Along the Hammock Coast: St. Helena Island to Charleston, SC

The majority of South Carolina’s 16 barrier Islands were formed during the Ice Age along with nearly 200-miles of Atlantic Ocean shoreline. The Hammock Coast (HC), the region from Myrtle Beach to Charleston, includes the Gullah culture, quiet beaches, historic sites, fine dining and exquisite regional cuisine. From Beaufort you can set out on the 170-mile drive north into the state’s 493-year biography. #discoversc

 

Indigo was SC’s most important colonial money crop but after the Revolution the British market dried up and a replacement was needed. In 1786 a variety of Sea Island Cotton, Gossypium Bardadense, was imported into the HC. Sea Island Cotton is long-staple, silky, fine textured and grew particularly well on the islands because of the conditions and the African labor force.

Rice became the cash crop in the 1800s and again African knowledge of technology became prized. Most of the Africans brought to work in the fields were from the West and Central African region deemed “The Rice Coast” where they were largely left to run the island plantations in isolation as owners lived elsewhere. Their isolation allowed them to retain their unique culture and African linguistic patterns and language. The Union occupation in 1861 resulted in the Gullahs being the first freed southern slaves. Philadelphia Quaker missionaries organized schools for the freedmen and in 1862 set up the Penn Center as the first school on St. Helena Island.

Penn Center is a National Historic Landmark Districtwith a museum, educational center, and two sites that are part of the Reconstruction Era Monument. The Center promotes social justice and preserves the history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people. A self-guided tour is available that includes the historic 1903 Darrah Hall, a meeting place for Civil Rights Leaders including King and the 1855 Brick Church. Also on the grounds is Gantt Cottage, a retreat visited by King and the site of some of  his work on the “I Have a Dream Speech”. November Heritage Days, featuring Aunt Pearlie Sue’s Gullah Kinfolk singers, are held at Penn Center annually. 

Botany Bay Plantation Heritage Preserve and Wildlife Management Area is comprised of two cotton plantations, Bleak Hall and Sea Cloud, both now in ruins. The circular driving tour has 15 sites including a historic Ice House and Indian Point, a former community of Cusabo Indians dating from 2500 B.C. 

Georgetown, SC, the state’s 3^rdoldest city, is at the heart of the HC and it offers surprises at every turn. It is rife with history from every era, shopping options, waterfront dining and oak lined streets worthy of a long meander. It was the richest county in the original colonies because rice production was introduced in 1690. At one point Georgetown produced 2/3 of American rice and over 90% of the population was black in 1850. Historicgeorgetownsc.com

The first European settlement in the US was the 1526 Spanish settlement of San Miguel de Guadalupe near Georgetown. The colony failed after 3 months largely because the slaves that accompanied the Spanish revolted and fled to the Native Americans. This was the first slave revolt in the nation.

Georgetown is walkable with a 1,000-ft. boardwalk along the bay and brick sidewalks on Front Street. Walking, tram, ghost and boat tours are regularly scheduled. Markers are located throughout the city and maps and information are available.

The Gullah Museum and Gift Shop recounts the Gullah story from Africa to Emancipation through artifacts, memorabilia and internationally recognized story quilts. Visitors can tour and purchase authentic crafts. This museum is a gem. 

The economic importance of rice is featured in the Rice Museum with dioramas and tools. Rice was so significant it could be used in lieu of cash. The museum is located inside the 1842 Classic Revival Old Market Building that once held slave sales. A Clock Tower was added in 1845. 

Robert Smalls is showcased along with shipwreck and fossil exhibits in the South Carolina Maritime Museum.The featured exhibit is theFresnel lens from the old North Island lighthouse. 

There are more than 60 antebellum homes in Georgetown but the crown jewel is the 1769 Kaminski House Museum. It was built by one of Georgetown’s richest men on a bluff above the river. Tours highlight an extraordinary collection of pre-20^thcentury antiques. 

Georgetown’s Old Fish House/Big Tuna Restaurant and Raw Bar has a menu of fresh seafood specialties. Seating is indoors or on the waterfront. 

Awendaw, SC’s Center for Birds of Prey is a 150-acre conservation center that began as a hospital. Their mission is to identify and address environmental issues through avian research. The collection consists of 50% injured birds and 50% birds bred for educational research. This center treats the birds that were caught in oil spills and yes, they do use Dawn. Tours are scheduled. 

