Some Fun Facts of the Building

I went to the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon on 22 E Bay Street, in Charleston, SC. It was really cool. While I was there, I learned about the wild history of the building. The tour guide talked about how the building was made to stand out and be seen by people walking around Charleston. It was built in 1771 by slave labor, as most of everything was in the South back in the day. Each brick was made by hand, one at a time, and in some of the bricks, you could still see fingerprints and handprints left behind from the people who were unfortunately forced to build it. The most defining feature, the arches, were made with tons of bricks and tons of prayers, and after numerous hurricanes and earthquakes, they are still holding up beautifully today.

For years, the building was used as storage, and interestingly enough, the Americans managed to stuff seven tons of gunpowder into a makeshift room in the building for twenty years during the American Revolution. Right after it was first hidden, the British took over the building and turned it into a dungeon. During their entire time in the building, the British did not find the room with all the gunpowder. After the war, they left, of course, and the gunpowder went back to its original American owners.

Inside the Building

When you enter, you are greeted by a small gift shop right in front of you. On either side are registers where you buy your tickets for the tour. After buying your tickets, you are told to go to the elevator, which brings you to the basement, A.K.A, the dungeon (dun, dun, dunnnn). Jokes aside, the basement was really cool. You go down there and see the arches first (and they aren’t very tall, so you may want to duck your head if you’re tall). As you walk around more, you begin to see the mannequins they have to show the types of people who were down there, and how the curators think the dungeon was set up under British control.

Me and Gus (yes, that is his actual name)

This is the fake wall of the room where the seven tons of gun powder was that was hidden from the British

Interpreting the Building

The tour guide did a fantastic job explaining how slavery was the backbone of Charleston infrastructure and development. Unfortunately, most, if not all, of the historical buildings in the downtown area were built from enslaved people (including the College of Charleston that I attend), which of course, is not okay, but that was how the South was run back then. We have talked about this numerous times in the Southern Studies course I am taking. We have read numerous articles and poems that discuss what life was like for those who were enslaved, and life was obviously not easy for them. I am very glad that the tour guide made sure to talk about the darker history behind the building, including the literal slave market that took place outside the building because hosting it inside was just “too expensive” for the plantation owners.

The site definitely reflects the historical southern stereotype of the South, with strong ties to slavery, racism, plantations, and war. The site is clearly an important part of Charleston’s identity, and you can surely tell by looking at its colonial style features, along with the fact that it was such a major part of the city. 

Overall, this historical site tells such a huge story of the city of Charleston. This building has been through a lot, just like many of the people who have been involved with it throughout Charleston’s history. I highly recommend a visit here if you are in the Charleston area and want to learn more about this beautiful city’s crazy history.

The Restaurant

Eli’s Table, located on 129 Meeting Street in Charleston, SC, was a fantastic place to experience true southern dining. This establishment serves both brunch and dinner, with a fine selection of beers and cocktails and wine. The menu has some really interesting historical aspects of it, as “most of the lunch dishes are imaginatively named for historical figures such as [Mary Hays] McCauley, Robert E. Lee, Paul Revere, and even Blackbeard”, on top of being right by the Gibbes Museum of Art (which I talked about in my last blog post) (Charleston Hospitality Group). I ordered the She-Crab Soup and the Crab & Eggs.

The Experience

Upon entering the establishment, we were guided to the back patio. Luckily it was covered, as it was raining that day, but there was lots of greenery and other very friendly customers who were happy to see others coming outside to join them. When the waiter set us up at the table, he immediately struck up conversation to make us feel as comfortable as possible- “Southern Hospitality” was strong at this restaurant. Every single waiter/waitress that was helping out had such a friendly demeanor and made sure that everyone was comfortable and happy about their food. They really tried to make it seem like you were at home at this establishment. I ordered a fantastic She-Crab Soup for my appetizer, followed by the delicious Crab & Eggs for the main course.

The food was fantastic. I had never had She-Crab Soup before, but I have always heard good things about it, so I really wanted to give it a try. I am so glad I did. It was rich and creamy, and the crab was cooked perfectly in it. For the main course, I ordered the Crab & Eggs which were two crab cakes, each with a poached egg on top, with a side of breakfast potatoes. It was VERY good. The crab cakes were cooked perfectly, and the eggs were just the right texture to mix fantastic with the crab cakes. The breakfast potatoes were seasoned very well, and they had just the right texture to them (not overcooked or undercooked).

The Food

Before going into the restaurant, I knew Eli’s Table was a southern restaurant, but I wasn’t completely sure exactly what foods were considered “southern”. I decided to go with the ones with crab in it because in my Southern Studies class, we had discussed different recipes that had been passed down generation to generation, and a good few of them were seafood based. The one that I had remembered was the “Crab Meat Salad” by Miss Elizabeth R. Williams, so I figured I couldn’t go wrong with ordering something crab-based.

