Wappoo Creek was once a natural stream that linked the Stono with the Ashley River, but the Wappoo was likewise “cut” several times to widen it for boat traffic.īy the early 1700s, it was possible to sail or row from Edisto Island to Charleston by way of this meandering inner passage of interconnected coastal rivers. A broad, man-made ditch created three hundred years ago and called “New Cut” connects the Wadmalaw River to the Stono River. That stream then flows into the North Edisto River, the upper reaches of which naturally intermingle with the Wadmalaw River. In the early years of the eighteenth century, these men created what became known as “Watt’s Cut” to connect the South Edisto River with the Dawhoo River. The various coastal rivers weren’t exactly interconnected, so white plantation owners forced enslaved labors to dig what they called “cuts” through the marshes to connect the rivers. Prior to that time, however, the early settlers of the South Carolina Lowcountry understood the the value of the inner passage and made efforts to open routes from the sea island plantations to the great marketplace in Charleston. This “inner passage” between the sea islands and the mainland is now called the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, a marvel of engineering that reflects a great deal of work done during the 1920s. By following the waters that separate the various sea islands from the mainland, travelers traded a slightly longer journey for a safer and quieter route. The second option is the “inner passage,” a route that follows the meandering paths of the several coastal rivers that flow towards the ocean. This route of fifty or sixty-odd miles is rather direct, but it involves some degree of danger from the potential of rough seas and high winds. The first and most obvious route is the “outer passage,” a phrase that refers to sailing into the shallows of the Atlantic Ocean and around the “outside” of the Wadmalaw, Seabrook, Kiawah, Johns, James, and Folly Islands. If you look at a map of the coastline of Charleston county, you’ll see two possible routes for traveling by water between Edisto Island and Charleston. For most of recorded history, therefore, travelers between Edisto and Charleston followed a water route. The roads, bridges, and ferries necessary to facilitate an overland trip took many generations to build. In those early years of the Carolina colony, travelers between Charleston and the sea islands were obliged to travel by watercraft. The people of Edisto have maintained a strong relationship with Charleston since Europeans first began settling on the Island in the 1680s. Located about halfway between the urban centers of Charleston and Beaufort, most of Edisto Island is within the jurisdiction of Charleston County (Edisto Beach is part of Colleton County). We could talk for hours about the history of Lowcountry boats, roads, bridges, ferries, street cars, trolleys, passenger trains, and bicycles, but today I want to narrow the focus to just one place-Edisto Island-and one mode of travel-the steamboat.Įdisto Island is one of several large sea islands that form the fragmented Atlantic coastline of South Carolina. As our roads become more and more crowded every day here in the Lowcountry, I believe it’s important to remember how earlier generations moved from one place to another, and how the rhythms of their lives were shaped by the modes of travel and the routes available to them. It’s easy to take travel and mobility for granted these days, and the past century of automobile domination has clouded our memory of how transportation worked in the past. If traffic is heavy, however (and it usually is these days), then it could be a ninety-minute trip, or longer, replete with the frustration that usually accompanies the twenty-first-century suburban commute.Īll of these travel details were in my mind recently as I headed to the Edisto Island library to present a lecture about the history of the different modes of transportation that have connected Edisto Island with Charleston over the past three hundred and fifty years. If traffic is light, I can make the drive in about sixty minutes. Thanks to the modern conveniences of steel-belted rubber tires, asphalt roads, and concrete bridges, it’s not a difficult journey at all. It’s a pretty straightforward route with only a handful of turns. The distance from my office at the Charlestown County Public Library’s main branch in downtown Charleston and the Edisto Island branch library is almost exactly 42 miles. Have you ever wondered what it was like to ride a steamboat from Edisto Island to Charleston around the turn of the twentieth century, before the arrival of the automobile? Today we’ll board the steamer Pilot Boy and make that journey with a young man who later wrote a charming description of the sights, smells, and sounds of that by-gone experience once treasured by generations of islanders.
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