Once A Showplace Among Summerville's Distinguished Plantation Past

The azure rays of the winter's afternoon sun streamed through the gnarled branches of the numerous trees scattered around on the solitary, circular piece of landscape. As I surveyed the surrounding topography, the reason for selecting the site to build a house became obvious. It was the highest point on the sprawling 3000 acre royal grant, which was given to a merchant of London by King Charles II.

Over the span of its grand history, three different houses would grace the hilltop; the last would be considered one the largest mansions in the southern part of South Carolina. The land grant was known as the Newington Plantation, so named by Daniel Axtell after an estate in England.

To say the least, the Axtell family was a genealogical jigsaw puzzle. There were four different Daniel Axtells around the same time, not including the Daniel Axtell who was executed for the regicide of King Charles; also the father of the Daniel Axtell given the royal land grant by King Charles II, which became Newington Plantation.

Daniel Axtell, the grant owner, was married to Rebecca Holland and they had a son whose name was Daniel Axtell. Daniel Axtell, the son, died in 1681 on a ship bound for South Carolina from England; he was coming to visit his parents at Newington. Daniel Axtell, the grant owner, died three years later in 1684. Lady Rebecca inherited the plantation.

To make things even more complicated, a Daniel Axtell of Marlboro, Massachusetts moved to South Carolina in 1690 and became part owner of a saw mill in the area of what later would become Summerville. His wife's name was Thankful Pratt and they had a son named Daniel.

In time, Lady Rebecca gave the plantation to her daughter Elizabeth, but willed three hundred acres of the grant to Daniel Axtell from Massachusetts and to his son Daniel two hundred acres. Daniel Axtell from Massachusetts was the nephew of Daniel Axtell the owner of Newington, the land grant. By the way, Daniel and Thankful's first child was a girl named Elizabeth. So, there you have it, the Axtell enigma.

The first of the three houses was started in 1680 by Daniel Axtell, but after laying the wooden frame he died, never seeing its completion. In 1705, Lady Rebecca was granted 1000 acres of land on the north side of the Ashley River and around 1711 gave Newington to her daughter Elizabeth, whose last name was now Blake. Around 1715, the first house was burned in the Yemassee War, possibly by Indians. Sometime later, the second house was built. At the time, Lady Axtell was living in the house with Elizabeth and her grandson, Colonel Joseph Blake. The colonel was one of the richest men in the Low Country. As to the demise of the second house, one source says it burned and a second states it was reportedly removed by Colonel Blake to make way for the third house. The year was 1730.

It was a magnificent plantation home. Built with bricks and in the Georgian style architecture with elaborate cornices and moldings, it was called "the house with a hundred windows." The front overlooked grand English gardens with terracing and hedges and a large reflecting pond. The approach was lined with a double row of live oaks. It had an open floor plan in the southern style with a central hall flanked by four rooms, two on each side for maximizing air circulation during the hot, summer months. The second floor followed the same pattern with a great hall or ballroom. At the time of the Revolutionary war, the house was considered a showplace.

In 1837, the plantation was sold to Henry A. Middleton. It burned in 1845 and laid in ruins until 1876. In that year, Middleton leased the property to the United States government as an experimental tea farm, under the direction of Dr. Charles Shepard.

Newington is an intrinsic part of the distinguished plantation history of Summerville, as is the famous Pinehurst Tea Plantation it ended up a part of. The reflecting pond is all that is left, aside from the solitary piece of hilltop now encircled by a subdivision of homes.

Take the pilgrimage to the crest of the hill, circle its preserved grounds, walk among its remaining trees. Then, step back with the reflecting pond directly behind you and with you mind's eye scan the circular landscape. With the help of the historical record and a little imagination, the subtle outlines of "the house with a hundred windows" and its grand English gardens can be seen shimmering in the warm, azure rays of the winter's afternoon sun as they filter through the trees and wash over the aura of Plantation Circle.

Ding, Ding, Ding, The Trolleys Are Coming To Summerville

The nostalgic green and red colored transportation vehicles Summerville residents have seen traveling the streets of the downtown area on Fridays and Saturdays this past year will be increasing their presence in 2015. The Lowcountry Loop Trolley will be offering their hop/on, hop/off service to Summerville seven days a week beginning in February. It will establish stops throughout Summerville from Nexton to the old plantations on Ashley river Road.

Rightfully declared the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea," Summerville is benefiting from a unique heritage that has been brewing since the early 1800's and quoting a phrase my dear uncle often uses, "How sweet it is." Throughout 2014, sweet tea and tours have put the town in the Lowcountry spotlight. As a beneficial result, the "Sweet Tea Trail" was formed and the "Sweet Tea Festival" was established.

The town's beautiful Visitor's Center celebrates the heritage by offering complimentary cups of sweet tea to its visitors and the Summerville Dorchester Museum celebrates it by hosting the now famous Summerville Trolley Tours. The "Good Eats on the Sweet Tea Trail" tour with story teller Tim Lowry and local historian Barbara Hill has been a huge success and has been highlighted in magazines and on news features. In partnership, The Lowcounty Loop Trolley has become a common sight in town.

The proposed schedule

The new Summerville trolley service will be called the Green Line.  Monday through Saturday the proposed service will begin at 8:00am at Azalea Park, but you can pick it up at nine other locations at varying times running every thirty minutes. You choose where you would like to pick it up and at what time. All you need to do is drive your car to the stop, arrive at least five minutes before the scheduled time, and park your car. Once on the trolley, you can hop on or hop off anywhere along the line throughout the day. Cost will be $14.

