Last Wednesday, I shared our boat ride down the river. And... I promised that I would share some of the historic things we saw. This fabulous home is Dirleton Plantation on a finger off of the Pee Dee River.
Owned by the Sparkman family, Union soldiers hung Dr. James Ritchie Sparkman TWICE during the Civil War on this tree. He was saved both times by the same male slave who continued to work for him after the War was over.
Did you ever wonder about the little "trap door" on the keyhole? It was so that the servants/slaves (whether in the north or south) couldn't look in when the doors were closed.
Along the river and on the fingers, you can still see these "trunks" or tidegates. These trunks allowed the rice planters to flood and drain their fields with water from the rivers. Even today, these simple wooden structures do a better job of controlling tidal flooding in Low Country rice fields than more modern technology.
Although both my boys are almost as big a history nerds as I am, this got their attention more than anything: An awesome rope swing from a three hundred year old oak tree!
They had a ball... Jackson was a little very sad we had to leave!
Isn't the lowcountry an amazing place?? We just love it here!
ReplyDeleteOh, Bevy, he was just sad cuz you made him wear that USC t-shirt! ;D Have a great second week at the beach! I am going to email you to ask some questions about SC beaches; this will be our first summer not to meet up with the Mister's family at St. George Island in Florida, so I'd love some help! I consider you a SC beach expert!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful! I love your pictures... looks amazing... I'll be going away for a couple of days. I'm taking a 3 hour drive to visit Gabi and the boys and I am soooo excited! We had those peephole keyholes in our apartment in NYC... I don't believe there were ever slaves in Manhattan tho!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful pictures. Looks soooo pretty. It is really interesting about the trap door in the keyhole. I love old doors with "skeleton" keys.
ReplyDeleteThat plantation house is so wonderful! I was born to live in a house like that! At least that's what I tell my husband. Trying to plant a see you know. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat would be SEED.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm the one who needs more coffee!
SOOO FUN!!! We just got back from a long weekend at our place at Oak Island. I can never get enough!
ReplyDeleteWhat fun and what a great post! It's been torrid-hot here as you know...but I went out to the beach on Sunday and just soaked-it-up rather than hiding out in the air conditioning, lol. Oh, summertime in the SC lowcountry.
ReplyDeleteLook at that pout! So cute. You look so cute. xoxo
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I'm a huge history buff -- especially of all things southern. This is such a great post. Hope ya'll are having a fun time and enjoying your summer!!
ReplyDeleteHi Bevy! How are you? You look fab by the way! Hope you're having a blast, I have heard so many lovely things about SC's lowcountry. What a fun post full of cool tidbits! :) xoxo
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a wonderful time! I love this post, and learning more about your area. Love the "skeleton key" trivia. :-) XOXO
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