Archer, a writer, and Anna, a sculptress, Huntingdon were philanthropists who purchased 9,000-acres and built an oceanside home (1931-33) as a winter residence using no architectural plans. Atalaya Castle, “Watchtower”, has Moorish influences and contains 30 rooms including indoor and outdoor studios and a library. Built with local labor it is a National Historic Landmark that must be seen to be believed. 

Brookgreen Gardens, the 9,000-acre oldest and largest public sculpture garden in the country, was a Huntingdon donation. The Gardens also include the Pavilion Restaurant, Lowcountry Zoo, Arboretum, Enchanted Storybook Forest, Butterfly House, educational programming and excursions. Both Atalaya and Brookgreen Gardens are in Murrells Inlet. 

Wander along the Hammock Coast and be amazed at every turn. 

TRAVEL TIP:

If your journey begins in Savannah be certain to explore the city’s history with 2 unique stops. The American Prohibition Museum tells its story with docents, wax figures, period artifacts, dioramas and a functioning speakeasy. 

Prohibition, a restaurant and bar, capture the essence of the era with artifacts, antiques, craft cocktails and heritage drinks made from 60-year old recipes. There are private booths and architectural elements obtained from authentic NY speakeasies. The menu enhances the experience and the camaraderie makes this a must visit. prohibitionsavannah.com

Bountiful Beaufort, SC

Beaufort, established in 1711, is the second oldest city in South Carolina and predates the founding of the US by sixty-five years. It is situated in the Lowcountry on Port Royal Island along the Atlantic shore. By virtue of its age and location it has been a participant and a witness to the events that shaped our country. To interpret those stories it offers seventy sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the largest Gullah community, an unparalleled number of architectural treasures dating from the antebellum period, award-winning cultural and hi

storical cuisine and a menu of outdoor activities. www.beaufortchamber.org

                  

No matter how you choose to experience Beaufort you should begin in the 7-acre Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and the adjacent Downtown Marina. There are historic markers and views of the inner coastal waterway. The area is in close proximity to Downtown Bay Street, on the National Register, filled with unique shops, galleries and eclectic restaurants. Sea Island Carriage Tours is located on Bay Street and this 55-minute, leisurely paced, narrated tour provides an excellent overview of the city. seaislandcarriagecompany.com

Plum’s Restaurant on Bay Street offers Lowcountry cuisine crafted from fresh locally sourced foods. The dining is casual but the food is really serious! Plumsrestaurant.com

While on the waterfront a great place to dine is the Saltus River Grill. The views are outstanding and the menu provides a seafood culinary experience. Saltusrivergrill.com

                  

Movie fans can tour Hollywood movie locations on a walking tour and on the Pat Conroy Literary Tour. Conroy, author of The Great Santini, lived in Beaufort and included on a tour of sites important to the author is the Pat Conroy Literary Center. The guided van tour is 90-minutes.

The Milton Maxcy house was built on the site of a 1740s house in 1810 and remodeled in 1850. The palatial Greek Revival home is known as the Secession House because it was there that meetings, as early as 1851, were held that led to the decision to favor secession. The owner at the time, Edmund Rhett, a rabid secessionist, enslaved 42 people.

                  

Prior to the Civil War South Carolina was the richest colony in the nation due to its succeeding eras of deerskin, indigo, rice and cotton trades. The first colonial settlers arrived from Barbados in 1690 with their slaves. It quickly became apparent that slavery was very lucrative and by 1860 they were 57% of the state’s population. Lowcountry plantation owners flaunted their wealth by building elaborate summer homes in Beaufort, many of which still stand and are today a Landmark District. The Nov. 7, 1861 Battle of Port Royal led to early Union occupation of Beaufort. When the Union soldiers marched in in December the sole remaining white resident was in the post office and was informed that no harm would come to the town. 

In January of 2017 President Obama established the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort to recognize, commemorate and promulgate the impact of the Reconstruction Era, from 1861-76, on world history. Beaufort was chosen largely because of the Port Royal Experiment, a first step toward reconstruction.  The visitor center houses an exhibit that provides a general overview. Additional sites are found at the Penn Center, Camp Saxon and within the historic district. nationalparks.org/explore-parks/reconstruction-era-national-monument

         

       

The Union was left with an empty town and more than 10,000 abandoned slaves, arguably the first freed slaves in the war. By 1862 missionaries, many from Philadelphia, arrived. The US government permitted the freedmen to continue to run the plantations with profits given to the government. Many of the federal taxes on Beaufort homes went unpaid and they were sold at auction. Some were purchased by the formerly enslaved. One case, in which the home was purchased by the former black housekeeper, went to the Supreme Court. The former owner lost the case.

