Connecting the Past to the 21st Century

Starting July 14th, new technologies are coming to Drayton Hall’s popular interactive program Connections: From Africa to America. Museum interpreters will use iPads to present the program and interact with guests as part of Drayton Hall’s continuing focus on combining technology and interpretation.

Museum interpreter Deana Boulware uses an iPad to present Connections to guests.

The program connects the contributions and experiences of Africans and African Americans to South Carolina, Charleston, and Drayton Hall. The iPads will allow museum interpreters to present new images of primary sources, artifacts, and people to tell the story of the enslaved people and their descendents who were connected to Drayton Hall. Images include pieces from Drayton Hall’s collection, such as colonoware fragments and extracts from Charles Drayton’s diaries.

“To present historical documents and images in the most up-to-date way possible is a great example of the commitment Drayton Hall has to reinventing itself, and to speaking​ to more generations of visitors as technological capabilities increase and diversify,” said Carin Boone, a museum interpreter at Drayton Hall. “We have a great opportunity to reach out to more people and remind them that the stewardship of stories like those of the Bowens family and countless others is a responsibility that rests with all of us, not just preservation professionals.”

Connections: From Africa to America is a 30-minute program presented twice daily: Monday-Saturday at 11 am and 2 pm, and Sunday at 12 pm and 2 pm. The program is included with regular admission. 

Celebrating our Interpreters: Giving Tours for 5+ Years

By Rikki Davenport, Curator of Education

Looking at Drayton Hall, it’s easy to recognize the house as our most valuable asset. Visit Drayton Hall, work at Drayton Hall, or volunteer at Drayton Hall and it’s just as easy to recognize that our interpreters are every bit as valuable as our house. It is our interpreters who provide a voice to the people who lived and worked on the landscape, who make the architecture and history accessible to all of our visitors, and who inspire people to embrace historic preservation. This month we have chosen to highlight our interpreters who have been part of Drayton Hall’s history for five or more years.

From left to right: Peggy Reider, Pattie Jack, Amanda Franklin, and Betsy McAmis.

Peggy Reider, circa 2001, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Bates College and a Master of Public Administration from Penn State University. As Drayton Hall’s lead interpreter, Peggy works to prepare new interpreters to present house tours and the Connections program. After thirteen years of being immersed in Drayton Hall knowledge, Peggy is the go-to person when staff members have a question about anything from family history to the location of a file on colonial brick making. While Peggy has presented every public program offered, she does have her favorite. “What I love most is the interaction in the Connections program,” Peggy said.

Phoebe Willis, circa 2002, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree. Phoebe started at Drayton Hall as a volunteer, followed by time in the shop until her retirement. Unable to stay away from Drayton Hall, Phoebe returned in 2007 as a walking tour guide then added on the roles of interpreter and volunteer archaeological assistant. Phoebe says, “The thing I like best about working at Drayton Hall is the amazing combined talents of the staff from whom I have learned so much. Drayton Hall, the place, is such a treasure trove of “stuff” waiting to be discovered or disclosed.”

Pattie Jack, circa 2004, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Early American Studies and a Master of Arts in Teaching History. For the past decade, Pattie has been busy leading tours, organizing student programs, working in the museum shop, and welcoming visitors at the front gate. “My favorite thing about Drayton Hall is driving on the property every morning,” Pattie said. “When the house comes into view, it never fails to give me and overwhelming sense of place and peace.”

Diane Miller, circa 2005, finished her Bachelor of Arts in Historic Preservation and Community Planning. A lover of history and material culture, Diane was excited to begin her role as an interpreter at Drayton Hall only a few months after graduation from the College of Charleston. Diane now splits her time between Drayton Hall and as a staff member at her alma mater. Diane enjoys the company of everyone and said, “What I love most is working with a group of people who find the history of Drayton Hall as fascinating as I do and who, like me, absolutely love to share what we know with our visitors.”

Amanda Franklin, circa 2005, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Historic Preservation from the College of Charleston. Born and raised in Charleston, Amanda has been connected to Drayton Hall since her first visit at seven years old. After learning how the Drayton family kept a growth chart of their children and dogs, Amanda began a growth chart of her family pets. She now enjoys measuring her own children and seeing the tradition continue as Draytons bring new generations to be added to the growth chart at Drayton Hall. “This place has been part of my life since I was a child. I grew up just down the street and always knew that I would be a part of this history.”

Betsy McAmis, circa 2007, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Charleston Southern University (then Baptist College at Charleston), and a Master of Arts in Teaching from The Citadel. Betsy taught history and Spanish at Summerville High School for thirty-three years before joining the staff of Drayton Hall. While she enjoyed the classroom, she doesn’t hesitate to tell people that her favorite job has been as a Drayton Hall interpreter. Ever the teacher, Betsy said the following: “My favorite thing about working at Drayton Hall is sharing in discussions about our nation’s history with every age group from grade school students to senior citizens. Visitors and staff alike are eager to talk about history all day long! What could be more delightful for a retired history teacher than to see such enthusiasm for life-long learning?”

