Yemassee,, SC, May 11
I stopped in Robertville, SC to take a picture of steps going to nowhere shaded by broad moss-hung live oaks. My imagination saw the steps leading to a grand plantation house a’ la Gone with the Wind.
A pickup truck stopped and the driver asked what I was doing. When I told him he smiled and said, “You’re right. I’m Edgar Wooten and I’ll tell you about this place.”
In 1865 the steps led to a grand two-story house owned by Alexander Robert Lawton, whose plantation covered more than 3,000 acres. Lawton was also the Confederate’s Quartermaster General. When Sherman and his troops swept through South Carolina in their burning frenzy Lawton’s house was razed. The Lawtons retreated to their summer house two and a half miles away in Garnett. There they put up a furious defense and drove Sherman’s men off.
“I live in that house,” Wooten said. “A veranda all the way around. Four bedrooms, each with a door to the veranda. 12-foot ceilings. 18-inch wide floor planks. And surrounded big live oaks. I’m real happy the Lawtons put up such a good fight.”
Robertville is also the birthplace of Henry Martyn Robert, author of Robert’s Rules of Order.
Below is the link to make a donation to the ALSA in Deirdre's name:
Take care of yourself out there on those no-shoulder roads, Smith!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pic, Mike!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read Ron McLarty's novel, The Memory of Running? By the time you finish this ride, you could have written it. It's awesome.