April 2- Landscapes and Environments

River facade of Drayton Hall, 3380 Ashley River Road. For more information, go to http://www.draytonhall.org/.

Drayton Hall is owned and operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a museum. I like what the website says about its mission and about the house:

"Drayton Hall is different. It’s the real thing, and we are bound by our mission to preserve the property—that is, to keep it in near-original condition just as the National Trust received it from the Drayton family in 1974. Instead of being restored to the vision of those who lived centuries after it was built, Drayton Hall is an artifact that has survived the American Revolution, the Civil War, the earthquake of 1886, hurricanes like Hugo, and maybe most surprisingly today, urban sprawl."

Drayton Hall is a ca.1738 Georgian Palladian style house built and once owned by one of Charleston’s wealthiest men, John Drayton (1715-1779). But showcasing Drayton’s story is a far cry from what Drayton Hall's interpretation is at the site. Educating and expanding the knowledge and interpretation of those enslaved at Drayton is also important to the staff. We met Executive Director George McDaniel, Director of Preservation Carter Hudgins, and Craig Tuminaro, Director of Museum Interpretation.

Through historical and archaeological research, the staff at Drayton Hall are contributing to the ever-widening historical record of Charleston and Drayton Hall. A new interactive and interesting website engages visitors before they arrive. Preserving and interpreting Drayton Hall and its environs in order to educate the public is their mission.
Drayton Hall is a unique house museum in that there is no furniture and the house is merely preserved—no restoration, no rehabilitation, etc. Drayton Hall is a great example of good preservation—but it fits Drayton Hall’s case. This way of preserving may not be the best way for other historic sites.

Left: When restoring Ashley River Road facade columns, graffiti was found. Workers left the patch and a protective case will be placed over the writing. Inside the house, historic graffiti was also found on a hall closet door.



Above: Detail of decorative moldings, medallions, and a family sitting room.


Above: The Ashley River as seen from the banks of the Drayton Hall property. Beyond the second line of trees are new subdivisions. The fact that this is not visable from the historc site is a testament to successes in preserving historic landscapes.
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Our next stop was Charlestown Landing State Historic Site.Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site is owned and operated by South Carolina State Parks. For more information, go to http://www.southcarolinaparks.com/park-finder/state-park/1575.aspx or Friends of Charles Towne Landing, http://www.charlestowne.org/.

Interpreting cultural landscapes such as Charles Town Landing can be difficult when historical and archaeological evidence does not correspond. Al Hester, Historic Site Coordinator with the Park’s Central Office and John Hiatt, Park Interpreter met with us to discuss the park and its issues. Charles Towne Landing encompasses several layers of landscape history: European Settlement, 1670-1680; Plantation Era, 1680-1865; Legare-Waring Era, late 19th century to 1969; and Commemorative Layer, 1970-present.

Park Interpreters have a task ahead of them to find the correct balance between what should be done in cultural landscape settings and what should not be done. Features within the site should be presented correctly and for a purpose. Randomly erecting buildings or structures then adding waysides does not make a historic site. Before Park staff at Charles Towne Landing erect or interpret more, they need to determine what is fact and what is not historically accurate. However, I did like their idea in interpreting the African-American cemetery and the earth fast colonial dwelling was exciting. Hiatt’s idea to install scents within the building was not.