            

    

Beaufort History Museum, located in the arsenal, relates the story of Beaufort from the 1500s. On the second level a gallery is devoted to movies filmed in the area. The history gallery has an impressive array of artifacts and offers guided tours. www.beauforthistorymuseum

Robert Smalls was born John McKee’s slave in Beaufort in 1839. McKee took him to Charleston in 1851 and hired him out. He eventually worked on the Confederate troop ship CSS Planter where he became capable of doing every job. While the white crew was ashore on May 13, 1862  he loaded the ship with his family and other black crewmen and their families, dressed as the captain and sailed the ship through Charleston Harbor. He turned the ship over to the Union and received a $1500 bounty and heroic status in the North. He was promoted to captain of the gunboat Planter in 1863. Also in 1863 he met with Lincoln to discuss the fate of the contrabands. In 1868 he attended the State Constitution Convention. He served in the State Legislature 1868-74 and the House of Representatives from 1875-1887. 

His home, a T-shaped 2-story house on Prince Street, was McKee’s former home. When his master’s wibecame ill Smalls moved her into the mansion. His family retained ownership until 1953.

Smalls died in 1915 and was interred in a family plot at the 1863 Tabernacle Baptist Church. A memorial to Smalls is on the grounds and will be joined by a life-sized statue of Harriet Tubman who served as a nurse in Beaufort. 

         

       

The Beaufort Inn provides perfect accommodations for a visit to the Hammock Coast. The boutique inn is located on a private city block and includes both mansion and cottage guestrooms with unique and special touches. The amenities include private porches, breakfast vouchers, evening snacks, marshmallow roasts and deluxe bedding and linens. The inn is within walking distance of all the historic district sites and attractions and the Beaufort Day Spa is nearby. www.Beaufortinn.com

                  

               Beaufort was named the Best Small Town in the South. After visiting, you will agree. #discoversc

Black Bards

“Yet do I marvel at this curious thing: To make a poet black, and bid him sing!   

                                                         C. Cullen

Africans have always told their stories in pictographs, orally or in written form. Current documentary evidence shows that the Egyptian written language, in the form of hieroglyphics, dates from 3200 BC with only Sumerian being older. No matter the reasons Africans left the continent, or where the journey took them, they took with them the art of storytelling in the forms of song, dance and the written word. The cultural impact on foreign soil is often overlooked  but cannot be minimized. Viola Davis, a master storyteller, has prevailed upon us to “exhume our stories” and breathe life into, among others, those writers whose impact is international. Each of the authors I have chosen have a physical location that can be visited without benefit of an organized tour.

                                                          

            “I prefer rogues to imbeciles, because they sometimes take a rest.”   

                                                    Alexander Dumas, pér

The life of Alexandre Dumas, pèrewas as exciting as any of his written works. His father, Thomas, was the child of Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterieand a Dominican slave. Thomas was a slave because the child’s condition followed that of his mother. He was allowed to join Napoleon’s army on the condition that he change his surname. He became a general at the age of 31 but returned to France lame and impoverished 4-years later. He retired to Villers-Cotterêts, outside of Paris and Alexandre was born on July 24, 1802. His father died in 1806. 

Dumas’ first job was as a notary followed by working at the French Palais Royal as the secretary to the Duke of Orléans who later became King. His first works were done in collaboration and during his lifetime he is credited with more than 900 works including The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Christo (1846), and The Man in the Iron Mask (1847).

Although Dumas earned a fortune he spent lavishly and had as many as forty mistresses. In 1846 he built Monte Cristo, a country Renaissance château with a moated writing studio, the Chateau d’If. The exterior was carved with his personal motto, ”I love those who love me”. Upon completion in 1847 Dumas was without funds, in 1848 he sold his furniture and in 1849 he lost the estate. Monte Cristo was declared a Historic Monument in the 1970s and opened to the public in 1994.

