An Essential American Experience
The historic preservation work and interpretation of history at Middleton Place focuses on major contributions of the Middleton family as well as the enslaved Africans and African Americans who lived and worked here. The stories are a microcosm of United States history. From the early Colonial period through the Revolution, the early Republic, the Civil War era and beyond, they made a mark on the land, the colony, state and nation.
learn moreThe Middleton Place National Historic Landmark is a place where the past greets the present on garden paths more than a quarter millennium old. Middleton Place is an American treasure and a testament to people, what they can accomplish and what they can overcome.
As part of Middleton Place’s mission to share the stories of the enslaved people who made a way of life and an economic empire possible, the Middleton Place Foundation conducted a 10-year research project to reveal the names and stories of the more than 2,800 enslaved people owned by the Middleton family from 1738 to 1865. A permanent exhibit in Eliza’s House, a book, and documentary film explore the lives, families, and contributions of some seven generations of enslaved people.
Beyond The Fields – Slavery at Middleton Place
The Beyond the Fields tour introduces visitors to the institution of slavery and the lives lived by enslaved Africans and African Americans – both slave and free - who labored at Middleton Place and other plantations throughout the South. It explores their personal and family lives, their faith, their leisure activities and the extraordinary cultural contributions they and their descendants made, and continue to make, to modern day America. Their story is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
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May 29, 2022
Rice and Slavery: The Connection that Made the Low Country
South Carolina’s first great agricultural staple, rice dominated the Low Country’s economy for almost two hundred years. It should be noted that as the rice industry grew, so did the enslaved labor force that grew it. This program explores not...
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June 11, 2022
A Red, White and Blue Celebration
What we know fondly as the “Stars and Stripes” was adopted by the Continental Congress as the official American Flag on June 14, 1777, in the midst of the Revolutionary War. Almost a year earlier, South Carolina’s Council of Safety...
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June 16, 2022
Wine on the Piazza | Edmondston Alston House
Looking for a cool breeze, breathtaking view, and a glass of wine? The Edmondston-Alston House is the perfect piazza for a summer evening. Enjoy a self-guided tour of the Edmondston-Alston House followed by a glass of wine on the second-story...
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June 16, 2022
Wine on the Piazza | Edmondston Alston House
Looking for a breathtaking view and a glass of wine? The Edmondston-Alston House is the perfect piazza for a springtime evening. Enjoy a self-guided tour of the Edmondston-Alston House followed by a glass of wine on the second-story piazza overlooking...
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June 19, 2022
Juneteenth
In 1863, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states to be free. More than two years would pass, however, before the news reached...
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July 2, 2022
Independence Celebration
In 1776, Arthur Middleton and 55 other members of the Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, thereby creating the United States of America. To mark this occasion, Middleton Place is hosting its annual Independence Celebration. On July 2, children of...
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