A significant part of our educational mission, “connecting to the past and inspiring a better future,” rests on the cornerstone of understanding our shared American history. For Middleton Place, a date that holds major significance is February 23, 1865. Nearly 124 years after the Middletons acquired this land through a dowry, Federal Troops liberated the people enslaved at Middleton Place.

In honor of and in observance of that historic day, we will take the time to read aloud every one of the 3,200 names of the men, women, and children who were enslaved by the Middletons. It is a central tenet of the Foundation’s mission to steward this historic landscape and to tell the story of the people who also inhabited this landscape, both free and enslaved.

This ceremony will be included with General Admission.