The two major destinations on our anniversary trip were Charleston and Savannah. We did visit some waterfalls in north Georgia on our way south, but we arrived in the Charleston area on June 21.
Our first stop was Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Boone Hall is one of America’s oldest working plantations. It was once known for cotton and pecans, but now produces peaches, strawberries, tomatoes and pumpkins, as well as other fruits and vegetables.
Boone Hall Plantation (including the first floor of the main house) has been open to the public since 1956. In the 1980s Boone Hall was featured in the mini-series North and South. Later it was used in the filming of Queen, the sequel to Alex Haley’s Roots.
Boone Hall Plantation got it’s start in 1681 when Theophilus Patey was granted 470 acres of land on Wampacheeoone Creek. John Boone, who arrived in South Carolina in 1672, married Patey’s daughter and the couple received the 470 acres as a wedding present. It was after the marriage that the plantation began to be known as Boone Hall. By 1811, when the Boone family sold the plantation it had increased to 1,452 acres.
Over the next 150 years Boone Hall was sold several times. Over those years the plantation increased in size to 4,039 acres and became one of the leading producers of pecans in the country. In 1955 the McRae family, who still own the plantation, purchased Boone Hall and opened it to the public.
One of the features of Boone Hall is an avenue of oaks — a three-quarter mile driveway leading to the main house lined with massive Spanish-moss draped Live Oaks. The Avenue of Oaks goes back to 1743. The present manor house was built in 1935 on the site of the original house.
To see more of our visit to Boone Hall, click HERE.
Senior Moments 