In 2004, a bald eagle pair moved across the Ashley River from historic Middleton Place. As a national symbol the bald eagle represent freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Significant is the fact that members of the founding Middleton family exhibited these same traits. Middleton Place’s founding family consists of historical South Carolina figures. Henry Middleton was the second president of the First Continental Congress. His son Arthur was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Henry, the grandson, was an American minister to Russia. A final South Carolina hero of the Middleton family is the great-grandson of Henry. Williams Middleton was a signer of the Ordinance of Secession.
The bald eagle pair’s new site at Eagle Nest Elementary offers a surrounding marsh, meandering river system, and a grove of perch trees. To ensure that the nesting pair could raise their eaglets, work on the school building was suspended from October 1 to May 15 2006 during the breeding season. Placed under the Eagle Protection Act in 1940, the bald eagle has been protected by all fifty states. In 1995 they were reclassified as THREATENED across the lower forty-eight states. With efforts of the Department of Natural Resources, concerned citizens, and others our bald eagle pair has become a living mascot for the students, parents, faculty, and staff of Eagle Nest Elementary School.
