Azaleas At Rice Mill Pond Poster

Flowering dogwoods and brilliantly coloured blooming azaleas brighten the banks along Rice Mill Pond at Middleton Place Plantation on the Ashley River near Charleston, South Carolina. Spanish moss hangs from the trees. The plantation, a National Historic Landmark District, is now a museum, and is home to the oldest landscaped gardens in the United States. Visitors can experience living history demonstrations and tours of the grounds and house. First settled in the late 17th century with its main family residence built in 1705, Middleton Place was acquired through marriage by Henry Middleton in 1741 and for a century and a quarter was the family seat of four generations of Middletons who played important roles in American history. Henry Middleton was the second president of the First Continental Congress and his son Arthur, a passionate revolutionary, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Middleton Place has remained under the same family stewardship for 320 years, and has been renovated and restored after fires, Civil War damage, neglect, an earthquake and hurricanes. Many types of animals live on the plantation similar to those raised by the family through the centuries.