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From Celebratory Landscapes to Dark Tourism Sites? Exploring the Design of Southern Plantation Museums

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The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies

Abstract

Situated just outside of Charleston, South Carolina, Middleton Place Plantations and Gardens must surely rank among the most beautiful places in the Southeastern United States. These “oldest formal gardens in North America,” feature structural elements found at Versailles as well as a terraced lawn sloping down to the Ashley River. During peak season in early April, almost 1500 people come each day to gaze at the plethora of azaleas reflected in the still waters of the mill pond, or to photograph the amazing variety of wildlife that make the gardens their home.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Quote taken from the Eliza’s House Brochure available for free at Middleton Place. Published by the Middleton Place Foundation.

  2. 2.

    From a podcast available on the Oak Alley Plantation website, http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/new-exhibit-slavery-at-oak-alley

  3. 3.

    Quote taken from the Whitney Plantation website: http://whitneyplantation.com/history.html

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Rudi Hartmann and the rest of the editors for inviting us to contribute to this volume as well as for their helpful comments and suggestions. Research for this chapter was funded by the National Science Foundation Geography and Spatial Sciences Program, grant #1359780. Finally, this chapter could not have been written without the insights and support of the other members of the plantation research team, Amy Potter, Arnold Modlin, Perry Carter, and David Butler.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA, USA

    Stephen P. Hanna

  2. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA

    Derek H. Alderman

  3. The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Candace Forbes Bright

Authors
  1. Stephen P. Hanna
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  2. Derek H. Alderman
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  3. Candace Forbes Bright
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

    Philip R. Stone

  2. University of Colorado Denver, Denver, USA

    Rudi Hartmann

  3. University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

    Tony Seaton

  4. University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom

    Richard Sharpley

  5. Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

    Leanne White

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Hanna, S.P., Alderman, D.H., Bright, C.F. (2018). From Celebratory Landscapes to Dark Tourism Sites? Exploring the Design of Southern Plantation Museums. In: R. Stone, P., Hartmann, R., Seaton, T., Sharpley, R., White, L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47566-4_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-47566-4_17

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-47565-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-47566-4

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