We had the opportunity to tour two plantations near Charleston. The Drayton House (left) is the oldest preserved (as opposed to restored) plantation home in the United States. It is one of the few that survived Sherman's March to the Sea. The family tricked the Union troops into believing the family had small pox or yellow fever (we heard both) by tying yellow ribbons at several points around the property. Unfortunately, thirty other plantations in the area were not spared.
The other home is the third house built on the Magnolia plantation (established 1676); the first burned prior to the war when hit by lightning, and the second was burned by Union troops. The Magnolia is known for its beautiful formal gardens and its swamp garden. Audubon did many of his drawings there. And no rice plantation would be complete without a few alligators to make life interesting. The one disappointment we had during our trip was that we were too late for the azaleas and too early for the magnolias, but the gardens were still lovely.
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