history
In the late 17th century, Stephen Fox acquired a 400-acre plantation along the banks of the Ashley River. Fox passed the land to his son-in-law, Thomas Drayton, thus establishing the Drayton family name upon the Ashley’s shores. The Draytons expanded their land holdings over the next two centuries reaching nearly 1,700 acres by the dawn of the Civil War. This land made up what became known as Magnolia-on-the-Ashley and later Magnolia Plantation & Gardens.
Carolina Gold Rice cultivated by the enslaved provided the vast wealth enjoyed by the Drayton family. Its name derived from the golden hue of the unhulled grains and for the riches it bestowed upon the planter class of Lowcountry South Carolina. However, those who toiled under the yoke of slavery to those golden grains are not forgotten. Four restored and preserved enslaved cabins are still present on the property. Dedicated conservation work continues to ensure we honor those who labored in the rice fields, house, and gardens at Magnolia Plantation.
In the 1840s, the Rev. John Grimké Drayton planted the elaborate Romantic gardens to help his new wife, Juliana Ewing, a Philadelphia socialite, adjust to Lowcountry life. The Rev. Drayton hoped the gardens would not only add beauty to their property but would also showcase his amazing collection of azaleas and camellias. In fact, Drayton’s stunning plants—long kept in the greenhouses of New York and Pennsylvania—were among the first of their kind to be planted outside in South Carolina’s sub-tropical climate. While Drayton possessed the vision, it was the enslaved who carried it out and labored to bring the Romantic garden dream to life.
Following the Civil War, Rev. Drayton found himself in dire need of revenue. Drayton sold a great deal of his holdings for phosphate mining—like many other large landholders across the Lowcountry—but Drayton held another unique card in his hand. In 1871, Magnolia opened its gardens to the public, becoming one of Charleston’s first tourist attractions. During the magnificent blooming of camellias and azaleas, visitors arrived via steamship on the Ashley River and received guided tours from those who had formerly been enslaved. People have been admiring the gardens ever since.
Now open year-round, Magnolia is in bloom 365 days a year!
tHe magnolia story
Milestones at Magnolia
1850 – Mrs. Julia Drayton (standing, at top of stairs), Ella Drayton (beside her mother, on rocking horse) and her older sister Julia (on steps) posed outside the second Magnolia house in this hand-tinted image taken in the early 1850s by someone from the Matthew Brady photography studio (or perhaps Brady himself). On Ella's left, standing, is an unidentified enslaved man.
1870 – This postcard from the late 19th century shows the arrival of a steamboat at Magnolia. Visitors to the gardens could come up the Ashley from Charleston by boat until the 1920s. Ashley River Road (Highway 61) was not paved until the 1930s.
1880 – By 1880, when this ticket was issued, visits to Magnolia Gardens during the spring bloom were commonplace.
1883 – Magnolia's iconic white bridge was built in the 1840s by enslaved workers; this photograph (taken in 1883) was part of a souvenir pamphlet offered for sale. It is one of the earliest photos of the Long Bridge.
1891 – Julia Drayton Hastie (1848-1920) inherited Magnolia when her father, the Reverend John Grimké Drayton, died in 1891. She was the only sole female owner in Magnolia's history.
1900 – An image taken in 1900 by William Henry Jackson for the Detroit Publishing Company shows six members of the garden staff posed on Magnolia Walk. Note the handmade brooms, used to sweep the dirt paths. The woman on the right wearing a checked skirt and dark top is identified as "Aunt Phoebe" in another photo from this series; the older man at left holding a rake may be Adam Bennett. The identities of the remaining four people are not known.
1920's – In 1951, C. Norwood Hastie Jr. (left) and his younger brother J. Drayton Hastie inherited Magnolia jointly from their father, C. N. Hastie. This photograph probably dates from the late 1920s, when both boys were young teenagers.
1946-47 – Magnolia Gardens Nursery Catalog
1953 – Through most of the 20th century, Magnolia's commercial plant nursery was locally renowned. Many species of camellia and azalea were cultivated on site, and revenue from the nursery helped support the gardens, which were only open to visitors for a few weeks in springtime.
1970 – This snapshot, taken in the early 1980s, shows the Reverend Willie Leach, superintendent of the gardens (left), standing next to J. Drayton Hastie, sole owner of Magnolia at the time. Reverend Leach lived and worked at Magnolia for nearly fifty years.
The Leach family has been working on the property since the early 20th century. Members of the family continue to care for the gardens as they have for more than 100 years.
John was born at Magnolia in the late 1870s; he was one of at least five children born to Adam Bennett and his wife, Hannah. His father, Adam, was the first garden superintendent at Magnolia, a position he held starting in the early 1870s. When the gardens first opened to the public, it was either the Rev. Drayton or Adam Bennett who would greet the steamboats after they docked. John would share the stewardship duties of the gardens with his father until Adam's death in 1910. John continued as the garden superintendent until his death in 1926.
history
horticulture
nature