UCANTEACH ICON COURTESY OF PONGSAKORNRED

June 18, (Tuesday)

Morning
Magnolia Gardens
We will drive out to Francis Marion State Park and visit Magnolia Gardens. There we will have the opportunity to participate in three distinct and fascinating tours.

From Slavery to Freedom: The Magnolia Cabin Project Tour
Magnolia's Cabin Project began more than five years ago in an effort to preserve five historic structures that date back to 1850. These former slave dwellings now serve as the focal point for an award-winning 45-minute program in African-American history.

Magnolia recognizes the importance of acknowledging the vital role that Gullah people and culture plays in any interpretation of Lowcountry history. By addressing this often overlooked part of the region's narrative, Magnolia seeks to respectfully afford credit where credit is due.
We will experience an engaging and interactive discussion of the dynamic issues that shape this delicate inquiry. Afterward, time is given to allow everyone the opportunity to explore each cabin to appreciate the lengthy period in which the buildings were actively occupied - from the 1850s to the late 1990s. This arc of history conveys the tumultuous times continuously challenging African-American families from slavery, the Jim Crow/segregation era and through the modern Civil Rights period.

Rice Field Boat Tour: 
Slip back in time as your boat glides through Magnolia's old flooded ricefield along the Ashley River. While you explore the cattail-fringed canals, your naturalist captain will transport you to the age of rice growing and river-going. Alligators still slip silently across canals as egrets wade along shore, stalking fish or frogs. You might even surprise a flock of wood ducks or spy a grackle building its nest. Today the rice is gone, but the history is still alive.

The boat tour is also a perfect way to take a break from walking. You can cool your heels and enjoy the breeze of the Ashley River as you glide through a water world unknown to most visitors. Come see the wild wetlands as the "locals" do – from the water.

House Tours:
Step back in time with a half-hour guided tour of the Drayton family home, the third to grace the site in more than three centuries of Drayton family occupation. The current main House – the core of which was built prior to the Revolutionary War near Summerville, South Carolina and floated down the Ashley River to Magnolia after the Civil War — gives a glimpse of plantation life in the 19th century and beyond. Ten rooms are open to the public, furnished with early-American antiques, porcelain, quilts, and other Drayton family heirlooms. Guides describe life in the 19th century, using furniture and household objects to bring plantation culture alive.  During the house tour you will learn the history of the Drayton family as well as the fate of the previous two family homes.

Afternoon
Charleston: Gateway to America
On our tour of Charleston we will have an interesting glimpse into the story of America as told through the city of Charleston, often called the Ellis Island of African Americans.. People  brought to  America- wihout their consent, through the ports of Charleston by way of cargo slave ships. Charleston held the largest slave market in the United States.

​Some of the sites we will see on the tour include but are not limited to: 
  • The Gullah’s famous Sweetgrass Roses & baskets
  • William Aiken Rhett House
  • The Aiken Rhett Museum house with large Slave quarters intact
  • Old Exchange Building & PROVOST DUNGEON
  • Slave Bar-a-Coons & the largest Slave auction blocks in all of North America
  • Famous Rainbow Row
  • The Historical Battery
  • United States Customs House
  • Mother Emanuel Church
Our guide, Joe McGIll, is a the preeminent historian in the preservation of slave quarters, ensuring the daily life and hardships of slaves are remembered today.  
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