Remaking Wormsloe Plantation : the environmental history of a Lowcountry landscape / Drew A. Swanson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Swanson, Drew A., 1979-

Series:

Environmental history and the American South.

Environmental history and the American South

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Plantations--Georgia--Savannah Region--History.

Plantations.

Plantation life--Georgia--Savannah Region--History.

Plantation life.

Landscapes--Georgia--Savannah Region--History.

Landscapes.

Cultural landscapes--Georgia--Savannah Region--History.

Cultural landscapes.

Landscape changes--Georgia--Savannah Region--History.

Landscape changes.

Archaeology and history--Georgia--Savannah Region.

Archaeology and history.

Excavations (Archaeology)--Georgia--Savannah Region.

Excavations (Archaeology).

Wormsloe Historic Site (Ga.)--History.

Wormsloe Historic Site (Ga.).

Wormsloe Historic Site (Ga.)--Environmental conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (320 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Athens : University of Georgia Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why do we preserve certain landscapes while developing others without restraint? Drew A. Swanson's in-depth look at Wormsloe plantation, located on the salt marshes outside of Savannah, Georgia, explores that question while revealing the broad historical forces that have shaped the lowcountry South.Wormsloe is one of the most historic and ecologically significant stretches of the Georgia coast. It has remained in the hands of one family from 1736, when Georgia's Trustees granted it to Noble Jones, through the 1970s, when much of Wormsloe was ceded to Georgia for the creation of a state historic site. It has served as a guard post against aggression from Spanish Florida; a node in an emerging cotton economy connected to far-flung places like Lancashire and India; a retreat for pleasure and leisure; and a carefully maintained historic site and green space. Like many lowcountry places, Wormsloe is inextricably tied to regional, national, and global environments and is the product of transatlantic exchanges.Swanson argues that while visitors to Wormsloe value what they perceive to be an "authentic," undisturbed place, this landscape is actually the product of aggressive management over generations. He also finds that Wormsloe is an ideal place to get at hidden stories, such as African American environmental and agricultural knowledge, conceptions of health and disease, the relationship between manual labor and views of nature, and the ties between historic preservation and natural resource conservation. Remaking Wormsloe Plantation connects this distinct Georgia place to the broader world, adding depth and nuance to the understanding of our own conceptions of nature and history.

Contents:

Introduction: The Last Plantation

A Lowcountry Experiment : Creating a Transatlantic Wormsloe

Becoming a Plantation : Wormsloe from the Revolution to the Civil War

Wormsloe Remade : Plantation Culture from the Civil War to the Twentieth Century

"Worth Crossing Oceans to See" : The Transition from an Agricultural to an Ornamental Landscape

From Plantation to Park : Wormsloe since 1938.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613586612

9781280491382

1280491388

9780820343778

0820343773

OCLC:

787846326