Time is indeed relative.

As we stand before Rose Hill Plantation, we feel transported away from the 20th century.

This was the home of William Henry Gist, the secessionist governor of South Carolina, and is now Rose Hill Plantation State Park.

[plaintive piano music] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ This is the formal rose garden, surrounded by boxwood hedges, for which the plantation was named.

We're a little early for blooming, but in season, it's an extremely lovely, colorful spot.

Governor Gist loved Rose Hill and returned at every moment possible from his public duties.

I would like you to meet Chris Hightower, superintendent of Rose Hill Plantation.

Chris can tell us about the house and the Gist family.

♪ ♪ Thank you for meeting with us to tell about this home.

Constructed in a particular period?

Yes, it's Federal style architecture.

This house is made of brick.

It was constructed between 1828 and 1832.

The brick was made here by slaves, and the house was constructed much by slaves.

Stucco covers the house with a block design.

In the late '50s, the stucco was added, and these verandas were constructed.

Well, they certainly ar e lovely and would catch th e breeze.

And the ironwork, and you can see the original br icks of the porch.

The colors, pale green an d dark greenish black, is that typical of the period?

We believe those were original.

We get a good idea of how the house looked originally.

Well, it's been beautifully preserved!

The fanlight is so charming.

May we go inside?

Sure.

♪ ♪ Oh, this is a lovely room!

This is the drawing room, or parlor, and this would indicate the family lifestyle.

How was this room used?

They used this for what we use our living room for today.

With Governor Gist, I bet there was many a political meeting here.

Important decisions made in this room.

And his hotheaded planter friends here!

Is this the family Bible?

Yes, it is.

I see the date, 1832.

These are real handwritings?

Yes...this page contains na mes of their children, when they were born, wh en they died, married.

This is the home of a very wealthy family.

They were an affluent family.

In South Carolina forever or...?

Well, Gist's grandfather William moved from Maryland to Charleston.

He was a Loyalist during the Revolution.

We think of Patriots, but it was a civil war, so William Gist's grandfather was a Tory and fought for the British.

Did he lose everything?

After the war, he was arrested.

Much of his land was confiscated, and he was sent back to England.

The family went from affluence to poverty.

Not quite... they kept several hundred acres and some money.

Around seven years later, he returned to Charleston.

He had amassed another fortune in England and opened a successful mercantile business in Charleston.

Did he receive American citizenship?

Never did.

But he paid for what he believed in.

Yes.

Then Gist, the governor, inherited this hotheaded belief in politics and in what one thinks is right and wrong.

Came by it honestly!

Was he born in this area?

He was born in Charleston, 1807.

His father died several years after.

He was taken over by his uncle Nathaniel.

They moved here when the Governor was 12.

Governor Gist was married twice.

He married his first wife, Louisa Bowen, in 1828.

She died in 1830 after the birth of their daughter, Louisa.

Then he was married to Mary?

Mary Rice.

Mary Rice from...?

Union District.

How many children did they have?

One with Louisa, twelve with Mary.

Twelve children, my goodness!

Are there descendants of all these 12 children all over South Carolina?

In this area, yes.

That just is amazing.

It's such a beautiful room!

This is an exceptionally beautiful mantle, such a large one.

We have the Greek motif and the acanthus leaves, the half columns.

Is this an original mantle?

Most of the mantles are.

One or two wa s made by an old ge ntleman I met.

He installed them in the 1940s.

But he did copy the original, and with the number of fireplaces, that is something!

The lines of these Victorian items are so graceful compared to the Federal.

Is there any original furniture?

This is an original.

This is the man's chair.

The woman's would have be en lower with no arms to allow fo r her loop skirt.

The big bouffant.

These chairs and that table are part of this parlor set.

They match in carvings.

The piano is beautiful.

This is a Chickering square grand, which belonged to the Gists.

How did you come by these family pieces?

Were they donated?

This set we bought at an estate sale.

This piano was given to us years ago.

Was this room ever used as a chapel?

No, the Gist family were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

There's an old Quaker church that the Methodists bought and converted to their faith.

