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When we visited South Carolina, our favorite spot was a plantation named Middleton Place located in the area known as the Low Country. The main house, which no longer stands, was built sometime before 1741. From it, landscaped gardens and terraced lawns stretch down to the river below. Rivers served as highways for the Low Country plantations into the 1900s because the narrow dirt roads leading to them were frequently impassable. The formal gardens, which reflect the grand classic style popular in England and Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, were begun in 1741 by Henry Middleton. He had acquired the house as part of the dowry his wife Mary Williams brought to the family. Great attention was paid to the use of woods and water in the gardens. It took one hundred slaves almost a decade to complete the wide-sweeping terraces, the walks, the artificial lakes and the long vistas to the river and the marshlands beyond. Two flanking houses, one a conservatory and library and the other designated the gentlemen's guest wing, were added to the property in 1755. Middleton Place endured fire, war, earthquakes and devastating hurricanes. By the end of the 19th century, the once magnificent gardens lay overgrown and neglected and only the south flanker remained standing. In the 1920s, descendents of the original family, renovated and modernized the remaining flanker as a residence and began to restore the gardens and other areas of the property. It was opened to the public in 1970 and in 1974 a trust was established for its ongoing preservation. Now a National Historic Landmark, it is a lovely place to visit. You can see a larger, slower version of a picture by clicking on it.
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