Off we go to Edisto Beach – by way of Blackville for lunch at Miller’s Bread Basket. From there, we headed to Jacksonboro, the one-time provincial capital of South Carolina.
Jacksonboro is home to the Edisto Nature Trail, a national recreation trail that is a gateway to the ACE Basin. There are two intersecting loop trails and a spur trail that overlooks the Edisto River. The spur trail is known as the ‘Pon Pon Spur’ – Pon Pon is the name that the local Indians had for the Edisto River.
The nature trail winds through a typical Lowcountry forest of mature pines, hardwoods, and bald cypress.
Part of the trail follows an old railroad bed, allowing good views of the swamp and evidence of long-ago rice culture and phosphate mining.
After a nice hike, we headed on over to Edisto Island and found our campsite at the State Park. We got lucky this time – #6 was a great site, right against the sand dunes, well-shaded by live oaks overhead.
The campground is right on the beach, with some of the tallest palmetto trees found in the entire state. As soon as we set up camp, we hit the beach – took a nice walk to check out the neighborhood.
After dinner, we tried out the bikes – we rode all over the campground and watched the sun set over the marsh.
Tuesday, April 24
Early today, we were back on the bikes for a long ride. We Went across the marsh to the newly renovated trail system, which explores miles of the dense maritime forest and wide expanse of lush salt marshes.
We rode along Scott Creek and visited Spanish Mount, the second oldest Native American pottery site in South Carolina.
Spanish Mount is a large shell mound - lots of oyster shells - that dates to around 2,000 B.C. Early European visitors to this area reported sighting the mound from the ocean beyond Edisto Beach, but today, only about one-tenth of the mound remains. The park service recently completed a restoration project that shored up the creek bank and created a viewing platform to allow a close-up look at the layers and layers of shells.We also visited the new Interpretive Center – an environmental education center full of exhibits that highlight the natural history of Edisto Island and the surrounding ACE Basin. On the way back, we rode through the White Oak Campground, which is right on the marsh – picked out some nice sites for future reference. All in all, it was a nice little bike ride, about six miles total.
In the afternoon, we stuck to walking – to the grocery store, to the park gift shop, around the campground, and – of course, back to the beach.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
This morning after breakfast, we met Dottie (of Tours of Edisto) for a 2.5 hour van tour of the Island. We were joined by some folks from Greenville and a couple from England. This map outlines our route.
First stop was Seaside Plantation, a beautiful old home overlooking the salt marsh and the ocean beyond. Dottie told us all sorts of tales of sad and strange happenings involving the residents of this house – a wife who died in childbirth is buried by the front steps, another one committed suicide in the horse barn – the place is known locally as the ‘House of Tragedy’ or the ‘House of Ghosts.’
We rode through the area in the center of the island where the Edisto Indian village used to be located – now the place is occupied by a bank building and there are few of the Edisto tribe remaining in the area. Also at the center of the island is the old post office (now a restaurant) and the old general store (now a local crafts shop) - situated on Store Creek near the old King’s Highway. Boats came up Store Creek from the ocean, bringing goods to the Edisto Island plantation owners who farmed Carolina Gold rice and Sea Island cotton here. The building that now houses a gift shop was originally a beach house at Edingsville Beach, just north of Edisto Beach.Edingsville Beach is an island which was once owned by the Edings family. The Edings family leased property to wealthy Charleston families who wanted to escape the city for the summer; at one time, Edingsville Beach was known as the Riviera of the Lowcountry. In the late 1800’s, a major hurricane destroyed most of the buildings on the island, some of the remaining buildings were moved to new locations on Edisto.
Standing at the corner of the old post office, you can see pilings in the creek, marking the site of an old bridge that was part of the King’s Highway, the pre-revolutionary war road along the coast from Charleston to Savannah.
Across the current road from the old post office, it’s possible to drive along a short stretch of the old King’s Highway. It’s just a dirt road, but it’s lined with ancient live oak trees, dripping with Spanish moss.