Were they ardent in religious service?

Very... very much so.

Well, the room is lovely, with almost 12-foot ceilings.

This beautiful portrait... who is the lady?

Mary Gist's sister.

She would have been a Rice.

Do we have any portraits of Governor Gist and Mary?

Out in the foyer.

Could we see them?

Yes.

♪ Oh, here they are.

Was William a firebrand, a true son of his grandfather?

Yes, he was.

What'd he do to prove it?

About a month before his graduation from the college now University of South Carolina, he and approximately 70 other students entered into a protest against housing regulations.

They didn't like the rooms and the food.

The Governor and two or three friends refused to sign letters of apology.

They were expelled, and he never graduated.

But he did become a lawyer.

Yes, he practiced law.

He did engage in duels, one in which he killed his opponent.

Yes, in honor of a lady.

So when he rose to the defense of the South in secession, we expect that.

[chuckling] Yes!

So this is Mary.

She's a lovely lady, rather stern an d Irish-appearing.

She had 12 children, of whom only three gr ew to adulthood.

That must have been a terrible blow.

Then after he died, she lived until 1889 and raised her children and looked after the farm.

Poor soul, she lost her oldest in the War Between the States.

She had a lot to bear.

How nice that you have reproductions of their portraits.

I would love to see the dining room.

♪ This is a delightful room!

Here we have the formal dining table, set for a meal with family and guests... one of the three-part tables.

(Chris) It 's a banquet table.

These ends ca n be removed.

We have a side table with sherry and whiskey ready for Governor Gist's consumption.

Governor Gist di d not drink.

Oh, he didn't?

My goodness, why not?

A friend had died as a result of alcohol.

He was one of the first prohibitionists!

[chuckling] How about that!

The lovely portrait is whom?

Louisa Gist, his first wife.

She was 16 when they married.

Yes...that was a gift to us years ago.

Here we have a Sheridan sideboard with all of its appointments.

That is indeed lovely!

Over the mantle, whose picture is that?

General St ates Rights Gist.

That was hi s given name... his father was very po litically minded.

That happened in the Old South.

Name someone for an issue?

Yes.

Did this gentleman live near?

His plantation was on the other side of Jonesville near Union.

He lost his life in the War Between the States.

Killed in Chattanooga.

So the idea of states rights and secession was not a new thought to people of this Upcountry area.

Not at all.

Secession, then, was a word they had bandied about for years.

Yes.

Do you have memorabilia of Gist's feelings politically prior to being the secessionist governor?

We have a copy of the secession document.

Could I see that?

Sure... this way.

♪ So this is the copy.

A lot of gentlemen seem to agree with each other.

Certainly did.

I found Governor Gist's name here.

What were his political activities prior to secession?

The earliest dates to 1840 when he became a member of the House of Representatives for four years, then member of the State Senate until 1855.

Then he became governor?

In December of 1858.

He kept the legislature in session until they were sure that Abraham Lincoln had won.

They felt that if he won, it was time for secession.

So they formed the committee of secession, which in Charleston made this document.

This was signed on December 20, 1860.

This changed the history of the United States and the world, possibly.

We won't go into the causes-- too complicated and debatable-- but it is a remarkable thing.

I remember reading that Southern gentlemen who were landed and wealthy felt it was necessary to go into politics as their civic duty and as a prestige point.

They were considered elite and expected to rule.

So our legislature for 20-odd years was landed aristocracy.

Exactly.

I noticed a bedroom here.

May I see that?

Certainly.

What an interesting bed!

This is a Federal four-poster... quite different from the canopy type.

This is the master bedroom?

No...as the Governor and his wife grew older and the children needed room, they moved here.

So this would have been a guest room.

Anything here that belonged to the family?

The bed and also this collar case.

They had detachable collars.

You would button them to the shirts.

They could have a clean collar whenever they liked it, quite different from the shirt here.

The initials of William and Mary Gist are on the cover of this book.

This is the Methodist Episcopal hymnbook.

But no music and no titles.

They had books wi th music... these were al ternative lyrics.

