SC PICTURE PROJECT - Key Persons
Arthur Middleton resided at Middleton Place after completing his education in England. He married Mary Izard in 1764, and the two briefly lived here before relocating to England from 1768 until 1770. It was during this time that their first child, Henry, was born. Like his father, Arthur was greatly motivated by politics. Once he returned to Middleton Place, he was affiliated with groups such as Charleston‘s Sons of Liberty. In 1776 he succeeded his father as president of the Continental Congress and subsequently signed the Declaration of Independence.
Arthur Middleton served in the Revolutionary War and was captured by the British during the 1780 Siege of Charleston. He was held in St. Augustine, Florida, as a prisoner of war until his exchange in July of 1781. He died on January 1, 1787, leaving the estate to his eldest son, Henry. Arthur Middleton's tomb is located within the gardens.
Barry Gooch was born and raised in Port Royal, near Beaufort. He grew up surfing, fishing, lifeguarding, and snapping photos Low Country landscapes and wildlife. Barry's photographs have been featured in the "South Carolina Wildlife" magazine, both the South Carolina and Georgia DNR websites, and numerous wildlife books and preservation websites. Barry currently splits his time between Lake Wateree and Beaufort, South Carolina.
Brandon Coffey, a dear friend who also worked at the South Carolina Picture Project for over two years, has contributed hundreds of photographs to both the South Carolina Picture Project and SouthCarolinaPlantations.com. In addition to having been my "partner in crime," I believe he is the best architectural photographer in South Carolina. He has a special passion for our state's abandoned buildings and its historic plantation homes. Brandon is also simply an incredibly special human being, and I was blessed to be able to spend so much time with him. The following is an article I wrote about Brandon over seven years ago now, back when I was first getting to know him.
In our minds, we envisioned an elderly gent - dapper, debonaire. A retired professor now touring the state at his leisure, he was a guest of honor at family reunions and barbeques. Sporting seersucker and a southern drawl, he obviously came complete with a Cadillac and a silver-tipped cane. A regular Walter Edgar, we even endowed him with a bow tie and a boutonniere!
Denmark Vesey is a name which is very much associated with the church that we know today as Emanuel AME. Vesey was raised in the Virgin Islands as the personal servant of the slave trader Captain Joseph Vesey. In an attempt to make a new life for himself, Captain Vesey settled in Charleston in 1783. Denmark remained with the Captain until 1799 when he was able to purchase his freedom with his $1,500 winnings from a lottery ticket. With his freedom, Denmark began to establish himself as a successful carpenter, building many houses for other free blacks in the Charleston area. In December of 1821 Demark started organizing a slave rebellion, and when authorities were informed of the plot, 313 alleged participants were arrested, with 35 - including Denmark - being executed. The Reverend Brown, suspected but never convicted of being a part of the plot, was able to leave Charleston and became the second bishop of the AME denomination in Philadelphia.
Contributor Diane Yale-Peabody shares, "The rice fields at Middleton Place are flooded at various times of the growing season to ensure proper germination and to keep down weeds. At other stages the fields are covered with inches-high seedlings, slender stalks waving and bowing under the weight of their rice heads or with brown stubble. Although the flood waters come from the retaining ponds and butterfly lakes on the plantation, the rice fields are very close to the Ashley River and look like they could be part of it."
The fertile land was hospitable for growing exotic gardens as well. Henry Middleton began installing his storied French formal gardens in 1741. They were modeled after the gardens designed for the Palace at Versailles and continue to feature outdoor "rooms" of sculpture as well reflecting pools, or "canals." The gardens at Middleton Place are the oldest landscaped gardens in America.
The second Henry Middleton continued in his family's history of political leadership. Not only did he serve as governor of South Carolina from 1810 through 1812, he was also elected to the United States Congress in 1815 and served until 1819. He was named diplomat to Russia from 1820 until 1830. A horticulturalist like his grandfather and namesake, he was great friends with the French botanist Andre Michaux. The celebrated gardens of Middleton Place are the site of the first camellias grown in the country, brought here by Michaux in 1786. One of Michaux's plants, the Reine-des-Fleur, still grows here. Michaux is responsible for introducing other non-native species to the Lowcountry such as crape myrtles and mimosa trees.
The John Rutledge House on Charleston's Broad Street offers visitors to the Holy City a chance to experience a piece of South Carolina history. Now an inn, this home was built in 1763 by John Rutledge for his 19-year-old bride, Elizabeth Grimke.
Rutledge sold the home before his death in 1800, and it changed hands among prominent South Carolinians several times. In 1853 slave trader Thomas Gadsden purchased the house and added a third floor. Gadsden was responsible for the terra cotta window cornices as well as the cast and wrought iron work on the balcony, stair rail, and fence. The ironwork is attributed to German ironworker Christopher Werner, who also designed the Sword Gates as seen at 38 Legare Street and The Citadel. The ironwork at the John Rutledge House depicts both palmetto trees and eagles, common motifs in Werner's pieces and said to be representative of the statesman Rutledge.
The Santee River is the second largest river on the East Coast in terms of drainage and flow, surpassed only by the Susquehanna River which runs through several northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. At 143 miles long, the Santee River is formed by the confluence of the Wateree River and the Congaree River, which merge about 25 miles below Columbia, just before entering Lake Marion. Lake Marion was created in 1941 by the construction of the Santee Dam to provide hydroelectric power to rural communities in South Carolina as part of the New Deal. The Santee River was dammed in 1939 for this project.