locals and baseball connoisseurs all over the nation.
From downtown, get there by taking Broad Street west until it turns into Lockwood Drive. Follow that north until you get to Brittlebank Park and The Joe, right next to The Citadel.
WEST ASHLEY
Ironically, Charleston’s first postwar automobile suburb also has roots back to the first days of the colony’s settlement and was the site of some of the antebellum era’s grandest plantations. As the cost of housing on the peninsula continues to rise, this area on the west bank of the Ashley River is experiencing a newfound cachet today for hipsters and young families alike.
For most visitors, the biggest draws are the ancient plantations and historic sites along the west bank of the river: Charles Towne Landing, Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation, and Middleton Place, farthest north.
Getting to this area from Charleston proper is easy. Take U.S. 17 (“the Crosstown”) west across the Ashley River to the junction with Highway 61 and take a right (north) onto Highway 61; veer right to get on Highway 7 for Charles Towne Landing, or stay left on Highway 61 for the plantations.
Charles Towne Landing
Any look at West Ashley must start where everything began, with the 600-acre historic site Charles Towne Landing (1500 Old Towne Rd., 843/852-4200, www.charlestowne.org, daily 9am-5pm, $10 adults, $6 students, free under age 6). This is where Charleston’s original settlers first arrived and camped in 1670, remaining only a few years before eventually moving to the more defensible peninsula where the Holy City now resides.
A beautiful and fully seaworthy replica of a settlers’ ship is the main highlight, docked in the creek on the far side of the long and well-done exploration trail through the site. You can get on board, and a ranger will explain aspects of both the ship and the original settlement. Another highlight is the remnant of the original palisade wall (there’s a reconstructed palisade to show what it looked like). Ranger-guided programs are available Wednesday-Friday at 10am; call ahead for reservations.
Not just a historic site, this is also a great place to bring the family. It has Charleston’s only zoo, the “Animal Forest,” featuring otters, bears, cougars, and buffalo, and 80 acres of beautiful gardens to relax in, many featuring fabulously ancient live oaks and other indigenous flora. A new audio tour has been instituted, where you can rent an MP3 player ($5), but the self-guided approach works just fine. The outdoor highlights of Charles Towne Landing are obvious, but don’t miss the fantastic exhibits inside the visitors center, which are particularly well done and give a comprehensive and informative look back at the time of the original settlers.
S Drayton Hall
A mecca for historic preservationists all over the country, Drayton Hall (3380 Ashley River Rd., 843/769-2600, www.draytonhall.org, Mon.-Sat. 9am-3:30pm, Sun. 11am-3:30pm, $20 adults, $10 ages 12-18, $6 ages 6-11, free under age 6, grounds only $10, tours on the half hour) is remarkable not only for its pedigree but for the way in which it has been preserved. This stately redbrick Georgian-Palladian building, the oldest plantation home in the country open to the public, is literally historically preserved—as in no electricity, heat, or running water. Since its construction in 1738 by John Drayton, son of Magnolia Plantation founder Thomas, Drayton Hall has survived almost completely intact through the ups and downs of Lowcountry history. In its heyday before the American Revolution, Drayton Hall was widely considered the finest home in all the colonies, the very symbol of the extraordinary wealth of the South Carolina aristocracy.
Drayton Hall
John Drayton died while fleeing the British in 1779; subsequently his house served as the headquarters of British generals Henry Clinton and Charles Cornwallis. In 1782, however, American general “Mad Anthony” Wayne claimed the house as his own headquarters. During the Civil War, Drayton Hall escaped the depredations of the conquering Union Army, one of only three area plantation homes to survive.
Three schools of thought have emerged to explain why it was spared the fate of so many other plantation homes: (1) A slave told the troops it was owned by “a Union Man,” Drayton cousin Percival, who served alongside Admiral David Farragut of “damn the torpedoes” fame; (2) General William Sherman was in love with one of the Drayton women; and (3) one of the Draytons, a doctor, craftily posted smallpox warning flags at the outskirts of the property. Of the three scenarios, the last is considered most likely.
