Middleton Place, a National Historic Landmark on the Ashley River, has been engaged for decades in telling the story of all the people who lived here, both black and white. For many years, images of slavery by white artists have shown legions of African Americans toiling in fields of tobacco, sugar, cotton and rice. Looking beyond the fields, the Middleton Place Foundation documents and commemorates, as far as possible, the lives, families and contributions of some seven generations of people enslaved by the Middleton family.

The enslaved left few artifacts, personal papers or documents. In the Charleston area, even recorded oral histories are rare. Middleton family letters, plantation records, probate records and other public documents provide only brief glimpses into the lives of the enslaved at Middleton Place. The Foundation was confronted with the very real challenge of making visible those who had been invisible and extrapolating tangible evidence from the intangibles of their lives. The Beyond the Fields – Slavery at Middleton Place documentary film is an American story told through discussions with historians, authors, researchers, preservationists, historic site interpreters and descendants of the Middletons.

This documentary will be shown in our Pavilion at 10:30AM and 2:30PM on February 10th, 2024 and is free with General Admission.