Archives: Destinations

Caw Caw Interpretive Center

Journey from the past to the present and heritage to habitat at the Caw Caw Interpretive Center. Rich in natural, cultural and historical resources, Caw Caw was once part of several rice plantations and home to enslaved Africans who applied their technology and skills in agriculture to carve the series of rice fields out of cypress swamps. Caw Caw Interpretive Center is managed as a low-impact wildlife preserve. Pets and bicycles are not permitted.

Features

• Over 6 miles of trails with trail-side exhibits
• Elevated boardwalks through wetlands
• Environmental and social studies education programs from preschool through college level
• Interpretive exhibits, displays, and programs
• Former 18th and 19th century rice fields and one of the important sites of the Stono Rebellion
• Thousands of naturalized tea plants from a 20th century tea farm
• Noted for its rich bird life, Caw Caw is a birding hotspot for coastal South Carolina.
• Areas managed for wildlife including waterfowl, songbirds, otters, deer, and more
• Favored habitats for rare wildlife: American Alligators, Swallow-tailed Kites, Bald Eagles, and others

Address:
5200 Savannah Hwy
Ravennel, SC

Boone Hall Plantation

Boone Hall Plantation is an iconic landmark site to visit in the Charleston area. Voted #1 Plantation in Charleston by a USA Today readers poll.

Open 7 days a week.

Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge

The Arthur Ravenel, Jr. Bridge is a famous landmark in Charleston that straddles the Cooper River taking people to and from Mount Pleasant and downtown Charleston. There is also a pedistrian and bike path that provides amazing panoramic views of the Charleston Harbor.

The Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge
Carries: Bikes and Pedestrians
8 Lanes of US 17

Crosses
Cooper River

Locale
From: Charleston, SC
To: Mt. Pleasant, SC

Design
Cable-stayed bridge

Total length
13,200 feet (4.0 km)

Width
eight 12-foot (3.7 m) lanes

Height
575 feet (175 m)

Longest span
1,546 feet (471 m)

Opened
July 16, 2005; 7 years ago

Angel Oak Tree

Angel Oak Tree does not charge admission. Only open during operating hours. Please see below.

On Johns Island stands the majestic Angel Oak. Estimated to be between 300-400 years old; the tree towers 65 feet high and has a circumference of 25.5 feet. Its area of shade is 17,000 square feet and its largest limb has a circumference of 11.5 feet, and a length of 89 feet. Live oaks are not particularly tall trees, but have wide-spreading canopies. Only in the very old specimens do you find massive limbs resting on the ground, as you do the limbs of the Angel Oak. The City of Charleston acquired the Angel Oak Park in 1991.

Adventure Sightseeing See It All – Bus Tour

Join Adventure Sightseeing for our ‘See it all’ city tour and see the best of Charleston! Their relaxing and informative 90 minute bus tour is the best way to be introduced (or re-introduced!) to the Holy City. Professional and knowledgeable guides will share 350 years of Charleston history while cruising through the city’s historic district in cool, air conditioned comfort.

Highlights of the 1.5-hour Historic City Tour may include:

• Select stories from 350 years of Charleston history
• Beautiful architecture in the historic district
• Drive through The Citadel, the South’s most famous military academy
• The Old City Market, lovely gardens, wrought iron art, and many of the city’s 210 churches are just some of the sights you will see!
• Tour around the Battery and stop for a photo opportunity with Fort Sumter in the background
• Many other historic sights of Charleston!

ATTRACTION ADDRESS:
375 Meeting Street
Charleston, SC 29401

Cotton Exchange Building & Factors Walk

The Savannah Cotton Exchange stands as a grand reminder of cotton’s influence on this city. Built in 1886 by Boston architect William G. Preston, the cotton exchange was one of the first major buildings to be constructed entirely over a public street. Built of red brick with a terra cotta façade, iron window lintels and copper finials and copings, the building is one of the best surviving examples of the Romantic Revival period. The original building was built in 1872 when export revenue from cotton was $40 million when Georgia was the leading cotton producer in the country, and Savannah was one of the major cotton seaports on the Atlantic. By the 1880s the area was known as the “Wall Street of the South.” Ironically the current building was constructed when cotton was only selling for as little as ten cents a pound. But it was a little insect, the boll weevil, which finally rendered the building obsolete by 1920. In the front of the exchange, an elaborate iron fence with detailed medallions of famous statesmen and authors encloses a statue of a griffin and landscaped fountain.

Factors Walk: The large brick buildings that rise two and three stories above the riverfront now house many of the businesses that attract visitors to River Street. What many people don’t realize is that these buildings were initially large cotton warehouses, with offices for the cotton brokers or “factors” taking up the upper levels along Bay Street in an area known as Factors Row, with a series of iron walkways connecting these offices to the warehouses that lined the wharf. This series of iron bridges, walkways and staircases is known as the Factors Walk. “Factors” were the cotton brokers who set prices worldwide.

Wright Square

Savannah’s second square, Wright Square, was laid out in 1733. Originally named Percival Square, the square was later re-named Wright Square to honor the last Royal Governor of Georgia, Sir James Wright. Home to the city’s courthouse since Savannah’s earliest days, locals frequently refer to the area as “Court House Square.” In Oglethorpe’s day, Wright Square was the legal center of the Georgia colony, and a bustling hub of activity as the site for not only trials, but hangings, public auctions, and the reading of public announcements and decrees. In 1739, Wright Square gained the distinction of being the first of Savannah’s squares to be marked by a monument.

