Boone Hall Plantation

Next on my itinerary was a destination that is not a National Park Site (shocking!). However, as soon as I saw pictures of the famous avenue of oaks, I knew that I had to stop by (even though it cost me $18).

It is an antebellum plantation located in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The historic "Avenue of Oaks" greeted me upon arrival. It is a nearly one-mile  drive up to the large Colonial Revival plantation house with live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743. 

There are several events going on throughout the day at Boone Hall and I was determined to catch them all. First up was strolling through the gardens that are on the front lawn. The are beautifully landscaped but I was a few weeks too early for a lot of blooms to be out. It was still beautiful though.
 

Alongside the avenue of oaks is the Slave Street that contains nine original slave cabins. These cabins were occupied by sharecroppers well into the 20th century. Each cabin presents a historical look at the living quarters, historic relics, and lifestyle of the slaves that lived here at Boone Hall. It was an amazing history lesson on the area.

Next up I hopped on a plantation coach tour which takes you on a 40 minute motorized tour around the plantation. This ride covers one end of the plantation to the other...both geographically and historically.  I didn't know that Boone Hall is still a working plantation that grows crops like strawberries, tomatoes, corn, watermelon, squash, blueberries, blackberries, cucumbers, and more. There also used to be a brick factory there, and the slave cabins on the property were built from discarded bricks.I was excited to see cotton up close for the first time!

Drove past this guy in the coach

 My last stop of the day was at the main house and because it was the last tour of the day on a Friday, I was the only one there. I met my guide on the front porch where we sat on the rocking chairs and he told me some of the backstory of the house. The mansion that exists today was built in 1936 by Canadian ambassador Thomas Stone as part of the Second Wave of Reconstruction. It is most well-known today for being featured in the movie The Notebook and the place where Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds got married.

No photos are allowed in the house and the tour is only on the first floor but it was nice to just focus on the furnishings and the history and not be distracted by taking photos. As we exited, the sun was setting over the creek and the guide informed me that when you go swimming in the creek, you are guaranteed to be within 50 feet of a shark!

On the coach tour, our guide told us that Boone Hall has a market down the street where they sell products grown at the farm so I headed over to grab dinner of strawberries and cheese. I loved Boone Hall so much that I ended up going back the next day. What's great is that you can use your same ticket without paying extra and when I showed it to the admission guy at the gate he said "welcome back, glad to see you came to see us again". How great is that!?

The reason I came back is because I had missed the showing of "Exploring The Gullah Culture". Boone Hall Plantation is the only plantation in the S.C. Lowcountry to present a live presentation of this unique culture adapted by African slaves. I am so glad I came back to check it out because it was really interesting. However, being that it was a Saturday the plantation was packed and there was even a bride taking wedding photos. I kind of missed when I had the plantation all to myself the day before. Boone Hall is a spectacular place to visit regardless and I am so glad I got to spend so much time there.