Month: May 2018

In order to truly understand a city you need to walk the streets, see the sites and learn its history. To do this we took a walking tour conducted by a 13^th generation Charlestonian – Martha and her sister Anne conduct tours of their city having lived in it for generations. Martha, our guide, is also a practicing archaeologist for 25 years. Her unique perspective and information was a treat as she walked us around the historic part of Charleston. Her ancestor arrived on the first ship (Carolina) arriving in 1670.

Founded in 1670 as Charles Town, honoring King Charles II of England, it became the fifth largest city in North America within 10 years.   Incorporated as a city in 1783 at the close of the Revolutionary War; is defined by its cobblestone streets, horse-drawn carriages

and pastel antebellum houses particularly in the elegant French Quarter (where we stayed) and the Battery district.

The Battery promenade and Waterfront Park both overlook Charleston Harbor, where Fort Sumter, is located and where the first shots of the Civil War rang out.

Originally the town had a fortification along the waterside made of brick and an earthen barrier on the land side to protect it from attack.

This made Charleston the only Walled City in the new world. Needless to say, nothing of the original wall remains visible (some foundations yes, walls no) but quite interesting to learn. Our walk included visits to a number of historical buildings (see photos) and through pedestrian alleyways.

The style of building of homes called ‘single house’ usually had two large rooms on each floor with a doorway and stairs in the middle.

Entrance from the street was along the side of the house, not at the front but on the side. Many of these have a piazza or entrance hallway on the outside (open air) giving a place to relax in and catch the evening breeze.

An interesting point, Martha mentioned, was there are no rocks anywhere to be found anywhere around Charleston.  ALL the cobblestones and stones used for buildings came from the ships ballast.  Ballast stones were added to the bottom of ships coming to Charlestown and removed to make room for all the outgoing cargo.  Virtually ALL the streets have cobble stone base but with asphalt installed to smooth the ride.  There are a couple of streets that have been left as well as many sidewalks.

The number of church steeples and spires throughout the historic district is the reason Charleston is often called the “Holy City”. Methodist, Baptist, Catholic, Congregational, Presbyterian, French Haguenot,

Episcopal

and other churches all have major sites throughout the area; many of them built in the early 1800’s.

During the early days trading was the mainstay of the city but this changed over time to include rice, indigo and cotton.

As we all know slavery was the labor force for many of these industries and Charleston was certainly in the center of those activities.

The historic part of town has the last remaining site that was used for slave auctions – originally a fire station and then a slavery auction site ,it is now a museum.

Our tour ended in the garden of Martha’s parents home – now a B&B where she shared more information, some cold drinks and answered questions. The tour and the overview of the City was very interesting and we are very glad we signed on for this tour.

From time to time you just have to throw out the rules and jump in with both feet. While we were visiting with Bob and Linda in Savannah, Bob talked about a hotel in Charlestown called The French Quarter Inn. Well, while we were waiting for our tour to start at the Owens-Thomas House. I called them up to see and made a reservation for Monday and Tuesday Evenings. Didn’t know ANYTHING about the place just took a leap of faith and booked it.

The French Quarter of Charleston is a section of downtown and is basically within the original “walled” city. The area began being called the French Quarter in 1973 when preservation efforts began for warehouse buildings on the Lodge Alley block. The name recognized the high concentration of French Merchants in the area’s history.

At the French Quarter Inn, old world charm meets Charleston’s authentic southern hospitality with extensive daily amenities in a comfortably upscale setting. The Inn is located in the city’s Historic District just steps away from the bustling City Market and the city’s top dining, shopping and cultural destinations.

Having undergone a design refresh in 2016, the 50-room property features turn-of-the-century inspired elements invoking a European flare while remaining true to the property’s southern roots. The lobby features elegant design touches, including hand-crafted iron work and a majestic skylight.

Our room, on the first floor, had two queen beds a large bathroom with both a tub and a separate shower and windows overlooking Market Street. When we checked in we did have some sparkling wine (they call it Champagne but it doesn’t come from the Region so it’s really sparkling wine) and got cleaned up prior to going to dinner at SNOB (Slightly North of Broad)

where we had a lovely dinner!

Having so much fun, even before getting to bed for the first night, I booked a third night!  Sometimes you just have to splurge and enjoy things and it seemed about the right time to do this as we start our trek north!

 

 

 

The following day we headed into Savannah to catch the Hop on Hop Off Trolley. Our Trolley

tour took us past a bunch of 17^th, 18^th and 19^th century historic buildings, around the 24 squares usually with statues in the center

and along the river.

As Savannah was spared by Sherman’s destructive March to the Sea, there are a number of buildings that date back to the early 1800’s.

Savannah has had an active seaport for years what with the cotton trade and all the other items coming and going along the river.

It currently is the third most active container-shipping center on the East Coast.

One of the oldest places in town is The Pirates’ House.

