After more than two decades of tireless effort to protect the historic viewshed at Middleton Place through protective easements and covenants, the final piece of a challenging preservation puzzle has finally fallen into place. In June, The Ryland Group, Inc. recorded the final conservation easement covering the last half-mile of riverfront, and thus completing the protection of the two mile viewshed of the Middleton Place National Historic Landmark, included in 1995 on the National Trust’s Eleven Most Endangered Properties list.
“What a great result, demonstrating that perseverance is a vital component of historic preservation,” said Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He added, “Now that the viewsheds of both Middleton Place and Drayton Hall are secure, the interpretation of history at these two National Historic Landmarks is greatly enhanced – in perpetuity.”
“What wonderful news” proclaimed Mark Barnes, Senior Archeologist for the Southeast Regional Office of the National Park Service. Barnes added, “Middleton Place had been considered an ‘at risk’ Landmark, but through its professional staff’s long and diligent course of viewshed preservation, that designation may not be needed anymore. This important agreement will preserve the memorable and historic vista of the Ashley River that inspired Henry and Arthur Middleton, Founding Fathers from South Carolina.”
Like stewards of other National Historic Landmarks such as Mount Vernon and Monticello, the Trustees of the Middleton Place Foundation decided years ago to work with individual developers to find solutions that could be beneficial to all concerned parties. Dan Jordan, Director of Monticello, has said “the protection of Monticello’s viewshed is a fundamental part of our stewardship, and we seek to be aggressive and smart in using all available resources to protect it for the benefit of future generations.” “Fifty years ago, George Washington’s view across the Potomac from Mount Vernon was safeguarded,” said James Rees, Executive Director of Mount Vernon, and “now a similar view across the Ashley River from Middleton Place has been rescued. Millions of people will benefit from the protection of this truly priceless panorama.”
Provisions for the Middleton Place protective covenants include restrictions on the height of structures as well as siding and trim colors, and any outdoor lighting must be directed downward and away from the National Historic Landmark property. Natural vegetative buffers ranging from 50 feet in less visible areas to 180 feet in the most sensitive parts of the viewshed serve as the main riverscape protection. Allowances to developers and future home owners that also encourage low-impact use of the river include short, low-profile community docks (made of non-reflective materials), angled view corridors in a few appropriate places and scenic walking trails through parts of the natural buffers.
What does this mean for Middleton Place? It means visitors to the National Historic Landmark will continue to enjoy the same vista shared by its first residents over 265 years ago. Ever since this land was acquired by Henry Middleton in 1741 and the gardens at Middleton Place were laid out, family descendants have labored to preserve his work. This prompted the Garden Club of America, in 1941, to award Middleton Place the coveted Bulkley Medal “in commemoration of 200 years of enduring beauty.” The Garden Club also declared Middleton Place to have “the most important and interesting garden in America.”
Easements protecting the Middleton Place viewshed were first acquired in December, 2000, when deed recorded covenants were placed on 26 acres that eventually became The Refuge, a single-family home development on the opposite side of the Ashley River from Middleton Place. This represented the first piece of the two mile riverscape to be saved from development. In August, 2001, a second conservation easement was negotiated for 21 river front lots in the Whitehall subdivision. Two years later, 3 additional lots in the same subdivision were also protected. In March, 2006, developers of a townhouse community agreed to convey protective covenants covering 27 acres within sight of the historic gardens. And the preservation puzzle was completed last month when the final 40-acre easement was signed and recorded.
When asked to comment on the success of securing the final link in the chain of riverfront conservation easements, Charles Duell, President of the Middleton Place Foundation, said, “We are very fortunate to have the Middleton Place viewshed protected in perpetuity. Years from now visitors will not see houses and docks cluttering the river’s edge, but rather the natural vegetation that has always provided a dramatic contrast to the formal garden. We are most grateful to Ryland Homes, The Beach Company and Special Properties who have, among others, cooperated in this important effort, and we are proud of the perseverance of Middleton Place in following the examples set by Mt. Vernon and Monticello – leaving an important legacy and helping establish a standard for the preservation of viewsheds of National Historic Landmarks nationwide.”
The Middleton Place National Historic Landmark is a valuable
historic and cultural resource for South Carolina and the entire nation, providing opportunities to discover and experience 18th and 19th-century life on a Low Country plantation from a variety of human perspectives. The
preservation and interpretation of this important historic landscape is abetted by tours of the Middleton Place House Museum, where visitors feast on a microcosm of American history. Here lived Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur Middleton, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence; his son Henry, Governor of South Carolina and later Minister to Russia; and Williams Middleton, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. The skills of their 18th and 19th century slaves are demonstrated by craftspeople in the Plantation Stableyards. The tasks are further interpreted on African American Focus Tours and in a permanent exhibit on slavery in “Eliza’s House,” an historic dwelling once occupied by former Middleton slaves.
Middleton Place, the site of America’s oldest landscaped gardens, has met great challenges for more than 265 years, surviving the ravages of wars and natural disasters, and the threats of development into the Historic Ashley River District (dramatized by the MeadWestvaco sale of Watson Hill to developers who seek to build thousands of houses on land adjacent to Middleton Place). But for now preservationists can rejoice over the conservation of the Ashley River viewshed. The preservation of the natural riverscape – a powerful and essential contrast to the classically geometric, man-made garden, that arguably remains “the most important and interesting garden in America”.
“Saving an historic view requires leaders who are committed for the long haul,” said Rees, “it’s equivalent to putting together a very difficult puzzle containing a thousand different pieces. The people at Middleton Place are to be congratulated – their determination and their persistence have really paid off.” Throughout the history of Middleton Place, a who’s who of American leaders has gazed across the Ashley River, taking solace and inspiration from its natural beauty. The fact that this tradition will continue is a landmark accomplishment – a victory celebrated by all those who love history and nature.