The other week I took a road trip to the south and visited Charleston, SC and its surrounding areas. During the trip, I dragged my two teenage stepchildren to a plantation outside of Charleston (they hated me for the rest of the week). Turns out the plantation has a very similar mission/goal as ESP. The tour was PHENOMENAL, the history was rich and the portopots were state of the art...
The plantation is called Drayton Hall. Turns out Sally (ESP's President & CEO) has been to this very site for a Behind the Scenes tour; it is a part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The trees surrounding the property were not always there; it was originally all rice fields with trees lining the drive. Also, take a look at 
the two different staircases. One was obviously for the family/guests and the other for the staff (which would have been, of course, enslaved workers depending on the time period). One thing that isn’t pictured is the African American cemetery on the property, the graves of which are still being uncovered and reach back to 1730. I wish this place was closer...
April O'Brien
Tour Program Manager
