Rice has had a significant impact on the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Despite being a small crop, it has given our environmental and cultural landscape a distinctive identity. As the Middleton Place Foundation is responsible for preserving this National Historic Landmark, education is a crucial aspect of our role, aiming to “connect people to the past and inspire a better future.” Ten staff and volunteer corp members recently planted “Carolina Gold” in our demonstration rice field near the butterfly lakes. Bringing back this demonstration rice field has been a goal of the Foundation this past year, and to see it come to fruition felt like a significant success.

Historically, the cultivation of rice was a labor-intensive process. The unique geography of the Lowcountry – marshy tidal estuaries and inland swamps – provided the ideal conditions for large-scale rice cultivation. Enslaved people constructed elaborate systems of dikes, canals, and floodgates to control water levels, creating expansive fields of “tidal rice,” or regionally referred to as “Carolina Gold.” Enslaved Africans utilized their expertise in rice cultivation, employing traditional West African methods such as the “tide flow” system, which synchronized planting with the ebb and flow of the natural tide.

As the Foundation plants these historically significant crops and curates interpretive signage and programming, we greatly look forward to seeing this initiative grow and flourish. For now, the demonstration rice field is flooded and is being watched over by staff and volunteers. During your next visit to Middleton Place, be sure to stop by the Demonstration Rice Field near the bottom of the Butterfly Lakes.