Drayton Hall House Tour--See One of the Lowcountry's Greatest Architectural Treasures

Founded in 1738, Drayton Hall is a preeminent example of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the United States. It is one of the most significant, undisturbed historic landscapes open for public viewing. Its amazing and timeless wood and plaster carvings are a testimony to the artful skills of the master craftsmen of the day. The stories told offer a brief glimpse into the people who lived and served within its majestic walls. All of which have been preserved in their original true to life state of being, unvarnished both physically and spiritually.

Upon arrival, you will want to check in, and you do this at the gift shop. While you wait for the house tour to start, and you are encouraged to do this, you can take a self guided stroll around the visitor center. A brief orientation film is offered in the Stephen F. and Laura D. Gates Gallery along with a full-wall time line. The adjacent room, in the same building, includes rotating exhibitions of decorative arts objects that once belonged to the Drayton family, examples of authentic house furniture, archaeological artifacts related to the estate and its inhabitants, as well as archival materials and architectural fragments.

Anchoring the visitor center, the Lenhardt Garden surrounds a sprawling 200-year-old oak tree. The plantings are historically inspired, with horticultural specimens related to John Drayton's botanical lists. There is a grouping of benches upon which you can sit and soak in the tranquil surroundings and enjoy the seasonal flora and fauna.

The exhibit in the caretaker's house highlights the post-Civil War period and the 20th century at Drayton Hall. Constructed in 1870, the caretaker's house was built for the caretaker to watch over the main house and grounds while phosphate was mined on the property. The house has been rehabilitated to serve as a conditioned exhibit space, creating opportunities to see layers of its construction and decorative materials. Of course, you can enjoy these three amenities any time before or after your tour.

Once the tour begins, the guide introduced us to the complex where it begins. Then explains the radical decision that was made to preserve the seven generations of history within Drayton Hall's walls. The choice was made to stabilize the house rather than restore it to a particular period, and to preserve it as it was acquired from the family in the 1970s. All imperfections and changes over time have survived to the present.

Next, we were led to an archeological dig next to the main house. It reveals what was originally one of the flanker buildings that once upon a time stood on each side of the main house and connected by a tall brick colonnade. It is an essential element of a one time unknown surprising twist in the house's history.

Drayton Hall is unquestionably not without its mysteries, both surreal and real. The most recent and famous occurred in 2007 when one of its staff members received an anonymous package containing the photograph of a watercolor painting of Drayton Hall purported to be date back to 1765. The envelope it arrived in was simply postmarked 22602-6754 with the words ATT: Back in The Day. The numbers were found to be a Winchester, VA zip code.

Up to that moment, no 18th-century image of Drayton Hall had ever been found. The earliest dated to c. 1845. The mystery was deepened further by what they saw depicted in the watercolor. It presented an image of Drayton Hall never seen before. It showed the Palladian brick building surrounded by low colonnades. Inspired by this revelation, archaeologists dug into the museum's lawn, where 18th-century foundation marks were found, suggesting the 1765 drawing of a u-shaped colonnade was an accurate portrayal.

The tour moved to the main house beginning in the cellar, which housed mainly the kitchen. From there, we exited to the grand portico, the first floor, and finally the second floor. After entertaining and thought provoking stories on each floor about the people who lived and worked in the house, we were turned loose to go wherever we wanted at our own leisure. Before exiting the property, we took the solemn stroll through the African American Cemetery.

If you are looking for the complete southern experience, Drayton Hall should be on your list. From the moment you enter the gate and drive up the narrow causeway toward the columned portico's of the house's stunning front entrance, you sense a change in time. And, when you ascend the stone stairs facing the Ashley River and step through the door, the sudden rush of humid antebellum air swoops you back to an era of ballroom serenades, afternoon tea, and plantation living both elegant and controversial.

Voted the Best Place to See by Condé Nast Traveler.

