Channeling Charleston Day #4: Historical Hallucinating

After getting a good feel for modern-day Charleston throughout the week, I dove head first into Charlestonian history. My first stop was the Old Slave Mart Museum, nestled in the French Quarter (I spend a lot of time here).

Whenever you go to these museums, make sure to mention you are a student (if you are one) and you'll get a discount. You may not even have to show your ID. ANYWAYS, back in the 1800s, there was a law passed that said slaves must be bought behind closed doors. (Auctioning people off like cattle outside is BAD; inside is apparently more acceptable.) So, this place was built specifically for that purpose and was the most successful Slave-Mart in Charleston (Congratulations.....? Is that a good thing?). I'll share I few interesting things I learned:

1. Slaves were divided up into different classes signifying if they were super good, decent, or poor. People spent the most for slaves who were male in their late teens to early twenties. Today, an "extra good" slave would go for about $36,000. CRAZY.

2. Traders are the ones who would prepare the slaves for auction day. They would braid the women's hair and trim the men's beards, give them better clothes, feed them a little more, have them exercise to tone their muscles. Traders could be anywhere from wealthy men to those struggling to get by; thus explaining the amount of work they went through to make sure their slaves went for a high price. 

3. Some enslaved African Americans eventually gained freedom and lived in Charleston. Sometimes they would buy their family members and friends, trying to reconnect with whatever loved ones they could find. More often, however, they purchased and used slaves just like white men. What a vicious cycle. 

The next stop was the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. This was my favorite attraction.

The first part of the tour took place in the basement. The building had been used for various purposes such as a trading post and a post office. The basement was used for storage and as a dungeon for pirates AND for patriots when  England had control over Charleston for two years in the 1780s. This building used to be right on the water, but due to natural causes and manmade land fill it is now located two blocks away. While they were remodeling the building to make it into a museum, they found this: 

This is part of the original wall around Charleston built in the 1700's. WOAH. If that didn't blow your mind, this WILL. 

Okay, I might explain this wrong, so you should probably see the tour. The bottom step used to open out onto the street. Now, the level of the street is where the bottom of the white door is. WOAH. Earth be moving. 

Unfortunately, the upstairs portion of the tour didn't come with a tour guide. Still, there was more history to be seen, my friends! 

George Washington was entertained here. The Constitution was ratified by South Carolina here. It's weird to walk through places like these knowing that important figures once walked on the same floor. I was having an Anastasia Once-Upon-A-December moment. If you don't understand that reference, watch the DANG MOVIE Anastasia. 100% percent worth your time. But I'm not talking about Anastasia right now. So, I highly recommend visiting the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. 

After this, I visited my first historic home, the Edmonston-Alston House. I found it lined up with all these other GORGEOUS, colorful homes on East Bay Street, known as Rainbow Row. The houses in the southern tip of the peninsula are huge and nice. People that own these are literally swimming in money.  

Rainbow Row

Edmonston-Alston House

Built in 1825, this is the only house on Rainbow Row that is the original home that still stands today. The two bottom floors were made into a museum, but the descendant of the Alston's lives on the third floor. ( Why would you live above a museum? I'm not sure if this part is true.) This house has a piazza, the architectural trend of the time. A piazza is porch that is given an Italian name that is on the upper floors. That's it. BUT EVERY HOUSE HAS IT. And they are pretty sweet, I guess. 

This is a joggling board. I'm pretty sure the Alstons were the first of the stuffy white people to have one of these. It's a bench that you can bounce or rock on. You'll probably see these if you go to other historic homes. #sillyrichpeople #nineteenthcenturyconformists 

I have not talked about food yet. This was me getting ready for a night on the town: 

I was going for an artsy I-don't-care-what you-think college student look. That's my ukulele. 

Andria and I went to Taco Boy, or as I like to say, TAKK-O BOI! 

I'm not sure if they leave these lights up all-year round or they are some SURIOUS procrastinators, but this tree is cool: 

So, we didn't take a picture of our food because we downed it in literally two minutes. I ordered two tacos and Mexican Street Corn. The food was yummy, but I do have a few grievances. They give you really small tacos for a high price. Okay, that was one grievance. 

BUT MY NIGHT DOES NOT END THERE. My sister dropped me off on King Street with my ukulele. I sat on a street corner and played my lineup (of six songs). 

I made THREE dollars in thirty minutes. That's almost minimum wage! 

I don't really know how to end this blog post....