For the Charles E. Peterson Fellowship, I wrote six thematic essays about Drayton Hall, a historic plantation house in Charleston, South Carolina. My first essay topic is on the neighborhood surrounding Drayton Hall. Which consisted of going through newspaper articles, maps, Charles Drayton’s diary, letters, and photographs to find nearby plantations and places of community gathering such as taverns, schools, and churches. I discovered multiple tracts of land in the vicinity of Drayton Hall that were for sale using newspaper articles. Maps provided valuable insight into the neighborhood.
The next essay identifies buildings that no longer exist on the property to visualize what the landscape once looked like. The structures could be categorized based on architectural features, uses, and location. Photographic timelines proved to be very helpful when writing this essay. For example: Drayton Hall originally consisted of a five-part palladian design with two flanker buildings on each side, operating as living, cooking, and storage spaces. Photographs and paintings provided evidence of this original design. The following essay discusses the Civil War's impact on Drayton Hall. The Civil War greatly affected the landscape and surrounding neighborhood of Drayton Hall. The Civil War redefined Drayton Hall’s role in southern society. Drayton Hall experienced significant changes after the Civil War. Although the Drayton House was not burned down during the Civil War, possibly due to its owner at the time, John Drayton was a surgeon, and the presence of a smallpox flag saved it from burning. The structure itself may not have been dismantled, but the dynamics in which Drayton operated changed. The social and economic systems that defined Drayton Hall came to an end. An end to enslaved labor resulted in the destroyed investments in plantation cultivation. Rice plantations were unrecoverable due to neglect throughout the Civil War. The intense labor that was required for rice cultivation could no longer be forced onto a person and resulted in a decline in the significant economic prosperity that came with rice production. The land was leased to phosphate mining companies after the Civil War. The formerly enslaved were employed and lived on the land. I found that many sites along the Ashley River reverted to phosphate mining, then heritage tourism after WWII.
The following essay discusses African Americans' presence at Drayton Hall pre- and post-civil war and their connection to the landscape and the built environment at Drayton Hall. Their jobs included Blacksmiths, cooks, artisans, and carpenters. Multiple structures that contribute to the operation of a plantation include a kitchen house, privy, enslaved houses, carriage house, and stables. The enslaved people at Drayton consistently used these structures. The enslaved houses and flanker buildings acted as living spaces for the enslaved people. Their presence in the kitchen house was proven through archeology of kitchen artifacts near the flanker buildings. Diary entries proved to be very helpful in understanding enslaved life at Drayton, even though it is from the perspective of Charles Drayton. Diary entries from Charles Drayton about Dumplin, Seaboy, Billy, and Toby were valuable insights into enslaved life. Exeter and Carolina were two enslaved bricklayers at Drayton Hall. Carolina traveled to and from Charles’s plantations. Carolina and Exeter did a variety of work, including bricklaying and mowing the meadow for hay. Dumplin was the cook and may have lived in the cellar of the Drayton house along with George the butler and Fanny, his daughter. Through paint analysis, I was able to uncover animal fat on the bricks, indicating they cooked for themselves in this space.
The following essay discusses the Indigenous Connection to Drayton Hall. I discussed tribes that existed in the vicinity of Drayton Hall and how they changed throughout time, as well as how they navigated and responded to the changes in the region. Archaeological reports proved to be the most helpful when writing this essay. Written records were not as common or came from outside perspectives. Tribes, including the Stono, Kiawah, and Etiwan, had settlements along the Ashley River. Encounters between tribes would have likely taken place at Drayton Hall. The archaeological record at Drayton Hall has extensive evidence of pre-European native land use, as well as artifacts that speak to trade and exchange between the settlers and indigenous people. The artifact pictured here is a Catawba bowl found during the South Flanker Well excavation, pottery which often is found in 18th and 19th-century deposits in the Lowcountry. In 1802, Gov. John Drayton II (1766-1822) gave the population estimate of the Catawba Nation, which was around 200 in the State of South Carolina. Ashley River Road was the historic route to the Catawbas’ homeland and the backcountry, indicating trade with European colonists. Instead of permanent settlements, they resided near the coast during the warm months of spring and summer and inland during fall and winter. They practiced hunting and fishing more than agricultural practices. Native people faced immense challenges, such as land infringement, diseases, slavery, and war. The expansion of plantations like Drayton Hall in the 17th and 18th centuries contributed to the infringement the Native people experienced.
The final essay compares urban plantations to rural plantations; Examples used include the Aiken Rhett and the Nathaniel Russell House compared to Drayton Hall. Both urban and rural designed their buildings and landscape to assert their authority. Both implement hierarchical presence in a space. Urban and rural plantations operated in a society that revolved around slavery and contributed to this establishment. Each place used architecture and planning to enforce power and fuel the institution of slavery. The practice and institution of slavery were heavily ingrained in both but expressed differently. Rural plantations were more extensive agricultural operations. Enslaved people carried out rigorous labor practices on rural plantations, harvesting indigo, tobacco, cotton, and rice. Urban plantations were smaller and focused more on artisanal practices and domestic servitude. Enslaved people might have the opportunity to hire themselves out to multiple business ventures such as carpentry, cooking, blacksmithing, driving, and carrying out the needs of the enslaver. Both had a facade of beauty and used surveillance. Architecture was used to restrict their sense of mental and physical freedom. Drayton Hall consisted of a five-part Palladian design with a central home and two flanker buildings on either side of the house. Drayton structured the landscape to communicate a particular narrative to its visitors. The overseer's house was nearby to exert control. The staggering of the houses allowed for constant monitoring. The Aiken Rhett follows this in the way it is situated on the street. They were allowing for the Greek revival style home to be seen by passersby. The Aiken Rhett house contained detached servants’ quarters, a carriage house, a stable, a kitchen building, slave quarters, and a privy built along the edges of the lot with a yard in the center. Their proximity to the main house allowed for constant surveillance. The infrastructure of both plantation types, urban and rural, provides an understanding of how the enslaved navigated each landscape. The essay allows for an understanding of the circumstances enslaved people were subjected to/operated under. The fellowship provided me with an opportunity to practice using a variety of research methods. I gained experience using primary sources such as artifacts, diaries, photographs, and letters. I was able to delve into the history of African Americans and Native Americans' vital role in SC history.