Hop/on, hop/off locations will be Hutchinson Square, Summerville Visitor Center, Azalea Square, Magnolia Plantation, and Middleton Place. For visitors, it will have planned stops at hotels like the Nexton Courtyard Marriot, the Wingate Hotel at Charleston Southern and other Summerville hotels. Sunday shuttle will run from 10:30am to 6:30pm.

Thinking about having lunch at Fast and French, walking the Old Market or shopping King Street? The Green Line will also offer a convenient service the old Southern Railroad System used to offer Summerville residents--access to downtown Charleston without having to drive your car. From the Charleston Visitor Center, you can pick up the Red Line with stops at places like the Naval and Maritime Museum, USS Yorktown, and Charleston Harbor Resort. Several tours also leave from the Visitor Center such as the Island "Sip and See," "Plantation Tour and Taste Special," and "Chop, Shop, and Dine."

Want to spend the afternoon at the beach on Sullivan's Island or Isle of Palms? The trolley has stops there too. Do you like to kayak or paddle board? How about a stroll on a boardwalk overlooking a beautiful waterway, dining by the water, or cruising on a party catamaran? Shem Creek is the perfect place with RB's, Water's Edge, Red's Ice House and the Palmetto Breeze. Other places you will have access to include the IOP Marina, Mt. Pleasant Towne Center, and historic Boone Hall.

When Summerville was declared the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea," the possibilities have become "sky's the limit." The resulting festival and trolley tours have sweetened the sweet tea cup of growth. With a huge potential sitting on the city's limits, the Lowcountry Loop Trolley service planned for the town will assist in releasing that potential and help manage the flow without increasing the traffic.

So, put out the southern welcome mat of hospitality and complimentary cup of sweet tea. Ding, ding, ding, the trolleys are coming to town.

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.

My Favorite Drink Is A Summerville Festival Celebrating An Honorary Title-Sweet Tea Festival

I have been partaking of the sweet southern brew called sweet tea since I arrived in Summerville eight years ago in 2005, but it wasn't until the Spring of 2010 Summervillians were encouraged by Will Rizzo of Azalea Magazine to take ownership of the honorable title proclaiming our beautiful town as the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea."

I cannot recall the exact place I first ordered it, but Bubba Gumps in Charleston is a likely candidate. Regardless, just ask any of my close friends, it is my preferred choice of beverage everywhere I relax to refresh myself with a cool drink. And based on the presented facts, I proudly share ownership of the motion declaring Summerville the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea."

To be honest, I was an ice tea drinker back in Ohio, but it was always served non-sweetened at all the establishments. Upon arrival to your table, you would have to sweeten it yourself, which meant manually tearing open the little packets of sugar provided, pouring its contents into the glass and stirring it to dissolve the tiny granules. Then, repeating the annoying process over and over until it was somewhat sweetened to desired taste. It wasn't easy because the granules would either stick to the ice or sink to the bottom in a swirl. So, it was a Southern simple pleasure drinking sweet tea.

Since the declaration, Summerville has enthusiastically embraced its discovered destiny that laid hidden in the oolong tea leaves all these past years. To celebrate the story, Summerville has established a Sweet Tea Trail where you can savor the history, the hospitality, and the heritage.

The trail begins at Exit 199 off of I-26. You travel down N. Main Street past Azalea Square, historic downtown Summerville, some historic homes, and the gardens of Azalea Park, after which you head down Trolley Road to Dorchester Road and Colonial Dorchester State Historic Park. From there, the trail takes you down 165 turning left onto historic 61 past Middleton Place(site of Middleton Barony and Pinehurst Tea Plantation established by Dr. Charles Shepard and the oolong tea), Magnolia Plantation, Drayton Hall, and then to Charleston Tea Plantation, the home of American Classic Tea and the site where salvaged tea plants from Pinehurst Tea Plantation were planted after it was abandoned.

To further celebrate Summerville's exclusive place in history, the Sweet Tea Festival was established. This Thursday, September 19, 2013, the Summerville Restaurant Association will be holding the 2nd annual festival. Area restaurants will be offering tastes of their versions of sweet tea as well as tastes of their menu specialties. For $5, commemorative mugs will be available to purchase along with an unlimited taste of all of the teas. In my humble opinion, although an experienced one, This Whole House had the best tasting sweet brew last year.

Summerville Dream and Jan Shoemake Hursey have been working tirelessly to make this Third Thursday the best festival yet. The unveiling of the newest B.I.R.D.S. statue at 6:30 pm in front of Single Smile will take place. The Busker band, Summerville's local crowd favorite, will be in Hutchinson Square from 5:30-8:00 pm with plenty of room to dance.

Last year's crowd at the Sweet Tea Festival

Azalea Magazine will have a booth in the Square. Be sure to thank them for their diligence and dedication in sweetening our local history, for stepping out on the thick limb of audaciousness and proclaim Summerville the "Birthplace of Sweet Tea." No challenges have surfaced thus far, and who would dare. It's not even worth contesting for all the tea in China.

Now, I am going to step out on a pretty thick limb and say it. The more sweet tea you drink from now to Thursday, the less likely there will be rain. So, drink up and cheers to you all.