McLeod Plantation Historic Site is not just a place for memorialization and a place of conscience, but a place where the transformation of conscience can occur.
Established in 1851, McLeod Plantation has borne witness to some of the most significant periods of our nation’s history. Today McLeod Plantation Historic Site 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 allée, 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 Lowcountry’s 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.
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 you to explore the lives of people who, though nearly erased from history, shaped Charleston’s complex past and the nation’s future.
- 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 plantation’s 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 Freedmen’s 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 Plantation’s residents.
- Draw parallels between the changing relationships among McLeod Plantation’s residents and in American society during the 20th century.
- See how people dramatically changed the natural history of the plantation’s landscape through time.
Self-Guided Tours