It has been a restaurant and tavern since 1753. A portion of the structure was built in 1734, making it the oldest standing building in the state of Georgia. At one point, it was rumored to have a tunnel from the basement to the river where those who drank too much were shanghaied into becoming sailors.

At stop number 8, on the Tour, Janeen decided we would hop off and tour the Owens-Thomas House.

Built in 1819 its original owners had some financial issues and it was purchased by George Welshman Owens in 1830 and occupied by the family for many years.

Restored and now maintained by Telfair Museum it is a wonderful example of period architecture and furnishings, including the slave quarters.

After the tour of the house, we headed to Leopold’s Ice Cream but the line was out the door and down the street, so we passed. Back on the trolley, we finished the circle tour and headed to dinner with Bob and Linda at B Mathew’s Eatery.

After leaving Nashville, we spent a couple of days just relaxing and doing basically NOTHING but catching our breath. Once we were back to full strength, we drove to Savannah to meet up with Bob and Linda Reeves.

Bob was my boss when I worked at Leigh University some 40 years ago. We had not been in contact with him really since that time but as part of our road trip last June when we reconnected with Myrt, who also worked at Leigh, I reached out and he invited us for a visit. We arrived at their place on Skidaway Island on Thursday afternoon.

 

They live in a private, residential community with several golf and country clubs called The Landings on Skidaway Island. There home,

a small place of about 4,800 square feet (I upsized when I retired Bob said) right on a lagoon was wonderful to call home for a few days.

Skidaway Island is just south of the main part of Savannah by about 10 miles and virtually the entire island is made up of this private community. With walking and biking trails, several different golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and all the usual stuff it seems like a really nice place to live.

After getting settled in, and some laundry started, Bob took us on a driving tour of Savannah to give us a quick overview of the City.

It was a great way to get a little orientation prior to our venturing out on our own the following day.

Savannah is the oldest city in Georgia having been established in 1733 along the Savannah River. General James Oglethorpe and settlers from the ship Anne established the settlement with the help of Tomochichi, a Yamacraw Native American, who befriended them early on their arrival.

During the Civil War local authorities negotiated a peaceful surrender to General Sherman, thus saving Savannah from destruction. The City has diverse neighborhoods with more than 100 distinct areas. There are 24 different squares in the city many with statues of significant people from the past.

Sunday – Mothers Day – a trip to an old Southern Plantation seemed like the thing to do. In 1807, Virginian John Harding bought

Dunham’s Station log cabin and 250 acres on the Natchez Trace – the main road through Nashville. Harding did sufficient business to build the first of two mansions on the property.

The plantation, that he named “Belle Meade,” French for beautiful meadow, and known as the “Queen of Southern Plantations”, was not used for farming, but rather various service enterprises such as a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, and a grist and saw mill. By 1816, Harding was boarding horses for neighbors such as Andrew Jackson and breeding thoroughbreds for the plantation which became renowned throughout the world.  William Giles Harding inherited Belle Meade Plantation in 1839 and enlarged the mansion and the estate into a 5,400-acre plantation with

136 enslaved people. Racing and breeding operations came to a halt in the South with the onset of the Civil War but the plantation was able to survive during the war.

After the Civil War, Harding resumed his successful horse operations, though as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 there was a reduced workforce. Of the 136 slaves living on the plantation prior to the war, only 72 workers chose to take employment with William Harding, though most lived off the property.

In 1868, his daughter Selene Harding married Confederate States Army General Williams Hicks Jackson on the one condition that the couple stay at Belle Meade following their marriage.

Selene managed the household affairs and Jackson co-managed the farm with his father in law. In 1875,

Harding and Jackson decided to focus exclusively on breeding, turning the plantation into an internationally renowned Thoroughbred farm and showplace.

Belle Meade had many successful studs, including Bonnie Scotland and Enquirer, whose bloodlines still dominate modern racing. Jackson brought Belle Meade international fame by purchasing Iroquois in 1886 to stand at stud, becoming the leading sire of 1892. In 1881, Iroquois had been the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby in England..

Following William Jackson’s death in 1903, and that of his son later the same year, it was decided to sell the plantation as a result of years of adverse financial conditions. A business syndicate called The Belle Meade Land Company purchased the plantation and developed the residential neighborhood of Belle Meade.

The mansion had a series of successive owners, and remained a private residence until 1953, when the State of Tennessee purchased the mansion and eight outbuildings on 30 acres. The state in turn deeded the property to the Association for the Preservation of Tennessee Antiquities.

We toured the Mansion, Smoke House, Carriage House and other building on the property. There is also a winery making wine from local grapes as well as from juice shipped in from California and Washington.

An aura of Victorian elegance and family business of a plantation has been preserved by the APTA and a “catalog” of Tennessee thoroughbreds adorns the mansion walls to this day. Southern magnolias adorn the grounds and southern hospitality is preserved as surely as the gold tempered red panes of glass over the entrance to Belle Meade.