Visitors expecting the more typical approach to house museums, i.e., subjective renovation with period furnishings that may or may not have any connection with the actual house, might be disappointed. But for others the experience at Drayton Hall is quietly exhilarating, almost in a Zen-like way. Planes are routed around the house so that no rattles will endanger its structural integrity. There’s no furniture to speak of, only bare rooms, decorated with original paint, no matter how little remains. It can be jarring at first, but after you get into it you might wonder why anyone does things any differently.
Another way the experience is different is in the professionalism of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which has owned and administered Drayton Hall since 1974. The guides hold degrees in the field, and a tour of the house, which starts on the half hour, takes every bit of 50 minutes. A separate 45-minute program, called “Connections: From Africa to America,” chronicles the diaspora of the slaves who originally worked this plantation, from their capture to their eventual freedom. “Connections” is presented at 11:15am, 1:15pm, and 3:15pm.
The site comprises not only the main house but two self-guided walking trails, one along the peaceful Ashley River and another along the marsh. Note also the foundations of the two “flankers,” or guest wings, at each side of the main house. They survived the Yankees only for one to fall victim to the 1886 earthquake and the other to the 1893 hurricane. Also on-site is an African American cemetery with at least 33 known graves. It’s kept deliberately untended and unlandscaped to honor the final wish of Richmond Bowens (1908-1998), the seventh-generation descendant of some of Drayton Hall’s original slaves.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
A different legacy of the Drayton family is Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (3550 Ashley River Rd., 843/571-1266, www.magnoliaplantation.com, Mar.-Oct. daily 8am-4:30pm, Nov.-Feb. daily 9am-4:30pm, $15 adults, $10 children, free under age 6). It claims not only the first garden in the United States, dating back to the 1680
s, but also the first public garden, dating to 1872. Magnolia’s history spans back two full centuries before that, however, when Thomas Drayton Jr.—scion of Norman aristocracy, son of a wealthy Barbadian planter—came from the Caribbean to build his own fortune. He immediately married the daughter of Stephen Fox, who began this plantation in 1676. Through wars, fevers, depressions, earthquakes, and hurricanes, Magnolia has stayed in the possession of an unbroken line of Drayton descendants to this very day.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
As a privately run attraction, Magnolia has little of the academic veneer of other plantation sites in the area, most of which have long passed out of private hands. There’s a slightly kitschy feel here, the opposite of the quiet dignity of Drayton Hall. And unlike Middleton Place a few miles down the road, the gardens here are anything but manicured, with a wild, almost playful feel. That said, Magnolia can claim fame to being one of the earliest bona fide tourist attractions in the United States and the beginning of Charleston’s now-booming tourist industry. It happened after the Civil War, when John Grimke Drayton, reduced to near-poverty, sold off most of his property, including the original Magnolia Plantation, just to stay afloat. (In a common practice at the time, as a condition of inheriting the plantation, Mr. Grimke, who married into the family, was required to legally change his name to Drayton.)
The original plantation home was burned during the war—either by Union troops or freed slaves—so Drayton barged a colonial-era summer house from Summerville, South Carolina, down the Ashley River to this site and built the modern Magnolia Plantation around it specifically as an attraction. Before long, tourists regularly came here by crowded boat from Charleston (a wreck of one such ferry is still on-site). Magnolia’s reputation became so exalted that at one point Baedecker’s listed it as one of the three main attractions in America, alongside the Grand Canyon and Niagara Falls. The family took things to the next level in the 1970s, when John Drayton Hastie bought out his brother and set about marketing Magnolia Plantation and Gardens as a modern tourist destination. While spring remains the best—and also the most crowded—time to come, a huge variety of camellias blooms in early winter, a time marked by a yearly Winter Camellia Festival.