Leslie Newman, circa 2007, holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from Wofford College, a Master of Education in Secondary Education from Converse College, and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of South Carolina. Leslie began her tenure at Drayton Hall as an interpreter and two years ago added on the role of Membership and Development Coordinator. While Leslie spends most of her time working with the Friends of Drayton Hall, she still manages to occasionally lead a group house tour and stay involved with the interpretive staff. “What I love most about working at Drayton Hall is the camaraderie among all of us who love history and who appreciate and support the mission of preserving this special site for future generations,” Leslie said. “Also, I feel so fortunate to be able to come to work here each day–how many people have their office in a place of such natural beauty and historic importance?”

Sarah Stroud Clarke, circa 2008, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, a Master of Arts degree in Anthropology from San Diego State University, and is pursuing a PhD in anthropology from Syracuse University. Sarah began her career at Drayton Hall as an intern, then joined the interpretive staff, and now serves as Archeologist and Curator of Collections. When she isn’t digging in the dirt or mending artifacts, Sarah enjoys leading house tours and speaking to students on field trips. “I love the challenge of my job,” Sarah said. “It is a privilege to take care of our museum collection and to study the amazing archaeological collection; my work is never boring!”

Visit Drayton Hall and you will experience a tour led by the best educated and most devoted staff of any historic site in the area. As the Curator of Education at Drayton Hall for the past seven years, it has been my pleasure and honor to work with a staff of interpreters who truly believe in the mission of Dayton Hall and add to the history of the site every day.

Rikki Davenport, circa 2007, holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and Political Science from the University of California, Davis, a Master of Arts in Education, Curriculum and Instruction from California State University, Sacramento, and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from The Citadel.

Oral Histories: Continuing a Legacy

by George W. McDaniel, Executive Director

One of the wonderful things about working at a historical site is that one never tires of the questions it can raise. As is well understood today, one cannot research or interpret the history of a southern plantation without understanding the history of the people, both black and white, since both made the plantation possible. To deny one is to deny a complete and accurate  history of the site.

We are fortunate that members of the Drayton family left documentation and material culture that help us understand and present how their history evolved over time. But history of this site didn’t stop in 1865 or 1900, and our charge is to tell that more complete story. The exciting thing about the more recent past is that there are persons who can share their insights and personal reflections with us and add important human dimensions to the story. The Bowens family is an example, and to understand their heritage Drayton Hall has been actively involved in the research of archaeology, material culture, written documentation, photographic evidence, and oral history.

Richmond Bowens, born at Drayton Hall in 1908, sat in his rocking chair on the Museum Shop’s porch during the 1990s where he would recall his 23 years of life growing up on the property between 1908 and 1931 when Drayton Hall was still privately owned. The rocking chair is part of Drayton Hall’s collection.

When I arrived in 1989, I was fortunate to meet Richmond Bowens. Born here in 1908, Richmond was the grandson of freed slaves and a remarkable resource for oral history. He loved history and also loved sharing history with others. He was very careful in explaining history as he remembered it, and did not venture forth in conjectures about things he did not know. We recorded his recollections as he walked the grounds, touring the cemetery where his ancestors were buried and the site of the tenant house where he lived as a child. Historian Charles Joyner from Coastal Carolina University and its media staff videotaped him in the mid-90s as he advised the excavation of his tenant home site, and the film was shown on the History Channel and on SCETV as well as at professional conferences as a model for interdisciplinary research.

Richmond was the gatekeeper at Drayton Hall and took that job very seriously. He welcomed people to the site as an ambassador, and also stopped people who tried to slip in without paying! In the early 1990s, he transitioned from the gate to the museum shop where he served as our unofficial “historian in residence.” He shared his recollections with visitors so that they could closely relate to the world he was describing, and presented photographs, census reports documenting his family, and actual stalks of rice and ears of corn so he could explain agricultural practices he knew growing up here. According to his family’s history, his ancestors came over with the Draytons in the 1670s from Barbados, so his history parallels that of the Draytons in America. As a result of all this, people would sit on the bench by his rocking chair and talk to him for hours.

In 1998, Richmond passed away and is buried in the cemetery here among his ancestors.  To continue his legacy, we began Connections: From Africa to America and infused his recollections into that program. We’ve also recorded descendants’ stories of life here in the 20th century in order to better answer those many questions a southern plantation site may generate.

Richmond Bowens’ legacy is continued by his cousins Catherine Braxton and Rebecca Campbell as well as other descendants. The two sisters grew up in downtown Charleston and visited Drayton Hall from time to time. When Richmond was working here they came to visit him, and he shared his knowledge with them. They too are deeply concerned about the preservation of history and have helped Drayton Hall in a range of significant ways over the years to learn more about the history on the site and of specific individuals, as seen in the interactive DVD tour of the landscape.  For more insights into their thoughts about Drayton Hall,  I recommend watching the video produced by C-SPAN that features Catherine and Rebecca in the African American cemetery at Drayton Hall, which is available via this link.

Click the image above to watch the video by C-SPAN and American History TV. Featured in this video are interviews with Catherine Braxton and Rebecca Campbell, descendants of both freed and enslaved African Americans at Drayton Hall.