One score could be used with different sets.

Yes.

They carried that to church.

Exactly.

On the side of the bed there's a very interesting step stool.

It contains a potty.

The step folds, and the wh ole thing slides out.

Very utilitarian!

This is lovely for a gentleman.

Mary's bedroom is not here?

No... across the hall, their study was converted into Mary's bedroom.

Let's go look at that one!

♪ The doors downstairs are much wider than our modern doors.

Is this typical of the period, of the Lowcountry, or for gowns?

The ladies' dresses were much wider, and it's a formal style characteristic of the Lowcountry.

Look at the sleigh bed!

I gather this isn't the original?

This did not belong to the family.

That is one of Mary's dresses.

She made that.

It's a lady's traveling dress, and from the type of pleating in front and back, I would place this in her trousseau.

Probably.

About, oh, the 1830s?

And tiny stitches... all by hand, of course, because the sewing machine hadn't been invented!

She must have been a good needlewoman.

Did you tell me that this was her piece?

This is a quilt she was working on.

It's a Tumbling Bl ock design... diamond-shaped pieces of material put together, paper backing wi th rough stitching, which would be removed, and very fine st itching would hold ea ch piece together.

Batting would be put on, the backing, and then the quilt completed.

The stitches we see-- Would be removed with the paper.

Such tiny, little pieces!

We can see writing on these pieces of paper, and there's one date, 1847.

She took old letters and cut them up.

Well, they saved everything!

Imagine having 12 children, running the house, looking after people on the plantation, and having time to make beautiful things.

Ladies then never rested!

There's something else that she made over here.

This is a pincushion... ve ry ornate, beaded.

It's all solid beads... isn't that amazing!

But this was the study?

Yes, and was converted to her room.

So she wouldn't have to go up the stairs.

But there is a master bedroom?

It's upstairs.

I'd like to see that too.

♪ (Mary) Ch ris, this is a beautiful stairway... a very de licate banister, suspended fo r 12 feet.

These steps are fan-shaped.

The structure of the staircase is original.

It's put together with pegs, no nails whatsoever.

It's very, very beautiful.

And the master be droom is here.

Oh, the master bedroom is very spacious!

And this lovely bed!

This is a marvelous combination of 18th-century four-poster and Victorian carving.

Did any furniture in this room belong to Governor Gist?

This bed is an original.

It's been set up in almost every room throughout the years.

In spite of weathering, vandalism, and passage of time, this is still here... isn't that remarkable!

What is this?

This is pre-Civil War.

This was the Governor's militia's uniform.

He was commander in chief of state militia while governor.

This was his ceremonial uniform.

It's beautiful with th ese tremendous epaulets and the red... th ing of office.

Odd that it is the da rk blue of the North!

Did they design a particular uniform for the So uthern forces?

They wore what they had.

There were different uniforms.

It was a sudden call to arms.

Yes, exactly.

This is just lovely.

In here we have-- The children's nursery.

Right next to the master bedroom.

We'd call that a youth bed today.

Both sides come up.

Rocking chairs for rocking babies to sleep.

A wonderful sewing machine!

They spent many hours wo rking in-- 1860s, 1870s?

1850s or '60s.

Quite different from the ones today.

I find the baby clothes most tender.

It's a baptismal dr ess with a hat.

There would be two or three beds here.

At one time, th ere would have.

Later, the boys stayed in the master bedroom, and the eldest son ha d this room.

Did they go into town or to Columbia for education?

The third floor served as their schoolroom.

A governess lived on the third floor and took care of them du ring the day.

So the governess was here on the third floor, and they had their regular schoolroom and hours like youngsters have today?

There's no telling, but they did have cl asses here.

Coming into the house, I noticed the gardens.

There would be a wonderful view from upstairs.

Shall we go see?

♪ (Mary) This is a wonderful view of the gardens!

Two formal gardens with boxwoods an d geometrical paths in the En glish fashion.

(Chris) A simple four-corner, center walk English maze.

The lovely boxwoods ri m the garden, and not on ly this, but the rose garden an d beyond!

