Middleton Place Plantation, Summerville, SC
"Middleton Place Plantation is a National Historic Landmark and a carefully preserved 18th-century plantation that has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake. "
Middleton Place is a plantation in Summerville, SC was built in several phases throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The plantation, which has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake was the primary residence of several generations of the Middleton family, many of whom played prominent roles in the colonial and antebellum history of South Carolina. The plantation, now a National Historic Landmark District, currently functions as a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States.
It was the home of four important generations of Middletons, beginning with Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Henry, Governor of South Carolina and an American Minister to Russia; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession.
The development and prosperity of the Gardens changed drastically during Williams Middleton's ownership. In signing the Ordinance of Secession, he endorsed the last Confederate cause; a failed attempt at independence that eventually led to the destruction of Middleton Place. On February 22, 1865, a detachment of the 56th New York Volunteer Regiment burned and looted the house and gardens. All that remained was the south dependency building, which is today the Middleton Place House Museum.
For more information visit MiddletonPlace.org
