Charleston: A city rich in history

When you think of Charleston SC. several things come to mind. Ft. Sumpter where the Civil War started, antebellum homes, plantations, and good food. Well you might not think that but we do.

It was also a chance to visit some of Lynn s family. She has two nieces who live there so it was nice to spend Easter with family. It's funny,since we've hit the road we have yet to spend a holiday alone. Easter would of been the first but as it worked out we had a great day with family. Christmas was spent with my daughter Tiffany and her boyfriends family, and Thanksgiving was spent with Rick and Lenore. You could call them our on the road family, who we met in Kentucky and then spent Thanksgiving together in New Orleans. We plan on meeting up again for either Thanksgiving or Christmas out on the west coast. Feel free to join us if your interested. I digress. 

Two of the very cool things we did in Charleston were to visit the site of the H. L. Hunley restoration and the Magnolia Plantation. Now the H. L. Hunley was the first submarine to sink another ship the USS Housatonic. It happened during the Civil War in Charleston Harbor. The Housatonic was part of the Union blockade of the harbor. (History lesson over). They found the Hunley in 1995 and raised it in 2000. Since then they have been restoring it. Here are some pictures.

A mock up of the Hunley to show how much room they had inside. 

The Hunley in her acid bath

Magnolia Plantation is a fascinating, if you're in the area you have to visit, kind of place. It's home to one of the oldest gardens in America. In fact after the Civil War it opened up to the public for tours. Descendants of some of the slaves who worked in the gardens still work at the plantation and the plantation is still owned by the same family. I won't bore you with the history but it is fascinating. When you get there watch the 20 minute movie. It's well worth the time and makes your visit much more enjoyable. Here are a few of the many pictures I took.

Entrance to Magnolia Plantation

Everywhere you turn is something different.

                                                                            Foxglove (Digitalis)

                                                                 Azaleas were beautiful

Slave cabins 

The Plantation main House

Our tour guide of Charleston

The entrance to the swamp, what use to be the Rice paddys.

Some kids were calling the gators. No, they really were. This guy came in for a closer look.

Downtown Charleston was fabulous. Everywhere you turned there were antebellum homes, historical markers, and great restaurants.  We visited the market place which use to be where the slaves were auctioned,

 The downtown market. About 6 blocks long with stores on both sides of the center market.

 One of the many church s. They were one of the first to offer religious freedoms 

 Every 3rd Friday they shut down the street for a party

 All of the homes in the historic area have porches on the south side for air flow. Note the door on the first floor.

 Two staircases. One for the women and one for the men so the men won't look at the ladies ankles. 

 A peek inside on of the many open air entries to these homes. 

One of the hundreds of door knockers throughout the city. 

   Battery and White point gardens.

Ft Sumter in the background

 Then off to Magnolia Cemetery, the Citadel, and the Charleston Museum.

 The Confederate part of Magnolia Cemetery

 We love these old cemeteries. From fenced in family plots to bordered plots you see everything imaginable. The child s grave in the picture below is both touching and eerie.

 This pyramid tomb is unique. Especially with the stained glass window. 

 The window from the inside

 Here lie all three crews of the H L Hunley. 

And this was sad. Note the toys at the base of the crosses. And note how long the rows are. These are child s graves and they are not that old. This was just one of several sections like this in the cemetery. 

The Citadel is a military academy that started in 1842. During the Civil War the cadets and teachers maned some of the guns that fired  on Ft. Sumter. and were involved in several battles during the war. It was a training facility during WWI and WWII. And cadets and alumni fought in all of our wars with distinction. 

In 1918 it moved to its current campus and continues to turn out officers for our military. 

 The main building

 Military hardware is placed around the quad 

Mascot outside their stadium 

Well that's it for Charleston. Hope you enjoyed it. Now it's on to Chattanooga. Please let us know what you think about the blog. What you like and what you don't. IE, too much history, or pictures etc. 

See you down the road.