By Kenneth S. Allen
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Less than an hour from the Windsor Run welcome center is a big slice of history just waiting to be explored. And autumn, with its run-up to the traditional holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukah, is an ideal time to see how our ancestors lived.

The place where this happens is Historic Brattonsville in neighboring York County, S.C.

Historic Brattonsville is a 775-acre Revolutionary War living history site. The centerpiece is Bratton Plantation, where three generations of the Bratton family lived and worked. The Brattons were Ulster-Scots who immigrated to York County in the 18th century, with William Bratton making the initial purchase of 200 acres in 1766.

The site is so authentic that much of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster movie The Patriot was filmed there, with local residents recruited for the crowd and battle scenes.

An entire community
Like most plantations of the 18th and 19th centuries, Bratton Plantation was home to a thriving community. Much of that community has been restored to give visitors a look and feel of what life was like from the 1750s through the 1840s.

There are more than 30 historic structures open to the public, ranging from a simple one-room log cabin to The Homestead, an imposing two-story mansion with a Greek Revival porch built by Dr. John Simpson Bratton between 1823 and 1826. Also at the site are trails where hikers, bicyclists, and horseback riders can explore eight miles of the South Carolina Piedmont countryside.

Historic Brattonsville is actually a working farm that recreates the agricultural methods of the period. The Heritage Farm Program raises rare breeds of farm animals such as Gulf Coast sheep, Devon cattle, and Ossabaw Island hogs.

Thanksgiving special
Although the site is closed on Thanksgiving Day, it will reopen the day after (Friday, November 28) with a special Living History Day.