Tickets for the House Tour

Tickets for Private Guided Tours

Plantation Tour Combination Tickets

Group Tours

Candlelight Tours of Drayton Hall In Charleston--Affords You the Opportunity to See the Estate in a Different Light

Everything looks different in the fading light of the setting sun. The colors of the day melt away as they give way to the intruding darkness washing over the surrounding landscape like a rogue wave. Once upon a time sleeping shadows come to life, energized by any light source nearby. In the changed aura, one's imagination becomes more sensitive. Drayton Hall's Candlelight Tour does exactly all that. It allows you to see the old Ashley River estate and its impressive house in a different shade of light.

Originally a fruit orchard, Drayton Hall was built somewhere around 1738, thus making it over 285 years old. Considered one of the earliest and finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the United States, it is part of the most significant, undisturbed historic landscapes in North America.

Inside, the timeless wood and plaster carvings give testimony to the artful skills of the master craftsman of the day and the soul of its owners. The house is a surviving relic for us to look at with curiosity and wonderment. For the people in its beginning, every nuance incorporated into its design had a special meaning.

Drayton Hall is unquestionably not without its mysteries, both surreal and real. The most recent and famous occurred in 2007 when one of its staff members received an anonymous package containing the photograph of a watercolor painting of Drayton Hall purported to be date back to 1765.

The tour began at the Visitor Center, where Rosemary, our guide, talked about the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust's mission, which is to foster a deeper understanding of colonial America and the evolution of life in the South by discovering, researching, conserving, and interpreting the history, context, and culture of Drayton Hall.

Next, we were led to a graveled circle under some of the estate's oldest trees. The guide suggested we should consider not standing there too long for safety reasons and insurance liability. The old trees have lost some huge limbs over the years unexpectedly. Then, pointing to the land across from Drayton Hall on the other side of the Ashley River, which a generous supporter recently donated to the Trust, she related how the acquisition ensures that future generations will enjoy the same majestic view we see today.

The house was by this time covered in darkness, with only flickering candles lighting the way. We all stood at the iron gate at the lowest level of the house. The ornate wrought iron gate was the work of Charleston's Philip Simmons, a black gentleman who had a close working relationship with the Drayton family. We stepped into the large space. It had a stone floor throughout, a large fireplace, and a table with artifacts. The guide told stories about the relationship between the Drayton family and the house workers. We exited through the gate we entered and ascended the house's steps to the dramatic portico and the main entrance. From here, I will let the pictures tell the story.

The Candlelight Tour of Drayton Hall was a surreal trip back in time bathed in the light of a flickering candle. Our tour guide, a petite lady with a big smile and a sophisticated knack for delivering an entertaining narrative, was personable, engaging, and knowledgeable about the Drayton story. She personally addressed each individual in the group as if she was having a one-on-one conversation. She made each narrative come to life.

Walking through the richly decorated rooms of the house in the soft cadmium hue of candlelight gave you a unique perspective of its aged and timeless beauty. You experience the look and feel of the residence the way the people of its beginning years would have before there was electricity, which by the way, continues to be the case.

Photographs by Anne-Merle Bryant

$50 members/$55 non-members per person

3380 Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC

Timeless Drayton Hall Mysteries--The Surreal And The Real

Originally a fruit orchard, Drayton Hall was built somewhere around 1738, thus making it over 265 years old. Considered one of the earliest and finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the United States, it is part of the most significant, undisturbed historic landscapes in America--of course use of the word undisturbed is dissolved in a glass of salty brine and consumed with a grain of rice. Inside, the amazing and timeless wood and plaster carvings are a testimony to the artful skills of the master craftsmen of the day and the soul of its owners. To us, the house is a surviving relic to look at in curiosity and wonderment, but to the people of the era, every nuance incorporated into its design had a very special meaning.

With a history reaching back hundreds of years and filled with the lives of many generations, some visitors have presumptuously asked whether Drayton Hall is haunted. Unlike many old landmarks in and around Charleston, ghostly sightings are found no where in the solitary Ashley River estate's narrative. In my overactive imagination, viewing the darkening house from under one of its old oaks near dusk reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's commentary when coming upon the House of Usher. Lending validation to my optic, if you were to ask prior visitors and staff members that haunting question, they will say with firm conviction, "Absolutely yes." In 2003, Drayton Hall was featured on an episode of America's Most Haunted Places that aired on The Travel Channel with the claim "original family members are said to still walk" through the house supported by interviews it had with staff members. Still, with equal conviction, there are others who will say otherwise.