• COURTHOUSE – Wright Square is dominated by the imposing yellow brick and terracotta courthouse, built in 1898. Constructed in the Romanesque revival style, the courthouse has been seen in many movies, including the original “Cape Fear” and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.” The site was chosen by Oglethorpe himself for a courthouse, and various buildings served that purpose before the current building was constructed. Due to the presence of the courthouse, Wright Square was the seat of justice in the early days of the colony. The gallows once stood in Wright Square, a prominent place to remind the colonists of the high price of wrongdoing. While the gallows are gone, the square is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in Savannah.
• LUTHERN CHURCH OF THE ASCENSION – Next to the old courthouse, the church was built by descendants of the Austrian Salzburgers, who came to Savannah in 1734 to escape religious persecution in Europe. The Salzburgers impressed Oglethorpe so greatly that he invited more to join the young Georgia colony. Built in the late 1870’s, the current building serves as a legacy to those hardy pioneers.

• WILLIAM GORDON MEMORIAL (center square) – More than 100 years later, a railroad was built to ease the transport of cotton from far flung plantations to the docks of Savannah, ushering in an age of wealth and comfort. As a tribute, Savannahians built an elaborate memorial to the railroad’s founder, William W. Gordon, in the center of Wright Square. In the process they destroyed Tomochichi’s grave, and it is said they scattered his remains in the process. Ultimately, it would be Gordon’s daughter-in-law, Nellie Kinzie Gordon, who would donate the granite monument to Tomochichi that is now seen in Wright Square.
• TOMOCHICHI MEMORIAL – Also known as Chief or “Mico” of the Yamacraw, who had been such a good friend to Oglethorpe and his new colony, was laid to rest with full military honors at the center of the square and a stone pyramid was built there in his memory. The granite rock bears an inscribed bronze plaque and was erected in 1899 as a monument to Tomochichi. The inscription reads: “In memory of Tom-o-chi-chi. The mico of the Yamacraws, The Companion of Oglethorpe, and the Friend and Ally of the Colony of Georgia.” The rough hewn rock is said to reflect Tomochichi’s strong and rugged character. It is said that this may be the only memorial ever dedicated to a Native American by descendants of European settlers.

WRIGHT SQUARE GHOST – ALICE RILEY – Unlike many other reported ghost sightings, quite a few details are known about Wright Square’s resident haunt, the young Alice Riley. Ms. Riley was an indentured servant, cruelly mistreated by her master, William Wise. Much is known about the conditions of Ms. Riley’s servitude, including the fact that Mr. Wise required Alice and her husband to bathe him daily, and that he sexually assaulted the young woman. Desperate to be free, Alice and her husband drowned Mr. Wise in his bath and fled the city in March of 1734. Apprehended on the Isle of Hope, the couple was returned to Savannah for hanging. Alice’s husband was hung first, but when it was Alice’s turn she plead for mercy and for the life of her unborn child. It was discovered she was carrying Mr. Wise’s child and she languished in prison until the birth of her infant. In January of 1735, a crowd watched as Alice Riley was dragged onto the gallows, screaming for her newborn baby. She was quickly hanged, and her body was left on display for days. Sadly, her infant child died only 45 days later. Reports of Alice Riley’s ghost span hundreds of years, and it is said that the spirit most often appears to expectant mothers, or women with young children, searching for her baby. Interestingly, you will see little Spanish Moss growing in Wright Square, while it is found in abundance in other areas of the city. Locals offer up this oddity as evidence of Alice’s story. Native American lore tells us that Spanish Moss cannot grow where innocent blood has been spilt.

Waving Girl Statue

As you come to the eastern end of River Street, you will see Savannah’s famous statue: “The Waving Girl.” This beautiful statue was created by noted sculptor Felix de Weldon as a tribute to Florence Martus. A favorite local legend, Florence’s story is bittersweet. The sister of the lighthouse keeper on nearby Elba Island, Florence was rumored to have fallen in love with a handsome sailor who promised to return and marry her. The sailor gave her his white handkerchief as a token of his promise. It is said that Florence ran out to greet every ship that arrived in Savannah, day or night, waving the white handkerchief in order to ensure that she was the first to see her lover return. How much of the story is true remains a mystery, but what is certain is that Florence Martus was known to have welcomed more than 50,000 ships to Savannah during her lifetime.

Washington Square

Originally called Eastern Commons; Washington Square was built in 1790 and named for George Washington, the Revolutionary war hero who became our nation’s first president. The square is surrounded by historic homes dating to the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Several have been moved to the area to save them from demolition in other areas of the city.

• MULBERRY INN – (To the right or NE corner) of the square is the Mulberry Inn which was originally built in the 1860s as a livery stable. The building later served as a cotton warehouse until the early 1900s when it became home to Coca-Cola’s first franchise bottling operation. Today the building has been lovingly restored and provides an elegant atmosphere for guests wishing to experience the beauty of the 19th century without sacrificing modern conveniences.
• INTERNATIONAL SEAMEN’S HOUSE – (Southwest corner) The Seamen’s House is a historic Christian mission and provides a place of worship and comfort for the sailors who visit Savannah from more than 58 different countries each year.

Warren Square

Constructed in 1790, and named for General Joseph Warren, a revolutionary war hero and president of the Third Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Few people are aware that Savannah and Boston formed a relationship as “Sister Cities” which dates back to the time of the American Revolution. This began when the citizens of Savannah sent stores of gunpowder they had seized from British ships to aid the Americans at Bunker Hill. This special relationship would continue through the Civil War, when Bostonians sent shiploads of supplies to Savannah after the city’s surrender to General Sherman in 1864 during the Civil War.

• 24 HABERSHAM circa 1797 – This home was used as a hospital during the yellow fever epidemic of 1876. It was also visited by the famed revolutionary General Lafayette.