Behind the store and post office sits the Bailey plantation house, overlooking Store Creek. One of the Bailey descendents was postmaster here for 30+ years.The next stop on our tour was the Cassina Point plantation, which was owned by the Seabrook family and was the home of Carolina Lafayette Seabrook. The house overlooks marshland leading down to the North Edisto River. On the grounds are many huge old live oak trees – except for the pick-up truck, it’s like stepping back in time.
Our tour also included stops at the three oldest of Edisto’s fifteen churches. The Presbyterian Church of Edisto is one of the oldest in South Carolina, over 300 years at its same location.
The current sanctuary was built in 1830, replacing the original building erected in 1710. This structure has survived enemy occupation and hurricanes and is considered one of the most beautiful old churches in the Lowcountry.
In addition to the church, there is a separate Prayer Chapel that was originally built as a session house – a place for the elders to meet (and argue) in private.
There’s also a large graveyard, with monuments dating from 1785, intricate ironwork by Philip Simmons, and a mausoleum in which Julia Legare was buried alive.
The Trinity Episcopal Church is just down the road – it, too is surrounded by live oaks with an old graveyard off to the side. The first church was built in 1774 on the site of the present building, which was built in 1893 by a former slave.
The final church stop was the First Baptist Church, which was dedicated in 1818. It is historically significant because it was founded by a woman, Hepzibah Jenkins Townsend, a strong-willed woman who was raised in the Episcopal Church, but decided that she wanted to become a Baptist. There being no Baptist churches on Edisto (only Presbyterian and Episcopal), she obtained the property and erected the building. For many years, she and her slaves were the only members – at her death, she left the church to the slaves and today the church remains a black church. She is buried in the churchyard.After our grand tour, we had lunch (delicious shrimp salad and hamburger) at the Sea Cow restaurant, one of few open restaurants within walking distance of the state park. Also checked out the Cozy Corner Coffeehouse, which offers cheap email access.
After a little rest, we hopped back on our bikes and road the bike trail around the perimeter of Edisto Beach. Most of the route is just a nice bike lane, but some areas of the trail offer nice views of the marsh and old growth forest.
It was a long ride, but we still had energy for one last walk on the beach. We made it all the way to Jeremy Inlet at the north end of the island. That end of the island is covered with shells, though most are broken – we did find some olive shells and a whelk shell. We also came across a huge piece of driftwood that has been decorated with broken conch and whelk shells.Thursday, April 26, 2007
Broke camp without incident (we’re getting better at this) and said goodbye to Edisto. Headed north on US 17 for a stop at Caw Caw Interpretive Center, a Charleston County park along the banks of the Stono River. The site has nearly 8 miles of trails through a variety of habitats – freshwater swamp, bottomland hardwood forest, salt marsh, brackish marsh and mixed (pine-oak) upland forest. In the late 1800’s, there were as many as five rice plantations in this area.
We walked the Upland Forest Loop that went through mixed oak forest and includes a nice boardwalk overlooking one of the rice fields. On the far side of the rice field, we could see an osprey’s nest (nobody home).
We walked along the Rice Fields Trail, mostly along old dikes that were built to control flooding and draining the fields.
We spotted a small alligator enjoying the sunshine. You have to look hard to see him just below the surface of the water.
As we left the rice fields, we came into a dry area shaded by huge live oaks and Spanish moss. Here was the slave settlement for the old Laurel Hill rice plantation. There’s no sign now of the old wooden buildings that were here.
Finally, we walked the Swamp Sanctuary Trail, including a 1200-foot boardwalk through the cypress swamp. Sharp-eyed Margaret spotted a prothonotary warbler in its brilliant yellow plumage.We ended our visit with some time in the Interpretive Center itself – lots of nice exhibits and demonstrations about growing rice and the various habitats and animals of the area. After a quick picnic lunch, we headed home – via back roads all the way – through such charming spots as Ravenel, Givhans, Ridgeland, Bowman, and Orangeburg.