Drayton Hall is unquestionably not without its mysteries, both surreal and real. The most recent and famous occurred in 2007 when one of its staff members received an anonymous package containing the photograph of a watercolor painting of Drayton Hall purported to be date back to 1765. The envelope it arrived in was simply postmarked 22602-6754 with the words ATT: Back in The Day. The numbers were found to be a Winchester, VA zip code.

Up to that moment, no 18th-century image of Drayton Hall had ever been found. The earliest dated to c. 1845. The mystery was deepened further by what they saw depicted in the watercolor. It presented an image of Drayton Hall never seen before. It showed the Palladian brick building surrounded by low colonnades. Inspired by this revelation, archaeologists dug into the museum's lawn, where 18th-century foundation marks were found, suggesting the 1765 drawing of a U-shaped colonnade was an accurate portrayal. The question still remained as to the authenticity of the watercolor's dating. Now, locating the sender to examine the original became critical.

A staff member called the post office in Winchester to ask if they could identify the exact location of the 9-digit zip code, but do to privacy policies, they politely refused. A Drayton family member became involved and soon after, a friend found that the "6754" referred to Bedford Drive in Winchester. Names of the Bedford Drive residents were acquired through research and a trip to Winchester was made. Handing out Drayton Hall brochures and copies of the watercolor, several residents were contacted and given the material, but some were not at home and the owner was not found. A few days later, one neighbor showed the paperwork to a heating and cooling contractor who turned out to be the watercolor's owner.

In an interview with the New York Times, the contractor explained he had been surfing for Web information about a dozen watercolors he had inherited from his grandparents. He typed in the handwritten caption from one image, "Drayton Hall," and realized that the plantation still stood. He called Drayton Hall on a Sunday afternoon to tell them about his discovery, but a volunteer answering the phone refused to believe him--a decision that would eventually come back to haunt the receiver. So, he sent the package anonymously, just on a whim, which is where the mystery began.

The contractor did finally meet with staff members of Drayton Hall and the watercolor was authenticated. The mystery was solved. It was part of a collection of 18th-century watercolors depicting American and Caribbean landscapes and buildings. The Swiss-born painter, Pierre Eugène Du Simitière, traveled in the West Indies and settled in Philadelphia just before the American Revolution. As to how they ended up in the hand's of the contractor's grandparents was not discussed and still remains a mystery.

Time unrelentingly changes things, both virtuous and unpleasant. With that being said, something virtuous is coming to Drayton Hall. A Visitor Center is presently in the works and due to open in 2018. At present, all of the plantation's original artifacts—including furniture, are in storage. The new Sally Reahard Visitor Center will include an orientation hall, education center, and exhibition galleries.

Whoever may still be walking the empty rooms of the grand old house will find this news uplifting, if a place to sit is what they are looking for. All the original artifacts will be moved from storage and displayed in the Visitor Center's exhibition gallery where visitors will be able to view them for the first time since Drayton Hall first opened to the public.

There will also be a area called the Interpretive Gardens, which will feature historically accurate botanical plantings evoking the Drayton family's scientific and international connections during the 18th and 19th centuries. The visitors center will be screened off from the house by the stand of mature trees to the left of the house with a few new ones added. Another important design element is a new pathway mapped out by landscape architect Sheila Wertimer. The path will give visitors a more dramatic first glimpse of the house.

If you are looking for the complete southern experience, from the moment you enter the gate and drive up the narrow causeway toward the columned portico's of the front entrance, you sense a change in time, a transference of today into yesterday. And when you climb the stone stairs facing the Ashley River and step through the door, the sudden rush of air carries you back to the era of English gardens, rice fields and plantation living. You will treasure the tour and the pictures. Be careful not to bump into anything, real or unreal.

For more tour information and pictures go to A Day At Majestic Drayton Hall By The Ashley River--Preservation At Its Best
For the complete story of the watercolor go to Drayton Hall: Watercolor Mystery Solved! (So Far.)

