Touring the Plantations of Charleston, part I: Drayton Hall

One of our main hopes while we visited Charleston was to visit & tour some of the stunning southern plantations in the area. While we were in Charleston we managed to visit 4 out of 5 plantations that are in close proximity of the city. 

Join me as I take us on a tour of Drayton Hall, Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation and Boone Hall Plantation. We will stroll down history lane, as I share my favorite parts of each plantation, a little brief history of each, recommendations of what to see first, time to arrive at each plantation & best day/time to visit them. 

To get started one of the first things to consider is which plantations you'd like to visit and the amount you are comfortable spending & then decide what time of year you plan to visit. You'll need to figure out how many plantations you plan to visit during your vacation and how you'd like to fit your tours into your schedule. *I'd also suggest planning to start your day(s) bright and early to allow yourself ample time at each location.

After some research, we realized we could easily visit 3 in one day if we began touring the first plantation as soon as they opened and planned to limit our time at each to around 2 or 2 1/2 hours. It's also super helpful that 3 plantations just so happen to be located within a few minutes drive of each other all along the West Ashley River. That made popping from one plantation to the next a breeze and allowed us to easily visit 3 plantations in one day. :) 

Let's dive right in shall we? 

I just have to say that I truly loved all of the plantations because they each had very unique features, design elements, completely different esthetics, details, styles of architecture and the homes were built & styled with different elements and styles. It made for an exciting experience, walking through 2 of the homes, exploring the grounds at all 4 plantations, learning and discovering the unique histories of each and their role of importance in South Carolina history. 

We chose to start our tour of 4 plantations by beginning at Drayton Hall. Mainly we chose to start here due to the hours and proximity of this plantation to the city. Drayton is approximately a 24 minute drive from downtown Charleston area. We followed up with a tour at Middleton Place as our 2nd tour (located just a few miles up the road from Drayton Hall) which closed a few hours earlier than our last tour of the day at Magnolia Plantation.

Each plantation will have it's own post as part of a 4 part touring the plantations of Charleston series. Read on to learn about the history, details and what to expect at Drayton Hall and be sure to click the links below to discover more about Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation & discover why we chose to tour Boone Hall on our last full day in Charleston. 

Drayton Hall; the first plantation we visited is considered one of the best examples of Georgian Palladian architecture in the U.S. & is one of the oldest preserved plantation homes in the country. The stunning brick home was originally owned by John Drayton and built in 1738. Not much has changed to the original home both structurally and in the grandeur of the home internally since the home was kept in the family for 7 generations & has been well preserved and cared for by the National Trust Historic Society ever since it was sold in 1974. 

Thankfully, due to the home remaining in the family for so many generations and the efforts of the National Trust Historic Society, much of the integrity of the original home is still well intact. Drayton has so much character it seemed to be dripping off every corner; from the unique carvings inlay into all the moldings and most of the door casings, stately fireplaces, stunning features & ornate doorway frames throughout the home. We especially loved spotting the growth chart for all the children in the family still scribbled on the side of a doorway!   

Depending on whether you booked a private tour or decided to do a self guided tour may truly alter the experience you have at Drayton. We did a self-guided tour mostly because that was the only option available (we traveled this past spring (2021) & covid was still having a large effect on how tours were operating..) Since we arrived when they opened we were able to walk the grounds, explore the privy and the cellar without anyone else on sight. Shortly after we finished touring the cellar a few others arrived but for the duration of our tour we had the plantation mostly to ourselves which lent to us being able to visualize and imagine life at Drayton Hall in it's heyday. 

 Our tour began in the kitchen/cellar underneath the home where we learned about some of the inner workings of this massive home, gained insight to the lives of some of the enslaved and how they kept the Drayton family and this large home running. Once Upstairs you'll find a beautiful grand hall, dinning hall, formal living/ball room & private family living quarters up the beautiful staircase (at the time of our tour the bedrooms & formal grand hall was closed off to the public). 

Being at Drayton Hall I immediately fell in love with the charm and beauty of the home and could imagine arriving in a carriage for a grand party or wondering around the beautiful grounds, taking in the lovely views and natural beauty and I'm sure you will too!💖  

To begin our day, Drayton was the perfect place to explore. We arrived just before opening at 8:50am and parked right in front of the visitor check in. We had pre-purchased our entry online so checking in was a breeze, we enjoyed sipping our lattes while we watched a short informational film about the amazing history of Drayton before walking along the grounds leading up to the massive plantation home. To the left of the home is one of the original privy buildings,  off to the side is the original well, on each side of the home are remnants of where the two flanker buildings once stood and just in front of the home is the raised Victorian garden mound that was an update to the home in the 1900's and it is not known entirely what the mound was built for other than to make it a focal point when arriving to the home. 

