Portable DVD players to help tell Drayton Hall story

One problem with understanding the centuries of rich history at Drayton Hall is that so much of it has disappeared: the gardens, the outbuildings, the slave cabins.

But today, thanks to a joint effort between the plantation house museum, The History Channel and the S.C. Department of Transportation, visitors to the Ashley River landmark may rent a portable DVD player with a professional, customized documentary that interprets the house and its grounds.

It's being billed as the first of its kind in the region.

"We're moving into new territories in the way to tell this story," Drayton Hall executive director George McDaniel said Wednesday. "Tour guides can't be everywhere, and we have this landscape with a remarkable story to tell."

The portable documentary is meant to be viewed at 11 different sites or stations on the live oak-dotted grounds. People can listen to as many or as few of the vignettes as they choose. Each lasts between two and 10 minutes.

Libby O'Connell, The History Channel's chief historian, said the network has helped produce about 60 documentaries for historic sites but none are interactive like this one.

"This is truly a pilot project. We want to see how this works," she said. "It works really well on a site like Drayton Hall because you have to use your imagination about what it would be like."

The documentary includes 18th- and 19th-century maps, drawings, old and new photographs and interviews with descendants of former slaves who worked there, as well as with the seventh generation of the Drayton family.

The project got a boost when the DOT's Enhancements Program chipped in $50,000, while most of the rest of the approximately $200,000 production cost was donated by the History Channel, said Craig Tuminaro, Drayton Hall's director of interpretation. The DVD player and disc cost $7 to rent; visitors can buy the disc for $25.

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@post andcourier.com.