The Extraordinary Ashley River Corridor--22 miles of Antebellum history

Beginning at Slands Bridge in Summerville and extending 22 winding miles through thick stands of moss covered oaks and dense marshes to the site of Charleston's first settlement in 1670, its brackish waters and pluff mud shoreline is saturated with early Antebellum history. Including the Colonial Dorchester settlement and the Ashley Barony site, it was both a thoroughfare and a lifeline in the hand of early Charleston for its dependent downstream settlements and expansive plantations.


Relatively undisturbed by the passing of time, it is unparalleled in its historic significance and natural value. People by the droves come from all over the United States to its shores to drink in its tranquility and wonder at its one-time opulence. Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation, Drayton Hall, and the lesser known Runnymede Plantation are poetic names enduringly written on its adjoining signposts that welcome visitors to its riverside gardens and reflective ponds. Rich with a wide variety of fish and wildlife, these scenic vistas are all a part of the extraordinary tidal river named after the 1675 Chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony, Anthony Ashley Cooper.

  With 26 separate sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated a State Scenic River, this was and is the Ashley River Corridor. Enjoy the pictures of the Ashley River.

Runnymede Plantation Ashley River

Runnymede Plantation Ashley River

Runnymede Plantation

 

Middleton Place

Middleton Place Ashley River

Middleton Place Ashley River

Middleton Place Ashley River

Middleton Place Ashley River

 

Colonial Dorchester Ashley River

Colonial Dorchester Ashley River

Colonial Dorchester Ashley River

Colonial Dorchester

 

Drayton Hall

Drayton Hall Ashley River

A Day At Majestic Drayton Hall By The Ashley River--Preservation At Its Best

We entered the old, narrow gate off of Highway 61--the main road the Drayton's used on their trips to Charleston. Shortly after, we came to the small ticket shack, presented our ticket, received instructions and assigned tour time. In the distance, straight up the narrow, dirt driveway beyond a large pond on the left and a reflecting pond on the right stood the resilient and impressive Drayton Hall flanked by weatherworn, hundreds centuries old oak trees--a survivor of two wars, phosphate mining, a devastating earthquake and a category 3 hurricane.

Originally a fruit orchard, Drayton Hall was built somewhere around 1738, thus making it over 265 years old. Considered one of the earliest and finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in the United States, it is part of the most significant, undisturbed historic landscapes in America. Inside, the amazing, undisturbed wood and plaster carvings are a testimony to the artful skills of the master craftsmen of the day.

To us, the house is a surviving relic to look at in curiosity and wonderment, but to the people of the era, every nuance incorporated into its design had a very special meaning. Guests, upon arrival, could tell where the party was going to be held just by looking at the tops of the columns on the portico. Just some of the finer points highlighted by our knowledgeable tour guide, Tara, who riced up her narrative with a balanced touch of humor. One amusing fact you will learn about was the Drayton's innovative version of flushed toilets.

There are no furnishings in the home. All the surviving furniture and rugs have been stored away over the years for safe keeping. Arrangements have been made recently to display for viewing the furnishings of Drayton Hall in Williamsburg, Virginia. There is a plan to build a museum on sight to house the furnishings when the needed money becomes available.

Due to the fragile nature of the decor, some sections of the house are off limits, but can be observed within marked-off areas. In those 265 years, the interior walls have been painted only twice. At the beginning of the tour, while sitting under one of the massive oaks in full view of Drayton Hall, the guide requested that we be careful not to touch the painted walls or to inadvertently bump into them. The aged paint could crumble at the slightest touch and be lost forever--difficult for me because I like to touch everything.

Years ago, Charlotta Drayton, the last of the Drayton's to use the estate, made a decision to preserve Drayton Hall and not restore it. For the weeks she stayed at the house, the only modern conveniences she had installed were a wood-burning stove and an icebox that was later replaced by a refrigerator, powered through an extension cord plugged in at the Victorian caretaker’s cottage. She called it "camping out." In 1974, the National Trust for Historic Preservation purchased the house and 125 acres from the Drayton's with the mission to fulfill Charlotta's wishes and keep it in near-original condition.