John Drayton was a very wealthy man who built his empire into over 76,000 acres of land & properties surrounding Drayton Hall and spreading throughout the low country of Charleston. His largest cash crop was rice fields, considered worth it's weight in gold due to being one of the most valuable crops grown. The Ashley River located behind Drayton Hall to ship his crops throughout the colonies. Up until the civil war, Charleston was 2nd in the world for rice production and harvesting. Therefore John Drayton enslaved 40-65 slaves on this property to run and care for Drayton Hall, as well as hundreds more to work his rice fields and other properties. Not much is known about the exact locations where the enslaved lived but it is thought the enslaved at Drayton were housed in a separate building and in the cellar/basement area of the home. The photo above depicts what Drayton once looked like when all of the buildings were still standing.

If you're looking for a plantation that incorporates both a rich & troubled history, natural beauty and has been well preserved Drayton Hall fits the bill. Personally, I loved learning about all the history and all the work that has been done to preserve & protect this historic home and keep it around for many more generations to explore and enjoy.

**A few tips before you head out for a day touring plantations:        

I recommend packing/toting along these essential items to make your day more enjoyable. 

1) Refillable Water bottle: odds are you will be out and about for several hours at least and not every plantation has a location to purchase a beverage. We purchased water bottles from a grocery store the morning of our tours that fit perfectly into the side pockets of our backpack/purses. These were perfect to keep us hydrated and were simple to tote along with us for the day. 

2) Sunblock: Even if it's just a small tube you toss into your bag, I'd highly recommend bringing some along with you to rub on before your out in the sun for hours or so you can reapply later on in your day. 

3) Sunglasses & or a sunhat: Both will help block the glare of the sun from obstructing your views of the beautiful plantations. We brought both and we were thankful for our sunhats to help keep our heads from getting sunburnt :) 

4) Comfortable shoes! I can't stress this one enough, since you may be walking around for hours and your feet will thank you for wearing good shoes (you may even want to bring a change of shoes, like I did so your feet can stretch or air out differently)! :) 

5) Cash & and a Credit/debit card: Some locations only accept cards and others preferred cash. Plus if you want a souvenir or two or a snack at one of the little shops you will be covered.😊

6) Camera! I'm absolutely sure you will want to capture the beauty of the surroundings and these stunning homes. 

7) To go with the above I'd recommend bringing extra batteries, sd cards or a portable charging station and phone cord for your phone (if you're anything like me you will have hundreds or thousands of pics on your phone by the end of your trip and will thank me for this tip! ;) I was so glad I brought my portable phone charging station, I was able to easily charge my phone while we were walking around the plantations & still use it to capture as many photos as I pleased. That's what I call a win/win🙌😉

8) A light jacket/sweater or extra layer if the weather happens to change on you while you are out. While we were at Drayton huge storm clouds rolled over the entire area in a matter of minutes. We were thankful we had our jackets & that they weren't rain clouds!;) 

9) A small portable umbrella so you'll be prepared in case of inclement weather. 

10) A snack or two to tide you over until you are able to reach a destination that offers meal selections. *Some of the plantations (I will be sharing in my next 3 posts) have food on site. Drayton did not have this option available during our tour. We were thankful we had brought some power-bars, trail mix and other small snacks (food not allowed during home tour) to snack on. 

*Other items you might want to bring: 

~Selfie Stick or small portable tripod for your phone or camera

~Small tote bag to carry extra items (jacket, water bottle, umbrella, souvenier's, etc.)

~Band aids (if you happen to get a blister from all your walking you'll be thankful you brought these)

Hope you enjoyed my insights & tips and that you have a fabulous time exploring at Drayton Hall!

* Check back often for upcoming posts of Middleton Place (link for that post here:https://thishomeschoolerslife.blogspot.com/2021/07/plantations-of-charleston-part-ii.html), Magnolia Plantation, Boone Hall Plantation, Cypress Gardens, Folly Beach & the famous Angel Oak all coming soon! :) 

Have a wonderful week friends!     

                                                                  ~K

*For other tips for your trip to Charleston Click here: https://thishomeschoolerslife.blogspot.com/2021/07/tips-for-planning-perfect-trip-to.html & https://thishomeschoolerslife.blogspot.com/2021/04/packing-hacks-travel-tips-for-whatever.html

& make sure to follow along on all of my other adventures join me here: https://www.instagram.com/thishomeschoolerslife/