Day 60 - South Carolina

Day 60

Dec. 10

Charleston, SC

Miss Smith,

            We got up early today so we could finish the drive to Charleston. Our first place we stopped was Boone Hall Plantation.

Boone Hall Plantation

We only spent a few hours there so we could go everywhere we wanted to, but we could have spent longer. The house was beautiful.

Middleton Place

            After that we went to the Middleton Place. The house museum was neat.

The furniture and furnishings were beautiful. We went to the garden afterwards. The flowers were pretty. They had some white flowers blooming that were just gorgeous.

 

Middleton Gardens

            Eventually we tired and decided to go to our cottage. We stayed at the Cottages on Charleston harbor. The cabins were roomy.

Soon we settled in for the night.

My favorite part of the day was when we took a tour of the Middleton house. Got to go now.

Sincerely,

Susanna

Day 59 - South Carolina

Day 59

Dec. 9

St. George, South Carolina

Dear Miss Smith,
    This morning we got up and quickly ate breakfast. We were eager to be on our way and finish our drive to Redcliffe! The Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site is near Beech Island. It wasn't too long of a drive until we arrived.

    The Redcliffe Plantation was finished in 1859 and was once the home of James Henry Hammond and three generations of his descendants. The mansion is a tall house, but it didn't look quite like what I think of when I think of a Plantation house. I guess it's more box shape than spread out. I'm not sure quite how to describe it, but it was pretty in it's own way: white with dark green trim.

    We decided we wanted to take the tour of the mansion, so looked around a bit while we were waiting for the next tour to start. The wide open front porch had a really cool view. It would be a really relaxing place to sit and unwind! Especially in the spring or summer!  It was kinda breezy and cool today so we didn't spend too much time out there.

    The tour of the house lasted around two hours. Plantation houses are so cool! Especially all the wood floors! The square grand piano in the parlor looked so tempting to play.:)

    After the tour, we headed outside to check out the slave quarters and the magnolia lane. Redcliffe Plantation has one of the few surviving 19th century slave quarters in the state. The magnolia trees were larger than I expected! It must be so pretty in the spring when they're blooming!

    We're now on our way to Charleston and spending the night at, you guessed it, another RV park ;) Not that I mind, it's been fun spending evenings with Priscilla and Susanna!

-Abigail

Day 58 - South Carolina

Day 58

December 8

Lexington, South Carolina

Dear Miss Smith,
    Our stop today was the Lexington County Museum! It's not actually a museum in the usual sense of the word, but a 7 acre area in the heart of Lexington that consists of 36 historic structures and buildings! The "museum" (It seems weird to call it that, since it's not all contained in one building.) has several restored houses and their outbuildings, barns, a school, and also a post office!The post office is the original Lexington County post office and is believed to have been built around 1790!

Leaphart/Harman House

    After browsing through the exhibits in the main museum building and exhibit hall, we headed outside to the first house, the Leaphart/Harman House. This house was built some around 1800 and has been home to only two families in it's 200 year history. I thought the brick chimney was really cool. It has a diagonal pattern in the bricks! We were told that that diagonal pattern is the last remaining example in the county.
    From there we debated where to head next. Across the street were several houses, the post office and school, while on this side was the John Fox House, the most notable building in the museum, and all it's outbuildings. We ended up deciding to cross the street first.

Corley Log House

    After stopping in the post office and school, we headed to the oldest documented house in Lexington, constructed in 1771: the Corley Log house. The original owner, Laurance Corley, owned the land that became the town of Lexington! The log cabin consisted of one downstairs room and a loft. Wow, I think I would have gone stir crazy in the winter! It was so tiny and not really any windows!

Daniel Koon house

    The Daniel Koon house made me think of a little model house for some reason. I think maybe because of the green shutters and white siding . . . and the fact that it was small. :)

Hazelius House

    The coolest part of the Hazelius house was the corner where you could see evidence of an attempt to set fire to the house by Federal troops in 1865. That, and learning that this house was the location where Charlie Tillman wrote the gospel song "Give Me That Old Time Religion!" :)

John Fox House

    The John Fox House is really a neat looking house, two stories tall with a long porch with white pillars along the front of the house, and a row of windows above the porch roof on the upper story. It was the first building in Lexington County to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The house features furniture and other artifacts made in Lexington County that show how the house would have been set up around the middle of the nineteenth century. It has six bedrooms, but originally had more!
    We could have spent more time walking around and taking a closer look at all the outbuildings but instead Priscilla thought it would be a good idea to start the drive to Redcliffe and get part way there.

 We did check out a few of the buildings though before leaving. The Wadlington Pigeon House is a very unique looking building! It's octagonal shape with a peaked roof, and 112 access holes. I guess the octagonal ornamental architecture style was popular in the 1850s, but it's kinda rare to find now. There's only one other pigeon house from that period still known to exist in South Carolina.

    After all that walking, it felt good to sit in the vehicle! Actually it put me to sleep for a while. We're now at an RV park where we'll spend the night. And Priscilla just informed me that she and Susanna are going to take the dogs out, so I think I'll stop writing and join them.

Hope everything is going well there!

