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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Carolina Rice Plantations - Part 1 by Elva Cobb Martin

Before the Revolutionary War, rice made the Low Country of South Carolina, and particularly, Charleston, the richest colonial town and area in America with twice the wealth of Philadelphia and New York. This was why the grain became known as Carolina Gold.
The above two statements piqued my interest and research, so last month, March, 2014, I reserved my place for the Annual Rice Plantation Tour sponsored by the Prince George Winyah Episcopal Church in Georgetown, South Carolina. This wonderful old church itself was established in 1721.
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I hope to share several blogs about this tour and the thirteen rice plantations and town houses we toured over two days. All of them have their own exciting stories to tell.
For background, Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina, following Charleston and Beaufort, and is located at the mouth of five rivers which flow into the Atlantic. This made the area most conducive to rice growing and shipping. From Cape Fear, North Carolina, to St. Mary’s River, Georgia, several rivers had ocean tides of at least four feet needed for rice production. But for nearly 200 years this 300 mile coast land and rice production centered in the South Carolina Low Country, a land where waters mingle with the sea in a confused tangle of marshes, streams, and swamps.
My tour embodied a lot of the same, as it rained both days. But I decided the historical expedition must go on while the plantations were opened by their owners. Here are a couple of photos. Most of  my 212 photos were taken with my left hand holding an umbrella and my right hand snapping the camera. Ha!



More on these exciting plantations in future blogs!
Have you ever visited a rice plantation? Would love to read your comments.


Elva Cobb Martin is president of the South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a former school teacher and a graduate of Anderson University and Erskine College. Decision, Charisma, and Home Life have published her articlesShe has completed two inspirational romances. In a Pirate’s Debt is being considered for representation. Summer of Deception is being considered by a publisher. A mother finally promoted to grandmother, Elva lives with her husband Dwayne and a mini-dachshund writing helper (Lucy) in Anderson, South Carolina. She and her husband are retired ministers. Connect with her on her web site www.elvamartin.com, her blog http://carolinaromancewithelvamartin.blogspot.com on Twitter @Elvacobbmartin and on Face book.
 

5 comments:

  1. Beautiful photos, umbrella and all! What romantic history. Fascinating!

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    1. Thanks Kathleen. Glad you stopped by. Resurrection Blessings,
      Elva

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  2. Eagerly anticipating the follow up articles to this one. It is probably the only way I will be able to tour these fascinating plantations. Thank you for the pictures. Would love to see all 212 of them with their attached stories.

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    1. Thank you, Judith, for your comments and encouragement to get busy writing up these plantations! I will certainly share many more photos in coming blogs. Have a Blessed Resurrection weekend. Elva Cobb Martin

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  3. Looking forward to more on this subject! That's one thing I wish I'd been able to do more of while we lived there. :-)

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