A Two-Word Answer

A Two-Word Answer

Charleston attorney Peter McGee, a leading preservationist in Charleston, became chairman of Drayton Hall’s board, stuck up for me, and guided in many ways. Here he and his wife Patti, also a preservation leader, tell the unpublished story about Drayton Hall’s preservation.

GWM: What led you, Peter, to the preservation of Drayton Hall?

Peter: Two-word answer: Frances Edmunds. While we knew Charles Drayton and his brother Frank wanted to sell it, it was she who came up with a strategy, and I helped. We knew we needed three organizations: the Historic Charleston Foundation, state of South Carolina, and National Trust for Historic Preservation. Since the Trust was having its annual convention in Charleston in 1970, we organized a tour exclusively of Drayton Hall, not of Magnolia or Middleton Place. We didn’t want Drayton Hall to be bought by a rich Yankee or anything like that.

We’d spring it on them, “Isn’t this a wonderful place?” The Trustees would be enthralled. Afterward, when we said, “Now don’t you think …?” the Trust’s leadership would say, “Yes, we do.” Once they saw it, the National Trust leaders — James Biddle, Gordon Gray, and others— would recognize that saving Drayton Hall was vital. From Drayton Hall, they returned directly to their hotels, so for their whole time, we’d give them Drayton Hall by themselves.

That’s what we did, and a series of steps then took place, culminating in Drayton Hall becoming a Trust site.

GWM: Why did Frances Edmunds care so much about Drayton Hall?

Patti: She was passionate about Charleston. When they were saving and acquiring the Nathaniel Russell House, she fell into that first job, and that’s what led to the formation of the Historic Charleston Foundation. Frances had a way of making it impossible to say “No.” She had the ear of the bankers and the ear of the highway department and knew where people were that you had to be in touch with to get things accomplished. She sometimes stepped on a toe or two, but not many.

One story on Frances: When I went onto the board of the Garden Conservancy, I was seated next to a man who had been involved with the National Trust and who knew Frances and liked her. He asked Frances: “How do you get the leaders in your community to get behind these wonderful projects like Drayton Hall?” She quietly looked over at him and said, “Oh, just a little pillow talk.”