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Middleton Place Foundation leader Dana Hand Evans has big plans for the home of America's oldest landscaped gardens now coming into bloom. One idea that starts close to home includes working with the neighboring historic plantation sites along the Ashley River to increase educational programming and boost visitation. When she accepted the role of president and CEO in the midst of the foundation's 50th anniversary last summer, Evans knew she was taking the helm at a pivotal time.
One of the biggest items on her agenda has been overseeing the completion of a master plan by landscape architect Thomas Woltz to plot out how to better engage visitors with the property and history that shaped it. "Our mission is to share the history of this site and build a better future for the site and those who visit," she said. "We don't hide what has happened here, who we are or who we were.
We can find more meaningful ways to connect people with the land." Dana Hand Evans, the new CEO and president of the Middleton Place Foundation, stands on the grounds of Middleton Place, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Charleston.
Evans took the lead from Tracey Todd in August . She'd spent west of the nation's capital, where she helped grow the house-and-garden property and institution into an expansive historic site with dedicated formal gardens, a working farm and public trails. The site became a “cultural park” for the area around Winchester, Va.
— much like plantation district is for the Charleston region. Middleton Place has recorded more than 90,000 visitors in 2024, up 4 percent from the year prior. Community engagement with the site is a big objective for Evans, as it tends to lead to memberships.
She said the team is already looking at a variety of programs ranging from fundraisers like the "Bourbon & Bluegrass" concert series, art classes in the gardens and yoga on the green, among other ideas. Programs in the stable yards have been one step, offering visitors a chance to meet the breeds of livestock, understand how to live off the land and see trades like indigo dyeing and blacksmithing up close. Middleton Place's discounted family days are one way Evans said the foundation ensures the site is more accessible to everyone.
Recent capital improvements expanded the restaurant, created an active rice field and contemplative trail, and installed new signage across the property that tells the stories of enslaved people who helped build and maintain the plantation in its early days. Other projects, like rethinking the parking area, are being included in the upcoming master plan. Partnerships with Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and Drayton Hall are key to continuing drive visitors to the sites, Evans said.
"We're right in a row, but the three sites have very different missions from one another," she said. "We share the same goal to attract visitors to the Ashley River. We're all in this together because regional tourism promotes tourism to each of our sites.
" Middleton Place is a popular spot when azaleas are in bloom. This historic landmark was named the “Best Place to Take a Tourist in Dorchester County” in the 2024 Charleston’s Choice awards. George H.
McDaniel, Magnolia's director of interpretation, said historic sites are some of the few places "to meaningfully engage with history." He added while the plantations are competitors in some aspects, they're more like neighbors. "You can read about slavery in a book, but it's different when you stand in the cabin where enslaved people once lived," McDaniel said.
"We each offer a piece of the larger story we're trying to tell with our sites. Together we tell a story of place, of the Ashley River, the preserved historic buildings and the story of people who lived and worked on these plantations." With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution on the horizon, both McDaniel and Evans say collaboration between the sites leading up to 2026 will tell a more complete history on the area's role in the war.
With big changes come challenges as well. One of the biggest for Evans in her new role has been adjusting to the hospitality and restaurant side of the operation, in addition to the volume of seasonal and permanent staff. During her first few weeks, she spent a day in the life of her employees in each department — be it working front desk at the hotel to staffing the ticket booth.
"You don't really understand a role unless you experience it yourself, and there are some roles better left to the experts," she said with a laugh. "You see every side of the organization, and that perspective is important as we plan to shape the future of the site." Engaging the descendants of the people once enslaved at Magnolia Place has been a longstanding effort over the years, but Evans said she wants to see it grow in "more meaningful ways.
" One example is hoping to "build our descendant scholarship fund to a point where we can afford to gift a semester's worth of tuition rather than covering their book and other costs," she said. Evans said she appreciates the beauty of America's oldest landscaped gardens, but never forgets that "the hands that first planted it were enslaved." She noted she feels a sense of duty to find new ways to educate site visitors about the past and present, as the future of the property is being written into its new master plan.
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