McLeod Plantation Historic Site
McLeod Plantation
A sea-island cotton plantation on James Island, centered on enslaved people’s cabins and Gullah descendants’ accounts, and confronting the history of slavery behind the plantation.
McLeod Plantation is only about 10 minutes’ drive from downtown and is managed by the county park system. It preserves an 1850s main house and a row of enslaved people’s cabins, making it one of the most direct sites in the Charleston area for telling the history of slavery and Reconstruction. Guides lead visitors through the sea-island cotton economy, Gullah culture, and the lives of freed people after the Civil War. The grounds contain a massive oak tree. Admission is about $20. Closed on Mondays.
Opening hours
Tue–Sun, about 9:00 am–4:00 pm
Nearby sights
- Nathaniel Russell House
- The Battery & White Point Garden
- King Street
- Gibbes Museum of Art
- St. Michael's Church
- The Charleston Museum
- St. Philip's Church
- Mother Emanuel AME Church