Ashley River

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Ashley River
AshleyRiverFromDraytonHall.jpg
Ashley River, as seen from Brittlebank Park
Charlestonriversmap.png
Map of the Charleston Harbor watershed showing Ashley River
USA South Carolina relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of mouth
Location
Country Flag of the United States.svg  United States
State Flag of South Carolina.svg  South Carolina
County Dorchester County
Flag of Charleston, South Carolina.svg Charleston County
Physical characteristics
Mouth  
  location
Charleston Harbor, Atlantic Ocean
  coordinates
32°45′46″N79°55′44″W / 32.76278°N 79.92889°W / 32.76278; -79.92889

The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester. The river then flows for approximately 17 mi (27 km) along the historical banks of the City of North Charleston before reaching peninsular Charleston. The much wider Ashley joins the Cooper River off the Battery in Charleston to form Charleston Harbor before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2012 the land around the Ashley River (or in Ashley Barony, as the original land grant was called) is mostly undeveloped. [1] [2]

The river was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina Colony by explorer Robert Sandford. [3] In 1675 Cooper was granted 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of land along the river after a permanent settlement was made at Albemarle Point in 1670. This settlement was the “first permanent European settlement” in South Carolina and today Albemarle Point is known as Charles Towne Landing. The settlement would be moved to its current peninsular location across the river ten years later and is well known as Charleston.

The land closest to the river was developed by plantation owners throughout the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War the British occupied the plantations from 1780 to 1782. The major crops grown along the Ashley River included rice, indigo, and cotton. After the Civil War much of the region began to be used predominantly for hunting and tourism. [4]

The Ashley River area contains 26 separate sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places with 22 mi (35 km) being designated a State Scenic River, extending from Sland's Bridge (US Highway 17-A) near Summerville to the Mark Clark expressway (I-526) bridge in Charleston. [5] Within this segment, a visitor can experience a blackwater swamp, the tides of the Atlantic, and much of the history of South Carolina. Some of the sites include Drayton Hall, Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation, and the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. The River ranges from 6 to 8 feet in depth.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooper River (South Carolina)</span> Tidal river of South Carolina, United States

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The Chowan River (cho-WAHHN) is a blackwater river formed with the merging of Virginia's Blackwater and Nottoway rivers near the stateline between Virginia and North Carolina. According to the USGS a variant name is Choan River.

Dorchester was a town in the Province of South Carolina. Situated on the Ashley River about 18 miles (29 km) from Charleston, it was founded in February 1696 by followers of Reverend Joseph Lord from Dorchester, Massachusetts.

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South Carolina Highway 61 (SC 61) is a 67-mile-long (108 km) state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The highway is designated on a north–south direction, but physically travels in an east–west direction, from SC 30 in Charleston to U.S. Route 78 (US 78) near Branchville. The portion of SC 61 from Church Creek Bridge and 10 miles (16 km) north is designated a National Scenic Byway.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (Charleston, South Carolina)</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is a historic house with gardens located on the Ashley River at 3550 Ashley River Road west of Ashley, Charleston County, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest plantations in the South, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Magnolia Plantation is located near Charleston and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston. The house and gardens are open daily; an admission fee is charged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Ashley</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley River Historic District</span> Historic district in South Carolina, United States

Ashley River Historic District is a historic district located west of the Ashley in the South Carolina Lowcountry in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. The Historic District includes land from five municipalities, almost equally split between Charleston and Dorchester counties. The district includes dry land, swamps, and marshes of the Rantowles Creek and Stono Swamp watershed.

The Coastal Carolina Council is the Boy Scouts of America council that services much of the South Carolina Lowcountry. It operates 6 districts and two scout camps—Camp Ho Non Wah and Camp Moultrie.

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South Carolina Highway 165 (SC 165) is a 28.393-mile (45.694 km) state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It connects Yonges Island to U.S. Route 17 (US 17) in Ravenel and US 17 Alternate in Summerville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site</span>

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site sits along the Ashley River, near the town of Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina. In 1969, the site was donated to the South Carolina State Park Service and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1969. Currently the site of a 325-acre park, Old Dorchester State Park offers visitors a glimpse into South Carolina's Colonial past. The park boasts one of the most well-preserved oyster-shell tabby forts in the country, St. George's Bell Tower, log shipping wharves, burial sites and cemeteries, as well as on-going archaeological digs that are still unearthing the settlement's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wambaw Swamp</span> Swamp in South Carolina, United States

Wambaw Swamp is a swamp in northeastern Charleston County, South Carolina. It is located entirely within the Francis Marion National Forest and contains 4,755 acres (19 km2), all of which is designated as a wilderness area. This forest wetland is a mix of river-bottom hardwood and pine. To the southeast lies the Little Wambaw Swamp Wilderness, a 4,967 acres (20 km2) wilderness area managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The area is similar to the main Wambaw Swamp ecologically with more high ground for walking and camping. Wambaw Creek Wilderness protects 1,832 acres (7 km2) of the watershed along the Charleston and Berkeley County line as it leaves the swamps and empties into the South Santee River near Hampton Plantation State Historic Site.

References

  1. "South Carolina Department of Natural Resources - Ashley Scenic River". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ashley River
  3. Robert Sandford, “A Relation of a Voyage on the Coast of the Province of Carolina, 1666,” in Salley, AS, ed [1911], 1967, “Narratives of Early Carolina, 1650-1708, Vol. 4 of “Original Narratives of Early American History,” Edited by J. Franklin Jameson (New York: Barnes and Noble) p. 108, found in Lockhart, Matthew A. “Quitting More Than Port Royal: A Political Interpretation of the Siting and Development of Charles Town, South Carolina, 1660-1680”, Southeastern Geographer, Vol 43, N 2, Nov 2003, UNC Press
  4. "The History of the Ashley River Corridor" . Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  5. "Ashley Scenic River" . Retrieved May 28, 2021.