Dumas died in 1870 and  was buried in Villers-Cotterets. In 2002 the French President had him disinterred and ceremoniously reburied in the Panthéon of Paris. Villers-Cotterêts honors Dumas with a statue in the Place du Docteur Jean Mouflier and the Alexandre Dumas Museum. The museum has three rooms of exhibits. The first gallery is devoted to General Thomas Dumas. The third room interprets the life of his son Alexandre Dumas, fils,  also a noted author. The central gallery is dedicated to Dumas, pére and features portraits, his desk and other historic items.

A seated statue of Dumas is found in Paris. He is atop a column and a seated D’Artagnan

adorns the rear.

“It is better to have dreamed a thousand dreams that never were than never to have dreamed at all.” Alexander Pushkin

Ibrahim, an African prince, was taken from Africa to Constantinople where he was sold into Russia where Peter the Great became his godfather. He was educated in France, changed

his name to Hannibal, and returned a military engineer. His son wed Marya Pushkin and their daughter was the mother of Alexander Pushkin, considered the “Father of Modern Russian Literature”.

Pushkin, born in 1799, was well known for his writing, his political activism and his wild ways. His satirical works caught the attention of the authorities as did his willingness to duel at any provocation. He was exiled to the south of Russia for a time. He wrote The Negro of Peter the Great, based on his grandfather’s life but readers can see his experiences woven

throughout the story. He vividly relates the reactions of the people to his “negro temperament” and “monkey’s face”. Pushkin’s most famous works were Eugene Onegin, The Bronze Horseman, Boris Godunov, Mozart and Salieri,The Stone Guest, and The Queen of Spades.Pushkin wed Natalya Goncharova in 1831 and in 1837 died as a result of a duel defending Natalya’s honor.

Pushkin is honored throughout Russia. A number of statues of him are in St. Petersburg, themost famous of which is located in front of the State Museum of Russia. The Czars’ Tsarskoe Selo estates were renamed Pushkin under the soviets. The Pushkin, Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum Museum is the royal school Pushkin attended. The exhibits here include restorations of his dorm and classroom.

A sculpture of Pushkin by Alexander Bourganov is situated at 22^ndand H Streets, N.W. in Washington, D.C.

“I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat”  Phillis Wheatley

In 1761 Phillis Wheatley was abducted from West Africa and sold cheaply in Boston, because she was a sickly 7-year old, to John Wheatley as a personal servant for his wife Susanna. The Wheatleys educated her with their children. In 1767 she published a poem and in 1773 she became the first African American to publish a book, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Seventeen Boston men were listed in the preface attesting to her authorship. She traveled to London to great acclaim as the abolitionists proof that blacks were not inherently inferior. During her lifetime her approximately 145 poems were greatly influenced by classical literature and the Bible.

Phillis was freed three months before Susanna died in 1773. All of the Wheatleys were dead by 1783 and Phillis slipped into poverty and the racial divide. In 1778 she had married a free black named John Peters  who refused to work. Phillis cleaned houses to support the family and continued to write without success. She died alone in Boston in 1784 while Peters was incarcerated. She is buried in Copps Hill Burying Ground in Boston.

On October 25, 2003 Boston honored her contribution at the Commonwealth Avenue Mall in the Boston Women’s Memorial. The artist, Meredith Bergmann, depicts Phillis along with Abigail Adams and Lucy Stone. A seated Phillis is lost in thought.

A Portuguese Odyssey: Óbidos, Alcobaça, Batalha, Nazaré and Fatima

Lisbon is so filled with activities, fine cuisine and wines that it is difficult for visitors to tear themselves away from the city but I assure you there are wonders throughout the country.  Some of Portugal’s most historic sites and monuments, as well as unique experiences, are to be found within a day’s drive of Lisbon and the small cities and quaint villages provide glimpses into the heart of the country. You can opt to rent a vehicle or book a Gray Line tour to one or more of these destinations.     

                  

Óbidos, a picture perfect fortified town, is a mere 50-miles from Lisbon. Encircled by 14th-century Moorish walls the town’s circuitous cobblestone streets lead to a 15^th-century medieval castle, now a luxury hotel. The fortress was rebuilt as a castle after the Moors left the town in 1148. You enter town trough the Porta da Vila gateway adorned with 16^th-century tiles detailing the Passion of Christ. The main street, Rua Direita, is lined with shops, some of which sell Ginja de Óbidos, a traditional cherry liquor in a chocolate cup made to be eaten after finishing the drink. A few of  these and you can walk the 1-mile wall perimeter and take in the panoramic view of the exterior vineyards, farmlands and intact, 1.5-mile, 16^th-century aqueduct and the interior flower-draped city streets. 

