Time Travel with Middleton Place for Plantation Days

Ever wondered what life on a plantation in the 18th and 19th centuries was like?

Middleton Place is presenting Plantation Days, Oct. 13-14 to give visitors just that experience.

The annual event is designed to take visitors back to the harvest season in the Antebellum era. Each day the grounds of the historic property come to life with demonstrations on cooking, textiles, blacksmithing and coopering, and hands-on activities such as pottery making, cotton and rice processing, and candle making.

During the busy harvest season harvested cash crops were sent to market while the plantation prepared for winter. During the 18th and 19th centuries enslaved Africans and African Americans did this work, and Plantation Days will reflect these activities while providing extensive educational opportunities for guests.

Other historic activities include presentations on barrel making, colonial games, and brick making.

Specialized African American history programs will also be a major part of the days’ events. Sharon Cooper-Murray, a professional Gullah storyteller and historian will be joining Middleton Place's corps of educators and interpreters for the weekend.

“Middleton Place is all about history and there’s no better time and place to see ‘Living History’ than Plantation Days,” said Tracey Todd, Vice President Museums. “Fall was not just the end of one planting season, but also the beginning of the next. Whether you were reaping the rewards of a lucrative rice crop, preserving extra food from the garden or selling your spring pigs, this was an exciting time of the year.”

Plantation Days runs all day on Oct. 13 and 14. Most activities are free with admission to Middleton Place at 4300 Ashley River Road. For more information, go to www.middletonplace.org, or call 843-556-6020.

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PLANTATION DAYS SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13 and 14

BARREL MAKING (10:45 a.m., 12:45 p.m., 12:45 p.m.) — Learn the art of coopering by putting a barrel together.

BEYOND THE FIELDS TOUR (11 a.m., 1 p.m.) — Take a guided tour that focuses on the African and African American slaves who worked and lived at Middleton Place.

COLONIAL GAMES (11:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m.) — Come try your hand at rolling hoops, walking on stilts, and playing such traditional games as Blindman’s Bluff and Skin the Snake.

GULLAH PRESENTATION (11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m.) — Hear about the Low Country’s African American history and culture from Gullah Storyteller Sharon Cooper-Murray.

BRICK MAKING (12:00, 2 p.m.) — Listen and watch Dr. Denis Bronson of Clemson University as he demonstrates the art of brick making.

ANIMAL & AGRICULTURAL TOUR (12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m.) —Take a guided tour of the Stableyards Animal Paddocks and Crop Gardens

TUG OF WAR (3 p.m.) — Learn about the Plantation’s Draft Horses and see how strong they are in a tug of war contest.

ALL DAY DEMONSTRATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS WILL INCLUDE:

• Blacksmithing
• Pottery Making
• Carpentry/Coopering
• Textile Work
• Cooking
• Laundry
• Food Preservation
• Canvas Work
• Edible Plants
• Carriages
• Beekeeping