Event Details

Drayton Hall, a National Historic Landmark and National Trust Historic Site located in Charleston, South Carolina

Drayton Hall dates back to 1738 when twenty-three year old John Drayton purchased the property and began construction of a new house. With him was a family of enslaved African Americans with the last name Bowens. Over the course of the next two and a half centuries, seven generations of Draytons and Bowens would be part of this site.

This February, Drayton Hall invites visitors to experience history where history took place. Celebrate Black History Month at Drayton Hall and learn more about Drayton Hall and South Carolina’s African-American heritage.

DAILY PROGRAMS INCLUDED WITH GATE ADMISSION

Twice daily at 11:15 and 2:15, a Drayton Hall guide leads Connections: From Africa to America. Incorporating archeological artifacts, diary entries, slave lists, drawings, and oral histories, the program transports visitors back in time and traces the story of Africans from Africa to the new world, through slavery, emancipation and into the 20th century. What makes the program unique is that it is unscripted— Drayton Hall guides design their own program after extensive research and training. Guests may examine sketches of Drayton Hall’s rice fields, look at Charles Drayton’s list of tasks for slaves working those fields, try using rice pounders and fanner baskets, or listen to oral histories recorded by Richmond Bowens. Mr. Bowens was the 7th generation descendent of slaves who worked at Drayton Hall, the National Trust’s first gatekeeper on site, and the Trust’s richest resource on African-American history in the 19th and 20th centuries. This dynamic program offers a rich, distinctive look at African-American history at Drayton Hall.

All day long, from the time Drayton Hall’s gates open until they close, guests can visit A Sacred Place, the African-American cemetery at Drayton Hall. A printed guide helps guests chart their path to the 33 known graves, including that of Richmond Bowens. At Mr. Bowen’s request, the cemetery has been “left natural,” not restored or planted with grass or shrubs. The cemetery is a tranquil place and offers guests the chance for personal reflection.

For more information, please phone 843-769-2600 or visit www.draytonhall.org.


SPECIAL GROUP PROGRAMS

In addition to offering Connections: From Africa to America for both student and adult groups, Drayton Hall offers A Day in the Life of a Plantation, From Plantations to the City, and an African-American history walking tour in downtown Charleston.

As with other Drayton Hall student programs, A Day in the Life of a Plantation is based on S.C. curriculum standards. Teachers can easily download information on how the program correlates to state standards along with suggested lesson plans from Drayton Hall’s website. This program enables students to evaluate and make interpretive conclusions about daily life on Southern plantations. They learn about geography, identify the influence of European and African traditions, and describe the interactions between European and African Americans. As Drayton Hall educators introduce students to historical individuals of Drayton Hall, students compare and contrast the slaves’ lives and routines with those of the plantation owners. As they rotate between different stations, students participate in practices illustrative of historical daily life, such as cooking, blacksmithing, coopering, rice agriculture, and period children’s games.
Through hands-on activities and by examining the tools, equipment, and clothing in each area, students learn to describe and interpret the diversity of slave life and the rich African-American culture and Gullah language that developed on Lowcountry plantations.

The African-American History Walking Tour is led by a Drayton Hall guide in the heart of downtown Charleston's historic district and is tailored for the needs of both adult and student groups. While looking across the harbor to the island where slaves were quarantined or while standing at the foot of urban slave quarters, groups learn about such topics as the development of the African slave trade and the formation of African-American culture, especially Gullah culture. Guides discuss the roles that African Americans played in the building of the city, ranging from the wealth their labor produced to the decorative architectural details wrought by their skilled craftsmanship. Groups see what life was like for slaves, identify steps taken to resist their masters, and discuss the challenges faced by Charleston's free African-American population both before and after emancipation. The tour concludes with a discussion of the civil rights movement in South Carolina.

From Plantations to the City is the full experience for adult and student groups. Groups begin at Drayton Hall with a professionally guided house tour and Connections: From Africa to America. They then travel downtown for an African-American history walking tour of Charleston, led by a Drayton Hall guides. What sets this program apart is the opportunity to compare and contrast African-American experiences in rural and urban settings.

For pricing and additional information, please phone Debbi Zimmerman, group tour coordinator, at 843-769-2630.

COMPLETE THE EXPERIENCE WITH A TRIP TO THE DRAYTON HALL MUSEUM SHOP

From fanner baskets woven in Senegal to Let the Circle be Unbroken, the children’s classic about preserving the art of sweet grass basket making, visitors of all ages will be able to find unique reminders of their experience at Drayton Hall.

New to the Museum Shop’s selection of books is a Gullah translation of the Bible—De Nyew Testament. Other favorite books include Lest We Forget, a three dimensional book, replete with photographs and documents from the Black Holocaust Exhibit; Row Upon Row, which describes the evolution of the forms, techniques, and tools used to make sweetgrass baskets; and Charleston Blacksmith: The Work of Philip Simmons. For Simmon’s enthusiasts, Drayton Hall also offers reproductions of some his most famous gates as bracelets, pins, earrings, and necklaces.

Also new is a selection of baskets handwoven in Senegal. Crafted by Senegalese women from a local field grass called “ndone,” which grows about a hundred kilometers south of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, the baskets are an immediate visual reminder of the cultural connection between the Lowcountry and West
Africa. Both classic fanners and other baskets are available. To learn more, please phone the Drayton Hall Museum Shop at 843-769-2610.