Tuesdays have been adventure days for Tom and me as we explore the area around us.  A couple of weeks ago we headed to Historic Camden, a town about an hour and a half east in South Carolina.

We wanted to visit Historic Camden because there was an important Revolutionary battle there.  I will be writing about the battle soon, but we found Historic Camden to be much more than the battle.  The historic town site brochure states “Spend a few peaceful hours where the British spent a rough year.”

Historic Camden is located on 100 acres where the original townsite was.  There is a collection of period buildings around a parade ground.  Although Camden was predominantly a Patriot town, the British took control shortly after the capture of Charleston and used it as a base of operations in the central part of South Carolina.  Of course, in 1780 there were pretty much only two towns of any size in South Carolina beyond Charleston.  Camden was one of them and Ninety-Six was the other.

On the 100 acres of the Historic Camden site are  two 1800 log houses that contain exhibits, the restored and refurbished 1785 John Craven house, the 1830 Cunningham house where the office and gift shop are located, a blacksmith shed with working traditional forge, the 1795 McCaa house, reconstructions of some of the fortifications built by the British, and the reconstructed colonial Georgian house built by Joseph Kershaw.

The first weekend in November Historic Camden hosts the Revolutionary War Field Days which attracts some 500-600 re-enactors and includes a daily battle, living history demonstrations, traditional craftsmen, a period fashion show, kids’ activities, etc.  Historic Camden is open Tuesday-Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is free, although a $3 donation per person is suggested.