For groups of 10 or more advance notification is required. Please call McLeod to schedule your group visit.

INTERPRETIVE TOURS

Included in your admission are 45 minute guided tours offered at 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm and 2:30 pm.

An amazing place to experience history in Charleston. Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has witnessed some of the most significant periods of Charlestons and our nations history. Tour this 37 acre Gullah, Geechee heritage site that has been careful preserved and is recognized for its cultural and historic significance. McLeod Plantation was built on the riches of sea island cotton and on the backs of enslaved people whose work and culture and told and preserved through this site.

Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has borne witness to some of the most significant periods of Charlestons – and our nations – history. Today McLeod Plantation is an important 37-acre Gullah/Geechee heritage site that has been carefully preserved in recognition of its cultural and historical significance. The grounds include a riverside outdoor pavilion, a sweeping oak alley, and the McLeod Oak, which is thought to be more than 600 years old.

It is a place like no other, not frozen in time but vibrant, dynamic, and constantly evolving, where the winds of change whisper through the oak trees and voices from the past speak to all who pause to listen. McLeod Plantation was built on the riches of sea island cotton and on the backs of enslaved people whose work and culture are embedded in the Lowcountrys very foundation. It is a living tribute to the men and women and their descendants that persevered in their efforts to achieve freedom, equality, and justice. McLeod Plantation Historic Site is a South Carolina National Heritage Corridor site

All of their stories, black and white, enslaved and free are given their due. After years of careful research and restoration, McLeod Plantation Historic Site invites visitors to embark upon an in-depth exploration of the lives of those people whose stories are essential to understanding Charlestons complex past and helped shape who we, as a nation, are today.

• Tour the homes and compare the McLeod family home with those built for enslaved families.
• Learn about daily life and the relationships among the men, women, and children who lived and worked here before and after slavery.
• Study the cultivation and importance of sea island cotton.
• Gain insight into the plantations strategic importance during the Civil War and the role of the free black Massachusetts 55th Volunteer Infantry in emancipating enslaved people.
• Examine the influence of the Freedmens Bureau at McLeod Plantation and throughout the South.
• Trace the emergence of Gullah Culture in the Lowcountry.
• Explore worship and spirituality in the lives of McLeod Plantations residents.
• Draw parallels between the changing relationships among McLeod Plantations residents and in American society during the 20th century.
• See how people dramatically changed the natural history of the plantations landscape through time.

The struggle for freedom…personal, cultural, and political enacted over the centuries at McLeod Plantation provides new insights to anyone interested in American history.