She-Crab Soup, a cream based soup with crab and other additives,  is native to the Carolinas with its roots coming from Scotland’s “partan bree”. When the early Scots came to the Charleston area in the 1800s, they brought over their recipe, but added a “southern” twist by adding rice, which was a huge cash crop back in the day (The Scottish Roots of the She-Crab Soup). The soup from Eli’s table was fantastic.

The Crab & Eggs were made of “two fried crab cakes, two poached eggs, breakfast potatoes, remoulade, arugula, [and] creme fraiche”. Crab cakes originated in the Maryland area in the Chesapeake region. It dates back to the Native Americans and how they used to prepare the meal. It was also noted that crab meat was primarily eaten in the southeast until refrigerated transport could take the meat across the country, which makes this dish quite historically southern (The History of Crab Cakes). As with most foods, there are different types of crab cakes depending on the region you live in, but this style is the most common in this region.

The Takeaway

This experience with southern food made me realize that a lot of the food I grew up eating was southern, or southern inspired. I was raised by a Canadian mother and a Midwestern father in the southeast, and more often than not, we would be eating a home cooked meal. A lot of the food that was cooked seemed to have been variations of southern foods that my parents grew up eating in the North, and I think it is really cool to see how cultures spread and can vary from place to place. This past summer, I spent a good chunk of it in Canada, and I didn’t realize how different the dining experience was- there’s no “southern hospitality” in the northern restaurants!

Overall, this restaurant was a fantastic embodiment of what a southern style restaurant is. It had fantastic food that tasted homemade and had the perfect environment to serve it in. The workers were super friendly, and that all just added to the great experience at Eli’s Table.

The Gibbes Museum in Charleston, South Carolina, is home to many different styles of art and many different historical pieces. For my Southern Studies class, we were required to go to the museum and choose a piece to write about; I chose the John Moultrie and Family painting by John Francis Rigaud. I found it to be quite eye-catching because it really takes you back in time to how people looked back when it was painted in 1782. The painting shows John Moultrie III with his wife, Catherine Gaillard Ball, and their son, George Austin (The Gibbes Museum of Art), and it’s interesting because it shows the strong ties to England that John Moultrie and his family held.

While the painting itself is beautifully done to portray the family in the “proper” English way, the best part of the painting is its context. John Moultrie was the son of John Moultrie, M.D. and Lucretia Moultrie. He was one of five children, one of which was the famous General William Moultrie who fought for South Carolina during the American Revolution. William and John seemed to have very different views on the war effort: William was wanting to break away from England, while John was still a “Loyalist” to England. John moved to Scotland with his father and apprenticed under him, earning his medical license to be a physician before returning to the United States to formally practice. He ended up marrying Dorothy Dry Morton (who had inherited lots of money), and she was able to support the family, so he did not have to practice medicine anymore. He was then able to begin a career in politics, but Morton died shortly after. 

A few years later, he married Catherine, eloped, and had some kids (George Austin Moultrie is in the painting). He was appointed justice of the peace, and later joined the militia where he eventually ranked “major”. He later served under a British general, and after the war, moved to Florida. When Britain stopped controlling Florida, he lost his fortune and moved to England, where he spent the rest of his life.

What I love the most about this painting is how traditional and “proper” they tried to make themselves appear. They no doubtedly had status and money (or they would not have been able to afford to have such a painting done), but they really tried to make themselves appear to be the perfect family. I just find it funny that often times wealthy/noble families would get these extravagant paintings done to make themselves look a certain way, and in this case, the Moultrie family wanted to look like the perfect, “Loyalist”, English family. The painting was done with the classic, dramatic columns in the background, fruit on the table, and gold accents throughout, this art was made to showcase the family in a very rich light. The painting was also made with heavy English influence that shows the family’s strong love and ties to the Mother Country. 

This piece of art is fantastic. Without knowing the family history, the painting is beautifully done, with lots of fine details and symbolism; not to mention the classic 18th century fashion they were all wearing. Once you know the juicy family history, however, the painting seems more relatable to modern viewers. Studying this painting will help you gain a better understanding of what life was like for people during the American Revolution, especially when you take family “drama” and maintaining one’s image into the picture. It made me realize that the idea of glorifying your life portraying yourself to the public as something different than it is isn’t anything new. Reading about the history of this family and of the time period itself will help you gain a better understanding of this incredible piece. I highly recommend coming to the Gibbes Museum and studying the portraits because it truly is incredible how far some would go to make themselves “presentable” for the public eye.

Sources:

Emily Snow, The Collector, “10 Common Symbols in Still-Life Paintings & What They Mean”, 21 March 2021. 10 Common Symbols in Still-Life Paintings & What They Mean.

Geni, “John Moultrie”, 10 August 2020. John Moultrie.

South Carolina Encyclopedia, “Moultrie, John, Jr.”, 08 June 2016. Moultrie, John, Jr..

The Gibbes Museum of Art, “Object Record”, 2016. The Gibbes Museum of Art.

Photo Credits:

Photo of John Moultrie and Family taken by Colette O’Neill at the Gibbes Museum of Art on 21 September 2021.