{"id":4452,"date":"2018-05-24T12:13:04","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T16:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=4452"},"modified":"2018-06-28T12:11:48","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T16:11:48","slug":"travel-aiken-s-c-history-horses-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-aiken-s-c-history-horses-music\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel | Aiken, S.C.: History, Horses and Music"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Debi Lander
\n<\/em>mail@floridanewsline.com<\/em><\/p>\n

In the late 19th century, the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Pulitzers, Morgans, and Astors epitomized America\u2019s \u201cGilded Age.\u201d These Captains of Industry financed the industrial age and established many non-profit organizations. The millionaires frequently gathered to party in mansions they built in prime areas along the coast \u2014 sprinkling luxuriant estates in Newport, R.I., \u201ccamps\u201d in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, grand railroad resort hotels up and down the East Coast, a secretive compound in Jekyll Island, Ga., and a winter colony in Aiken, S.C. <\/span><\/p>\n

I had the chance to explore Aiken on a recent road trip to South Carolina. My discovery of its treasures began with a stay at The Wilcox \u2014 a white-columned hotel. The \u201cQueen of Aiken\u201d has hosted Winston Churchill, Harold Vanderbilt, Elizabeth Arden, Joseph Pulitzer, the Duke of Windsor and according to local lore, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his special lady. Even if you don\u2019t stay there, but I\u2019d highly recommend you do so, check out the lobby and hallways and their historical photos and period pieces. A spirit of warmth and hospitality fills the corridors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Aiken first achieved fame as a health retreat for those with breathing troubles. Coastal residents from Charleston would come to escape malaria and yellow fever. New York horsemen Eustis and Hitchcock bought their horses, along with their well-heeled friends from the north to extend the equestrian season. They laid the foundations for the city\u2019s passion for riding, racing, foxhunting and polo. Today, there are more than 80 polo fields around Aiken. <\/span><\/p>\n

I started exploring with a trolley tour that breezed me past captivating landmarks, homes and \u201cAiken cottages\u201d (each with at least 22 rooms) on horse-friendly dirt roads. I heard named dropping tales of Winter Colony visitors like Evelyn Walsh McLean, the last known owner of the Hope Diamond, who sometimes placed it on the collar of her Great Dane. Other famous residents included Fred Astaire, who danced up and down the steps of the post office, and Andy Williams, the Moon River singer, who owned a nine-acre property with a 13-room house, a barn and stables, butler’s cottage, laundry house, carriage house, greenhouse and a children’s brick dollhouse. <\/span><\/p>\n

The trolley tour stops at Hopelands Gardens for a meander through the peaceful park and the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame, a two-story museum featuring memorabilia, plus a reference library for breeders. <\/span><\/p>\n

Later, I drove to Flat Out Polo Farms to try my hand at arena polo. Owner Ken Cresswell gave me a polo lesson, but let\u2019s just say this fast-paced sport was more than I could muster. Watching a game was thrilling. <\/span><\/p>\n

Next day I toured Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site, once the home of Henry Hammond, three generations of his descendants, and numerous African American families who worked as slaves and later as freemen and women. Hammond was a congressman, governor, and senator from South Carolina. <\/span><\/p>\n

Both weekend evenings I attended a concert as part of the 10-year annual Joye in Aiken Festival. The shows bring famed NYC Juilliard students, faculty and alumni to Aiken for music, dance, and drama performances for the public and teach in the area school. I listened to a night of soulful jazz and an unexpectedly exciting organ concert by Grammy winner Paul Jacobs. <\/span><\/p>\n

I missed Aiken\u2019s Triple Crown, a three-week series of racing, steeplechase, polo and foxhunting events. Aiken ranks with Ocala and Louisville as one of the best horse towns in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be a small city, but they have as much history as Churchill Downs,\u201d said my guide. <\/span><\/p>\n

Aiken evokes the city\u2019s opulent past but doesn\u2019t\u2019 require a Pulitzer\u2019s purse to make for one grand getaway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Visit <\/span><\/i>www.bylandersea.com<\/span><\/i><\/a> to read more of local travel writer Debi Lander\u2019s stories and travel tips.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo courtesy Debi Lander.<\/em><\/p>\n

Polo at Flat Out Polo Farms.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com In the late 19th century, the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Pulitzers, Morgans, and Astors epitomized America\u2019s \u201cGilded Age.\u201d These Captains of Industry financed the industrial age and established many non-profit organizations. The millionaires frequently gathered to party in mansions they built in prime areas along the coast \u2014 sprinkling luxuriant estates in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5,4],"tags":[9],"class_list":{"0":"post-4452","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"category-mandarin","9":"category-ponte-vedra","10":"tag-travel"},"yoast_head":"\nTravel | Aiken, S.C.: History, Horses and Music - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLine, Ponte Vedra NewsLineBy Debi Lander mail@floridanewsline.com In the late 19th century, the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, Pulitzers, Morgans, and Astors epitomized\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/travel-aiken-s-c-history-horses-music\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Travel | Aiken, S.C.: History, Horses and Music - 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