               

  

The town was so beautiful it was designated the House of Queens in 1281 after King Dinis gave it to Queen Isabel as a wedding gift. The tradition continued for 600-years. In 1444 the Santa Maria church was the scene of the wedding of King Afonso V, aged 10, to Isabel, aged 8. The church dates from the 1100s and was constructed on the site of a mosque.

                  

Alcobaça, is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Portugal’s largest church, begun in 1153 to commemorate the removal of the Moors, completed in 1223. There is much to see here including the vaulted ceiling, Cloister of Silence,  Room of Kings and the tombs of Portugal’s most famous lovers, Prince Pedro and Inês de Castro. Pedro was married to Constance but he carried on a secret love affair with Inês. When Constance died in 1345 he was denied permission to marry  her by his father King Afonso IV and so he went away and lived with her as his wife. The king ordered three men to murder her and she was decapitated on January 7, 1355. Pedro was so grief stricken he rebelled against his father in 1355 and crowned in 1357. Two of the murderers, they never located the third, were executed by having their hearts torn out. He had her exhumed, crowned queen and made members of the court kneel and kiss her hand. In 1360 Pedro interred her in a tomb in the Royal Monastery of Alcobaça. Pedro and Inês rest in the nave in ornate tombs with feet facing one another so that their first vision in the  afterlife will be each other.

Prince Henry the Navigator’s tomb is in the 1388 UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Dominican abbey of Santa Maria da Vitória,in Batalha.  The tombs of King João and his wife reside in the Chapel of Foundersand there is a superb 1514 stained-glass window behind the choir. Architecturally and historically this is an important and impressive edifice.

Nestled in a bay is the 4^th-century fishing town of Nazaré where visitors can soak up the atmosphere of a village seemingly arrested in time. Wooden fishing boats line the shore, some with an eye painted on the prow, reminiscent of Phoenician boats, along with fish drying racks. The town is believed to have been named after Nazareth in the Bible. There are seaside restaurants along the Avenida Marginal. In times past the “fishwives” of the town waited for the fishermen on the seafront and for warmth and superstition they wore the traditional seven skirts of Nazaréand wooden shoes. Lucky visitors may still see women dressed that way. Nazaré is an international surfing paradise because of the enormity of the waves here. Hugo Vau broke the world record in January of 2018 by riding a 100-ft. wave, Big Mamma, at Praia do Norte.

In the 7^th-century it is believed two sailors brought a statue of the Black Madonna to Nazaré from Nazareth. During the years the Moors ruled the statue was hidden and rediscovered in the 1100s. A chapel was constructed where she was discovered and in 1377 a larger church was built to accommodate the large number of pilgrims. The Black Madonna is still on view.

Around 1158, a crusading knight, Don Gonçalo Hermingues, captured a Muslim princess named Fátima. They fell in love, she converted to Christianity and they married. Soon after she died leaving a heartbroken husband. He joined the abbey of Alcobaça and when he moved he took her ashes with him and named the place where she was  buried after her. A chapel was built in her honor.

Fátima is one of the most famous  Christian religious sites in the world and receives millions of international visitors annually. The miracle took place from May 3 to October 13 in 1917. Three children, Jacinta 7, Santos 9 and Lucia 10, told their parents that the Virgin Mary appeared to them in the top of a tree while they were tending their sheep. Only Lucia spoke to Mary who told her she would reappear on the 13^thday for the next 5 months. Word spread and by the final visit 70,000 pilgrims gathered there.

The Sanctuary of Fátima complex has more than 15 individual sites.  The Neo-Baroque Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima limestone basilica was constructed from 1928-53 with a 231-ft. tower. Within the basilica are the tombs of Jacinta, Santos and Lucia and the stained glass windows depict the events. The 8,633 seat Basilica of the Holy Trinity, the 3^rd largest Catholic church in the world, was built from 2004 -2007. The Chapel of the Apparitions is situated on the spot where Mary appeared and a marble pillar and statue of Mary mark the exact spot. The tree in which Mary appeared is adjacent to the chapel. There is a full schedule of activities and no admission fees are charged. The homes of the three children are outside the complex.