Boone Hall Plantation (Wednesday 20th morning)
Entry to the plantation was canopied by a long stretch of majestic trees called "Avenue of Oaks" that was first planted in 1743 and completed in 1843. There are 88 live oaks evenly spaced, that run 3/4 of a mile from the entrance of the plantation.
At the end of the oaks is a full on view of the mansion home. Off to the left are brick slave cabins.
We learned that house slaves lived in brick cabins and field slaves had wooden cabins, none of which have survived. We also learned that the term enslaved people is preferred over the title slaves. This terminology stresses the point that they were persons, and not livestock or property. The topics of the presentations in the cabins were
- Praise House
- Slave Crafts
- Their Life and Family
- Archeological Discoveries
- Their Work and Life
- Emancipation and Freedom
- Struggle for Civil Rights
- Leaders and Heroes
We toured the slave cabins and gardens on our own, and then were guided through a tour of portion of the main house, followed by a tractor-pulled wagon ride around the agricultural grounds. We ended with a lunch under the tented canopy and entertainment on a low wood stage.
Initially left on our own to explore the grounds, we first encountered slave cabins. The first structure was a sample of typical worship places.
The second cabin gave examples of slave crafts. The weaving of sweet grass baskets like this one was a skill brought from West Africa to South Carolina and Georgia and has been around for over 300 years. There is an effort to preserve this craft. Modern encroachment on places where the grasses are grown hampers the preservation effort.
The third cabin was set up to represent a typical home life. Some cabins may have been partitioned but that was not the norm.
Bricks were formed and fired on the grounds. The bricks used in the slave cabins were rejects from those used in the main house.
Midway along our cabin exploration I caught a photo of our bus driver Rick and our tour manager Patti. They worked real well in concert and both kept a cheerful upbeat tone throughout the tour. Rick kept encouraging me to try the southern foods. Grits and collard greens I found not to be my first choice in cuisine but certainly tolerable enough. Boiled peanuts though? No way!
Here are views of the slave cabins, stretching in two directions.
At one end of the row of brick houses was the smokehouse, circa 1750, the oldest structure on the Boone Plantation. Signage by the smokehouse stated
Meat was an essential part of the colonial diet. On the plantation, it was acquired by hunting, fishing, and raising livestock. Lacking refrigeration, freshly-slaughtered meat had to be eaten right away, so meat had to be pickled, smoked, salted or preserved in some way. A combination of salting and exposing meat to smoke for long periods of time was the most common method of preservation. Meat was cured in two main steps. First fresh cuts of meat were packed in tubs of course salt for six weeks to draw the moisture from the flesh. Often the dehydrated meat was then coated with pepper, which is a natural inset repellent. Second the salted meat was hung in the smokehouse over a smoldering fire for two weeks, In addition to subtly enhancing the flavor, smoking permeated the meat with microbials that inhibited the growth of bacteria. Further more, the phenolic compounds in wood smoke are antioxidants, which slow the rancidification of animal fats. The result of this two-step process was dried, smoke-flavored meat that could remain in the smokehouse for up to two years before it was eaten.
Cotton picked on the plantation was floated away on the river on big barges, paddling all the way for six-plus straight hours by the slaves. The river has tides, so the wood platform in the dock house shown in the photo can be submerged to different levels of water.
This is another view of the river more northern, closer to the house, looking across marshlands. I think the view is looking upstream.
An aerial view of part of the plantation shows the dock house at the lower left and the mansion in the center. The oak drive entry can be seen running up the center bottom half and the two gardens are show to flank the front of the main house. Our tractor tour would start at the rear of the mansion. We would end for our luncheon in the white tents in the center of the upper right quadrant of the photo.
Not far from the river, at the southern end of the row of brick houses beyond the dock house, was an area reserved for Gullah storytelling. Our tour had its own private performance after our luncheon in the white canopied area north of the main house.
The gardens were laid out very formally and the blooms within were quite striking.
Photography was not permitted within the house so you are best left to your imagination for that part of the tour.
This was the tractor that was to pull our wagons through the agricultural sections of the plantation.
We piled on board and enjoyed – or rather good-naturedly endured – the rather bumpy amusement park style ride. As we were going through a wooded section, one person asked if there were snakes on the grounds. "Of course" the guide answered, "and sometimes they drop from the trees" he added. "Hence the red canvas roofs." The squealed responses he got from the riders probably made it worth his while to drop that little nugget of information, exaggerated or not.
Many of my photos were blurry because of the rough road but here is one for blueberries.
All the produce for our lunch had been grown on the plantation: asparagus, collard greens, onions, and field peas that were mixed in with the rice. The vegetables were all cooked to a delicate crunch with just a bit of spicy zip to it. To my surprise I actually enjoyed the collard greens.
The large plate-sized brownie was baked on site. It was large enough and delicious enough that it also served as an additional snack on the bus.
After our lunch, was entertainment time when a Gullah woman told stories and sang, per Wikipedia
The Gullah (/ˈɡʌlə/) are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, the Gullah language, and a culture rich in African influences that makes them distinctive among African Americans.
Tar Bay suffered great abuse as I repeatedly struck her and stuck to her.
After the entertainment session Rita the Tar-Baby proved she had other skills as well. She had studied how to take group photos of lots of people and she succeeded in taking this great one of our group prior to boarding our bus.
Of course before any road trip we all visit the rest rooms. Patti's father had instructed her as a child to "Always run on an empty tank". Frank, definitely in the male minority on this trip, waits patiently outside the bathrooms to go last. He guarded the door to the man's room so both gender bathrooms could be used to expedite the process. I guess outside a quilt shop is not the only place a quilter's husband patiently waits. Note the embroidery above his shirt pocket
Rick our driver was local to the area. Near the start of our 2½ hour journey to Savanah, he made a slight detour to stop off at a huge historic tree, dubbed Angel Oak.
Angel Oak (Wednesday 20th afternoon)
Angel Oak is located on John's Island not far from Charleston (I never realized that the shores of South Carolina and Georgia had so many islands!) It is estimated to be 400-500 years old. Per its Wikipedia entry, the oak
derives its name from the estate of Justus Angel and his wife, Martha Waight Tucker Angel. Local folklore tells stories of ghosts of former slaves appearing as angels around the tree.
This sign gave me a chuckle How can a tree with a longest branch of 187 ft and that provides 17,200 square feet of shade not be open? Is it tucked away at night? Oh, right... at night is does not provide shade. Therein lies the philosophical question, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?"
Trying to keep my family in the loop while we were on tour, I texted this photo and simple caption from my iPhone to my daughter-in-law.
She immediately responded back.
On that note... we continued back on the road southward to Savannah. I think the big event, beyond enjoying the scenery as it passed by the window, was getting in a quick nap.
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