Experience what life was like on a rice plantation in the olden days at Middleton Place. Costumed interpreters and learn more about working on a rice plantation as a slave, brick making, Gullah culture and much more.
For additional information call (843) 556-6020.
Mid-Summer Weekend On A Rice Plantation
07/07/2007 – 07/08/2007
Location: Middleton Place
Phone: 843-556-6020
Web Site: http://www.middletonplace.org
Despite the heat of summer, the daily activities of slaves working on a thriving rice plantation in the low country continued unabated. Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark and former rice plantation in Charleston, South Carolina, will focus on some of these tasks in three special programs presented July 7th and 8th. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with costumed interpreters and learn more about the task system used by the Middleton slaves.
The art of brick making will be explored from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day. Master mason, Rick Owens, of Historic Brattonsville, will demonstrate the steps involved in the process of brick making. Mr. Owens was trained at Colonial Williamsburg and possesses a Master of Construction Science degree from Clemson University.
Also from Historic Brattonsville, Kitty Wilson-Evans will perform a first person narrative account of the daily life of a slave woman. Groups will be invited to join her under the oak trees at Eliza’s House, the former Freedmen’s dwelling that now houses an exhibit on slavery. The slave narrative programs will run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.
Gullah Culture and its origins along the South Carolina coast will be the topic of discussion by Alada Shinnanult-Small. Two 30 minute discussions will take place at 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. each day. Ms.Shinnanult-Small’s informal talks will take place near the Stableyards.
All of the weekend’s activities complement the normal interpretive programs in the Plantation Stableyards, where visitors can also visit with the blacksmith, weaver, potter and cooper working in their shops. The hot humid days of summer did not interrupt the daily activities of the Middleton slaves. Although the owner and his family had much earlier retired to the cooler areas of the upstate or to the coast with its sea breezes, the endless labor on the plantations continued. Animals were attended, crops were maintained, and craft workers plied their respective skills.
For additional information on the “Mid Summer Weekend” at Middleton Place, visit the website at www.middletonplace.org or call (843) 556-6020. Middleton Place is open daily, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Mid-Summer Weekend activities are included in general admission; $25 for adults, $5 for children ages 7-15; 6 and under are free.