this week, while i’m home in atlanta, is all about indulging. in summer reading and fried chicken.

thefreedomsummer:plantationlife.

June 9, 2011

poor arthur middleton, and all that remains of his ca. 1705 house:
arthur signed the declaration of independence, developed his plantation (acquired as part of an advantageous dowry), and spent his days overseeing the plantation workers (read:slaves). when arthur died, he was placed in a tomb on his beloved land. other family members joined him there over the years.

arthur no longer enjoyed the view of the rice field and the river from his portico.

or sat under the shade of an ancient tree, once used as a trail marker for native americans before the english settlement of the area.

generations later, the family boasted a south carolina governor. the new master of the plantation wished to build a billiards room over the spring-cooled dairy. but, the mistress had other plans for the room…

once union soldiers trashed the grounds during the civil war, arthur’s descendants let the plantation go into ruin. but they didn’t let it leave his family.

years later, at the height of the gardens’ wild romanticism, the family ventured through the grounds for the first time in as long as anyone could remember.

they righted fallen statues.

they replanted ancient camellias and cleared paths.

they brought back sheep and goats and dairy cows, and put in a sun dial.
today, though, you don’t have to be part of the family to ramble around the gardens and hold the soft spanish moss and taste the most delicious cheese grits you’ve ever experienced (and you’re from the deep south, and you’ve experienced a lot of them).