-Abigail

Day 57 - South Carolina

Day 57

December 7

Lexington, South Carolina

Dear Miss Smith,
    This was our first day without Amy and I must say that I missed her. Susanna, Abigail and I began our day with a delightful breakfast fixed by the girls while I took the dogs out for a morning walk. It was a lovely morning to drive over to Kings Mountain, and since we were headed to such a place of interest, Susanna and Abigail took turns reading Manly Wade Wellman’s book Battle for King’s Mountain aloud. Miss Smith, you really ought to pull that book off the shelf and reread it if only for the sake of feeling more connected with me in my travels.

    A fact I found quite interesting was that we were there two months to the day (and many years later) of when the battle was fought. Thomas Jefferson called the battle “the turn of the tide of success” since it was the first major victory by the Americans after the British invaded Charleston.

Loyalist's hat on left, Patriot's hat on right

    When we arrived we first visited the Museum, as all well bred persons do. It was fascinating to see an original Ferguson Rife. And as we wandered through the exhibit, which was created to resemble an old growth forest, we listened with interest to the talking trees which tell the story of the battle and the people involved. We also watched the film “Battle for Kings Mountain.” Did you realize, Miss Smith, that the battle for Kings Mountain only lasted one hour? I wonder if that was the shortest battle in the American Revolution?

    We were all so interested in what we saw that it was nearly lunch time when we left the visitor center and headed outside. After a quick lunch at one of the picnic tables, we leashed the dogs and headed out for the one and a half mile walk up the mountain trail to the top of the ridge where the Patriots assaulted the Loyalists. We even saw Ferguson’s grave. Timber seemed to greatly enjoy getting outside for a nice long walk, and even Penelope pranced along with a perky tail. The weather was perfect for a walk up the slopes of Kings Mountain; the air was brisk and chilly, but we didn’t have to wear heavy coats and warmed up quickly with the climb.

    We thought we might drive over to Kings Mountain State Park but discovered that most things were closed, so, after a trip to the bookstore, where we purchased a few things, we headed on down the road to Lexington. Of course as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot, Abigail picked up our book and began once again to read aloud.

    I purchased three Kings Mountain pins, one for each of us. Perhaps I’ll wear mine on my 50-State hat. I haven’t decided. The girls say I should wait and see if I discover something else. That sounds like good advice and I do believe I will follow it. Oh, how I miss Amy at times like this.
    We are now situated in an RV park. Supper is smelling good, and after we eat, I promised the girls we’d finish the book, so I must go and help with supper.

Farewell,

~Priscilla

Day 56 - Georgia

Day 56

Evening

Dear Miss Smith,
    Since Levi has written you about the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum, I won’t spend much time on it myself except to say that it was a fascinating place to visit!

    Of course my favorite exhibit was the centerpiece of the museum which was a train. It was an old steam locomotive named “Texas” which was used to pursue the Union raiders who had captured the Confederate locomotive “General” and were steaming away with it. The “Texas” not only pursued them, but also recovered the coveted engine much to the Confederates joy. The story about the raid, pursuit and recapture of the “General” was so interesting that Disney made it into a movie in 1956 called “The Great Locomotive Chase.”

    The other thing worth noting was the purchase of Civil War Rifle Pens for each of the boys, Amy and myself. Mine will go on my hat to add quite a unique touch. Amy has fixed it so that I might pull it out to use should I so desire.

    It is evening now and growing late. We met Susanna and Abigail at the airport, and, since the boys’ planes didn’t leave until a later time, we all enjoyed supper together. It really was quite interesting, Miss Smith, since Abigail is the older sister of Christian, and Susanna is the older sister of Levi. The four of them chattered non stop until the boys boarded their planes for home. And alas, Miss Smith, I had to say good bye to Amy as well. The farewell was touching, for in spite of our extreme differences in character, we had grown quite fond of each other. I will still keep Timber for a few more days before he is picked up. I am grateful to have Susanna and Abigail with me for South Carolina or I would be quite lonely.
    But all is now quiet and I must get some rest.

Must love,

~Priscilla

Day 56 - Georgia

Day 56

December 6

Atlanta, Georgia

Dear Miss Smith,
     We were up and ready to go by 8:00 a.m. We went to the Atlanta Cyclorama and Civil War Museum. It was fantastic. This is some of the information I found. The Atlanta Cyclorama is the largest of only three Cycloramas in the U.S.. Overseas there are only sixteen that still exist and they are known as panoramas. A Cycloramas is supposed to give the viewer a 360 degree view. 

The circumference of the painting is 358 ft. and covers 15,030 sq. ft..

The depth of the display is 30 ft. The painting alone weighs more than 10,000 lbs. The tallest figure in the diorama is 3 ft. 

The Cyclorama was painted in 1885-86 by German artists. The shortest figure in the diorama is 17 inches. 

One of the dying soldiers in the diorama is a portrait of the actor Clark Gable.

When we were done looking at the cyclorama we went to the store. Christian and I got a Rifle pen each. Pricilla got a Rifle pen to add to her states hat and Amy got an Atlanta Cyclorama Pin.

Love,

 Levi

Day 55 - Georgia

Day 55

December 5

Atlanta, Georgia

Dear Miss Smith,
     Today we went to Nash Farm Battlefield. It was fun!! There were four battles fought there
during the Civil War. During the second half of 1864, the Nash farm was the scene of considerable
military activity!! One of the most famous battles was a Cavalry charge that was done by General Sherman's Cavalry.

     While we were walking around I was imagining what it would be like to be there when it happened. It was too bad that we were not here in September when there was a Battle Re-enactment and Living History. It would have been exciting to see that!!
     Well, I have to go now.

Til later,

-Christian