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!