There have been many weddings.

We have weddings in the lower tier, yes.

And these ol d magnolia trees!

They were planted by the Governor.

The trees and the majority of boxwoods are around 150 years old.

Imagine the number of people wh o've sat beneath them and enjoyed the magnolias in May and June!

Has the plantation al ways looked like this?

How large was it in its height?

Up to 9,000 acres.

As you looked over here, you could see cotton fields stretching to where you see forest now.

Governor Gist ne ver left Rose Hill Plantation officially after he ceased being governor, so how long was this home?

He died in 1874.

After the Civil War, he returned here and practiced law from the house.

Did the acreage diminish during his lifetime?

He gave land to his children and sold a minor amount.

So through the process of time, the 9,000 acres came to what we see today.

The gardens and the lawns to the major road are indeed be autiful.

I can imagine carriages co ming up the old driveway and ladies alighting to come to a party!

Were the Gists in terested in giving social gatherings?

They were known for their parties, especially around Christmastime.

They had a ballroom on the second floor.

I must see the ballroom and listen to the strains of music!

♪ This ballroom runs the whole length of the house.

What a beautiful instrument!

This is a pianoforte.

They were developed around 1709 by an Italian harpsichord maker, but it didn't reach much prominence until Mozart decided to use them around 1775.

The keyboard is shorter than the modern piano.

Is this like th e harpsichord where strings are plucked?

It has the same action as a modern piano.

The wooden harp inside gives it a more delicate sound.

With the inlay, it 's beautiful!

This belonged to Mary Gist.

Oh, really?

I see another piano at the other end.

This lovely ballroom with double fireplaces... you can see the ladies and their fans flirting with gentlemen in their ornate clothes, twirling with the new waltz, and also the gentlemen in the gray uniforms.

But isn't this a rather large room to be devoted just to a ballroom?

A partition closed the room off into two separate rooms, and they used it for guest rooms, for their daughters.

Oh, that was very clever!

This is a lovely piano.

It's different from th e pianoforte we looked at.

This came after the pianoforte.

There was a transition period from around 1830 through '50, and this is the same, except the harp inside is metal.

You can draw the strings tighter and get the modern, bolder sound.

Oh, and have mo re percussion.

Is the keyboard th e same?

They were adding keys by that time.

It's just a beautiful instrument!

[footfalls] This is such a beautiful view!

Would you tell me about the flags?

The uppermost was the first flag of the Confederacy.

It first flew in Montgomery, Alabama, on Inauguration Day of President Lincoln.

The second is the South Carolina secession flag.

It flew in Charleston on December 20, 1860, the day we seceded.

And the third one?

The naval battle flag.

We recognize th at most.

Appropriate it should be here, at the home of the secessionist governor.

This building is the kitchen.

Why is it separate?

They used fire to cook, and it would be hot during the summer.

Kitchens tended to burn down often.

The first kitchen to the side of the house burned down, so the Governor replaced it with this.

The white building in the rear is one of the last sl ave quarters standing.

It's most interesting, an d the Tyger River is beyond th is belt of trees.

Approximately half a mile.

In the Governor's time, yo u could see to the river.

The Governor us ed it for a road?

He would take a boat from the Tyger River to the Broad and into Columbia.

It saved a lot of time.

Well, thank you so much.

This has been mo st delightful!

♪ (Mary) If you care to visit Rose Hill Plantation State Park, you'll find it 8 miles south of Union.

It is a National Historic Site.

This is a very important spot.

The decisions made here, the men who lived here and who met here changed not only the face of history of South Carolina, but also of the entire South and, indeed, the United States.

But today Rose Hill Plantation is a quiet place, a place of peace.

The roses still bloom in the garden, and the birds sing a continual song in the trees which surround the current plantation.

Governor Gist was an amazing man, a very strong man with firm convictions.

It can be said of him, as it was of his grandfather, "He sacrificed everything for the truest of all liberties... the liberty of his own conscience."

♪ Program captioned by: Co mpuScripts Captioning, Inc. 80 3.988.8438 ♪ ♪