Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, a 464-acre historic estate on the Ashley River near Charleston, began in 1679 as a Drayton family rice plantation shaped by dams and dikes built and worked by enslaved Africans and their descendants, whose communities helped form Lowcountry Gullah culture. In the 1840s, Reverend John Grimké Drayton transformed the grounds into celebrated English-style gardens known for azaleas, camellias, and live oaks. After the plantation house was burned during the Civil War and most of the larger estate was sold, the rebuilt property evolved into a public historic site with gardens, wetlands, a nursery, and preserved cabins interpreting life from slavery through freedom.

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia

Photo: Wikipedia