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or the first human
beings, the Carolina rivers were barriers until they mastered the
technology of the canoe. Then the rivers became ribbons of conquest
and commerce. By the 16th century, when Europeans first saw the
Carolinas, many of the indigenous people lived in villages strewn
like pearls along the riverbanks. The ghosts of these early inhabitants
still haunt the Carolinas as the names of their riversthe Pee Dee,
the Wateree, the Santee, the Kiawah, the Ashepoo, the Edisto, the
Catawba. These early inhabitants fished the rivers and planted crops
in the rich alluvial soil. Some even constructed weirs or dams to
increase their fish harvest.
Spanish explorers DeSoto
and Pardo followed the rivers through the heartland of South Carolina
into the Piedmont and mountains of North Carolina. The accounts
of these expeditions furnish firsthand accounts of Native American
life and the abundant natural resources of the Carolinas.
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Not too long ago, these were our interstate highways and back country
roads.
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In 1701 a young Englishman
named John Lawson left Charles Town to investigate the interior
of the Carolinas. He traveled by water to the mouth of the Santee
and then followed the Santee, Wateree and Catawba rivers until he
crossed into present-day North Carolina. Lawson reached the Yadkin
River before turning east to the English settlements on the coast.
For part of his journey he followed the Eno and Neuse rivers. In
1706 Lawson helped establish the town of Bath. In 1711 on a trip
to survey the navigable reaches of the Neuse River, Native Americans,
angered by English land incursions and abuse, captured and executed
Lawson.
Others followed Lawson
down the creeks and rivers of the Carolinas to settle new homes.
The fertile river bottoms were preferred from the mountains to the
sea. Their rich loamy soil produced corn and wheat to feed the settlers
and their families. In the Lowcountry of South Carolina, flooded
creeks and rivers gave rise to the profitable cultivation of rice.
Growing Carolina Gold rice forever changed the lives of African
slaves imported to raise the new crop and the landscape diked and
terraced into submission.
North Carolina's
flag has been modified since its creation in 1861. The upper date
commemorates Charlotte's Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence,
signed more than a year before Independence Day. The lower date
reflects the Halifax Resolves, one of the first official documents
demanding freedom for the U.S. from foreign powers.
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Damming the Santee River, one of the longest on the
eastern seaboard, required considerable engineering expertise.
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In the Eighteenth Century,
the interior of the Carolinas was home to subsistence crops and
herds of cattle. Small merchant vessels plied the Carolina rivers
carrying foodstuffs and hides to coastal towns and rum and other
imported commodities to inland settlements. Thousands of deerskins
left Charles Town for the English market. Carolina deerskins clothed
English dandies in breeches dyed yellow or purple and were the preferred
material for fashionable headwear.
In 1974 a diver located
a unique remnant of these early days of the river trade. The 50
by 14-foot Brown's Ferry vessel sank around 1740 in the dark waters
of the Black River near Georgetown, South Carolina. An ordinary
vessel built for river trade, it carried a load of bricks on its
last voyage. For more than a century, flatboats, periaguas and barges
carried rice and cotton bales to market. The fall line, which separated
the Piedmont from the coastal plain, was a barrier to river navigation.
The falls and rapids necessitated towpaths or other portage methods.
In 1818, South Carolina
began to appropriate money to build canals to bypass the Broad,
Congaree, Saluda and Wateree Rivers at the fall line. Eight canals
were constructed, but only the Columbia Canal was successful. This
canal took boats from the Saluda and Broad rivers around rocky areas
to the Congaree. The original Columbia Canal was expanded to power
South Carolina's oldest hydroelectric plant.
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Densely forested swamps were home to outlaws and escaped slaves
who also established temporary settlements there.
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In addition to commerce
and agriculture, iron and gold mining followed Carolina rivers.
From the 1760s through the 1850s, iron mining was found along the
rivers of Spartanburg and York counties in South Carolina. Iron
also was mined in Lincoln County, North Carolina, between 1790 and
1880. Before the 1849 California gold rush, most of the gold produced
in the United States came from North Carolina and Georgia. By 1824,
gold was discovered in Rowan County, North Carolina. In 1828 Benjamin
Haile began panning for gold near Kershaw, South Carolina. Within
three years, Haile was shipping gold to the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.
Miners began panning the creeks of the Piedmont. By 1832, approximately
200 miners were operating in Chesterfield County between Little
Fork Creek and Lynches River. Before the Civil War, 58 gold mines
operated in South Carolina.
Hundreds of water mills
lined the creeks and streams of the Carolinas. These mills ground
corn and wheat to produce hominy, grits, cornmeal and flour. In
1816 several small water-powered "cotton factories" appeared along
the Tyger River in Spartanburg County. In 1836 the Saluda Cotton
Factory began operating on the Saluda River near Columbia, South
Carolina. These small mills were the ancestors of the large textile
mills that changed the southern landscape after the Civil War.
Swamps such as the Congaree
and the Great Dismal flanked the rivers of the Carolinas. These
densely forested swamps were home to outlaws and escaped slaves
who also established temporary settlements there. Many of these
maroon encampments lasted several years before the leaders were
recaptured. During the Revolutionary War, the Santee swamps were
home to Brig. Gen. Francis Marion. Marion was nicknamed "The Swamp
Fox" because he successfully used the swamps to outwit the British.
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The modern landscape
of the Carolinas shows the importance of rivers in their settlement.
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These swamps are home
to giant oak, maple and cypress trees. Many of these areas were
logged. Reportedly, in the early twentieth century, a 1,600-year-old
cypress tree was cut for lumber in the Santee swamps.
South Carolina's
flag reflects tradition and history. In 1775, Col. William Moultrie
chose the blue of revolutionary uniforms, and the silver crescent
from the soldier's caps. In 1860, the palmetto tree was added
to commemorate Moultrie's heroic defense of the palmetto-log fort
on Sullivans Island during the Revolutionary War.
The modern landscape
of the Carolinas shows the importance of rivers in their settlement.
Originally, a major component of the colonies' transportation systems,
today their names commemorate the native and European settlers of
the Carolinas. Roads and highways follow the watersheds between
the rivers. Many towns and cities including Columbia, Cheraw, Camden
and Roanoke Rapids trace their origins to where ferries and fords
were located. In their first century, European settlers used the
names of streams and creeks to indicate their settlement areas.
Long Canes and King's Creek were not only streams, but also communities.
Shallow Ford, a colonial crossing of the Yadkin River, was the site
of a patriot victory over Tories in 1780. In 1781 Lord Cornwallis
also crossed there.
Today, the rice lands
of the ACE Basin are home to a wide variety of waterfowl. Many of
these low-lying areas, such as the Great Dismal Swamp, the Congaree
Swamp, Alligator River and Cape Romain, also are protected national
wildlife refugees.
The rivers of the Carolinas
mirror the rich history of the past. Today, they are a bright hope
for a bountiful future.
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Alexia Jones Helsley joined the SC department of Archives and History in 1968
and has served as Supervisor of Reference, Director of Public Programs and Director of Education.
At present, she is Director of Special Projects and Editor of the Biographical Directory of the SC House of
Representatives. Ms. Helsley is developing a genealogical guide for the Archives, teaching American History at
USC-Aiken. In 2001, she launched, AJH Historical Enterprises, genealogical and historical consulting business.
A magna cum laude Furman University graduate, she received her MA in history from
the University of South Carolina, and completed doctoral course work in Public
Administration. Ms. Helsley is the author of numerous books and has received
many prestigious awards. She is married, with two children.
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