Cultural History Group Interpretive Programs

Native Americans of Coastal South Carolina 

Explore Native American culture of coastal South Carolina at the time of European settlement. Handle and use reproduction artifacts, like bows and traps, to learn how local tribes successfully used natural resources available to meet their needs.

• Program Length: 60 minutes
• Locations: James Island County Park, Wannamaker County Park, Palmetto Islands County Park, Caw Caw Interpretive Center

Carolina Indigo

Experimented with by Eliza Lucas Pinckney, an enslaved man named Quash, and others, Indigo was an important but short lived cash crop in South Carolina. Investigate the science behind this magic dye, learn how enslaved men and women cultivated and processed it, and try your hand at dyeing your own t-shirt.

• Program Length: 75 minutes
• Location: Caw Caw Interpretive Center; Wannamaker County Park, Old Towne Creek County Park

Carolina Gold

Explore former rice fields and walk through the various steps required for the cultivation of rice using reproduction artifacts. Examine the roles and influences of enslaved Africans and African Americans on the process, and discuss events associated with the Stono Slave Rebellion that occurred in part at Caw Caw Interpretive Center. 

• Program Length: 75 minutes
• Location: Caw Caw Interpretive Center

Transition to Freedom

A tour of McLeod Plantation, a sea island cotton plantation, reveals the story of a place and a people transformed. War, emancipation, and the struggle for civil rights moved McLeod Plantation, and America, in “fits and starts,” toward a more equal and just place. Explore how this transition to freedom played out in the lives of the plantation’s inhabitants. Tour content is customizable to meet the interests of your group.

• Program Length: 60-90 minutes
• Location: McLeod Plantation Historic Site