General History of The Low Country
The history and culture of the area was shaped over the last 300 years by planters, slaves, free people of colour, yeoman farmers and their families. Through war and peace, great prosperity, and abject poverty, their lives and folkways are woven into a tapestry which is a microcosm of the American South.

In 1670, a small contingent of English settlers and their enslaved Africans sailed from Barbados and established the first permanent settlement between Spanish Florida and Virginia. They were welcomed by Native Americans with whom they traded successfully in the early years. By the mid-18th century, little evidence remained of these native people, enslavement, smallpox and other diseases, had all but annihilated them.

Carolina's reputation for religious tolerance attracted a wide assortment of ethnic migrants. In a very short time, groups of French Huguenots, Irish, Scots, Germans, French Catholics, and Sephardic Jews were settled in the countryside. Later, Greeks and Italians joined the mix and contributed to the present culture.

The settlers began tending the land, using the slave-based agricultural system that had been brought from Barbados and early commerce was based on the export of deer skins and naval stores. By the 18th century, indigo, rice, and long staple cotton quickly dominated the economy.

Rice was the crop that produced enormous wealth in the Low Country for 200 years. It was the enslaved West Africans who cleared the swamps and built the dikes, canals, and water control devices needed for rice cultivation. They planted, tended, and harvested the crop as well as constructed and manned the boats that transported it to market. Many were highly skilled craftsmen: wheelwrights, masons, carpenters, cabinet makers, and smithies.

Free people of colour existed and in some cases thrived in this peculiar environment.

Although wealthy planters dominated commerce and politics, the yeoman farmers outnumbered them five to one.

Today, many descendants of these hard working families continue to farm and have become strong community leaders.

Charleston
The perfect base from which to explore the history of the area.

The focal point of so much of South Carolina's history it has much to offer visitors both downtown Charleston and in the surrounding areas.

History of Charleston

Historic attractions

Hilton Head history

Charleston history

Pawleys Island history

Myrtle Beach history

Hilton Head
For a holiday island Hilton Head boasts a surprisingly rich and long history with human occupation dating back 10 - 15,000 years.

History of Hilton Head

Overview of Historic sites

Myrtle Beach
While not able to boast the colonial history of Charleston or Pawleys Island, Myrtle Beach has an interesting story to tell of a world class resort and the "golf capital of the World" evolving from the early 20th Century.

History of Myrtle Beach

Pawleys Island
The oldest resort in America offers visitors a wealth of local history. Many of the areas resorts and golf courses are built on old rice plantations and nearby Georgetown is rich in colonial architecture.

History of Pawleys Island