Bored and sitting at home, I decided that we should go out and explore Charleston. We googled “cool things to do in Charleston” and set out to Charles Towne Landing.
The site preserves the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina, which was established in 1670. Although the settlers only used the site for shipping and maritime use for 10 years, the land continued to be used for farming until it was donated to the state by Ferdinanda Legare in the 1980s.
Our first stop was the Animal Forest which is a natural habitat zoo that houses animals that were originally indigenous to the area. Many of the animals in the habitat are injured and thus cannot be released back into the wild.
Black bears…
Skunks…
Bison…
Great herons and many more!
We wandered back over towards the historical path and were greeted by the statue of Cassique, who was the chief of the Kiawah tribe in the 17th century. Cassique was the one who gave the land to the early settlers when they first came to South Carolina and taught them to plant and grow crops. Kiawah Island is named after this tribe of Native Americans and an entire golf complex is dedicated to Cassique.
This was the site of the original plantation home that was built on Charles Towne Landing. It seems much smaller than the other plantations that are found throughout Charleston, but my dad reminded me that the house was built in the 17th century and the family most likely didn’t need a sprawling Gone with the Wind style manor.
Another big attraction at Charles Towne Landing is “The Adventure” which is a complete replica of a common 17th century cargo vessel. Charleston’s always been a big port and shipping city and the same can be said about its colonial predecessor. Can you imagine traveling on a boat this small all the way to Barbados??!
I’m on a boat!!
An amazing glimpse of the new from within the old.
This is a reconstruction of what a typical dining and living hall would have looked like on this site in the 17th century. Very simple and sparse due to the fact that families did not usually live on the grounds, just worked.
Hello MTV and welcome to my crib (bad joke, bad joke I know).
Further on, the fortified area of the site has been reconstructed and bound by a palisade wall. Not much is known about the area since the last archaeological dig was completed in the 1960s but there are a few very crude reconstructions of what may have once been found in the area.
The darker outline is what archaeologists discovered during digs and what led to the realization of the existence of the palisade wall.
Our last stop at Charles Towne Landing was the Legare-Waring House. While events can be held at the house, visitors are not allowed inside so we just walked around the gardens and enjoyed the sunshine.
I really enjoyed Charles Towne Landing and I think that it would be a wonderful place for families to come with their children for a day trip. Lots of history and nature to explore in one place!