A trip to Charleston would not be complete without a visit to majestic Drayton Hall, if you are looking for the complete southern experience. From the moment you enter the gate and drive up the narrow causeway toward the columned porticos of the front entrance, you sense a change in time, a transference of today into yesterday. And when you climb the stone stairs facing the Ashley River and step through the door, the sudden rush of air carries you back to the era of English gardens, rice fields and plantation living. You will treasure the tour and the pictures.

The Lesser Known Great Plantation Along the Ashley River Down Highway 61

Just a short drive down Highway 61 from Summerville are three of Charleston's most famous plantations--Middleton Place, Magnolia and Drayton Hall. Born from the life that was Charleston past, each has a history and enchantment unique to itself and each visited by thousands of tourists and locals every year. But likely unknown by most, there is a fourth plantation unpretentiously hidden behind the mossy covered trees common to this stretch of the Lowcountry south of the Ashley River. I was totally unaware of the plantations existence, until I happened upon it while reading stories about Lowcountry folklore.

Two avenues led to the haunting estate--one of live oaks and the other with skyline hedges of Southern Magnolias. The gardens were extraordinary. There was a walk in the garden called the Alphabet Walk because the name of each tree that bordered it began with a different letter of the alphabet. Along such magical paths, under the plantation's ancient trees along Ashley River Road, wandered Edgar Allen Poe when he lived in Charleston and one finds just such mystical woodlands in his haunting tales.

The plantation has been known by three different names during its over three hundred years of history. Its oldest name was "Greenville." Later, it was named after the wife of one of the owner's and called "Sarah Place." After a fire destroyed the original mansion, the Pringle's built a new mansion and decided another name was more appropriate. The new name was inspired by a thousand year old oak on the estate located at the center of a large meadow overlooking the Ashley River. The pastoral scene reminded the owners of a property in England with a similar setting--its name, Runnymede.

Later, Charles C. Pinckney purchased Runnymede from the Pringle's son, William Bull. Pinckney mined phosphate from the property's naturally occurring deposits. In 1865, the mansion built by the Pringles suffered the same fate as the original. It was destroyed by a fire; a fire set by Union troops--likely the same troops that burned Middleton Place.

Pinckney rebuilt the home a third time. It was rumored to be one of the only country style Victorian homes in the Lowcountry. In 1995, it was purchased by the Whitfield's. The grim specter of fire revisited Runnymede again in 2002 and destroyed the home built by Pinckney. All that's left of the mansion is a partial outline of the home's perimeter, a two story chimney from the kitchen house, and a storied history interwoven with the folklore and superstitions of plantation living as big as its onetime 1,457 acres.

One story tells of an African/American burial ground located deep within Runnymede's thick centuries old forests and an age old custom of placing personal items owned by the deceased in life on their graves--a custom with African roots. Items like plates, saucers, and drinking glasses if it was a woman or tools if it was a man, but not excluding items like a favorite chair. The removal of any of these types of personal items from the graves of a dead person would result in consequences too terrible to imagine implicating swift retribution from the offended spirit. A belief implicitly held by hundreds of people living in the Lowcountry of South Carolina--including those who lived on Runnymede Plantation.

The author who wrote about the 40 year old story chillingly connected a mischievous prank with a tragic plane crash that occurred two miles outside of a North Carolina airport--a flight with a Charleston origin. The prank involved the removal of a personal item from one of the graves in the old burial ground deep within the forests of Runnymede Plantation.

Runnymede Plantation is located between Middleton Place and Magnolia Plantation. Unlike its more popular counterparts, it is not open to the public. But it is open to scheduled weddings, private events, and concerts. It doesn't have the beautifully terraced landscape of Middleton Place, the magical gardens of Magnolia, and the masterfully preserved architecture of Drayton Hall. But it does have a thick, untouched canopy of century old trees, numerous ponds and creeks, an unobstructed view of the Ashley River, remnants of a plantation, and a unique place in Charleston's ancient and colorful plantation history.

Click on Runnymede Plantation today to see images of the Plantation ruins.