The ShoreXplorers

Monday, March 7, 2016

1850 Coastal Survey Marker in the South Carolina Scrub [March 6, 2016]

Hidden away in a palmetto and pine scrub forest in Edisto Beach SC is a granite marker of great historical and scientific importance. It is one of 14 such makers that were put up during the 19^th century as benchmarks for the first coastal survey of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.

Surveyors would find a straight area along the coast of a certain distance. In Edisto Beach it is 6.68 miles. They would measure that distance and mark it at each end with one of these markers. They would then use that line between the markers as one side of a triangle that they would then use to triangulate and derive other distances (yes, geometry in action). Each triangle would provide information for the next triangle as the surveyors moved up and down the coast from that location.

There were 7 of these locations (Epping ME, Kent Island MD, Bodie Island NC, Edisto Beach SC, Key Biscayne FL, Cape Sable FL, Dauphin Island AL), and Edisto Beach has the only set of both markers still in existence today. The second marker at Edisto Beach is in the Botany Bay Plantation Wildlife Management Area.

To make the initial measurement in 1850, surveyors hacked a 20 foot wide path through the scrub land the whole the length of the area to be measured. They then measured the distance using “bars of invariable length” invented by Prof A D Bache. They would position a bar, move a second bar to the end of the first bar and then move the first bar to the new end of the second bar, leapfrogging for 6.68 miles. Modern scientists re-measured the distance using satellite technology, and found that the old measurement was accurate to within 2.5 inches. Imagine that!

Imagine hacking through this scrub!

Prof Bache was the great grandson of Benjamin Franklin. He was also a scientist of note, and was involved in the creation of the National Academy of Scientists and the Smithsonian.

You can get to the trail to the marker, which has very interesting and informative signs along the way, at the Environmental Education Center at Edisto Beach State Park.

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Peace and War – The Angel Oak and Fort Sumter, Charleston SC [March 4, 2016]

The day started with a trip to see what is purported to be the largest Live Oak tree east of the Mississippi, the Angel Oak on John’s Island, Charleston County. To get to the tree, you turn just after a church and drive along a gravel road and eventually through a gate into a gravel parking lot. There is nothing fancy or contrived about this park. It is just a beautiful tree, surrounded by signs telling you not to climb on it, and a small house that serves as a gift shop. The tree is enormous, peaceful and beautiful. It’s thick, old branches drape gracefully toward the ground and eventually run parallel to it. Sometimes there are wooden blocks supporting the branches.

Rumor has it that the tree is 1,500 years old. We’ve seen much smaller Live Oak trees that are said to be 700 and 900 years old. However, the sign on the tree property says that the tree is 300-400 years old and that these trees only live to be 500-700 years old. This information casts a doubt on the ages of the other trees we had seen. Hmmmm. None of this takes away from how huge this tree is – 65 feet tall, 25.5 foot circumference with an area of shade 17,000 square feet. The largest limb is 39 feet long and 11 feet around. Wow!

There is an atmosphere of quiet and peace around the tree. People speak in hushed voices, and the sandy soil under foot muffles their footsteps. You feel like breathing deeply and standing in awe of such a lovely sight. While the tree looks a bit like an angel spreading its wings, the Angel Oak gets its name from the Angel family who once owned the property.

From the Angel Oak we drove into Charleston to visit Fort Sumter. It was a windy and cool ferry trip through Charleston Harbor to the island fort. After you arrive, you have about an hour there before you sail back to the city. There is a great exhibit area inside the fort that we didn’t see until the last minute. We wished that we had spent less time clamoring around the ramparts of the fort and had left more time to spend in the exhibits.

The fort has a long and varied history, but is most noted for being the location of the first shot fired in the American Civil War. The Confederacy fired on the fort that wasn’t finished construction, many of whose cannons were still not assembled, and that was woefully understaffed. After 36 hours of bombardment, the Federal troops relinquished the fort. Later in the war, Federal forces bombarded the fort, reducing the top 2 of 3 tiers of the outer wall to rubble. Ironically, all this fallen brick was used to reinforce the remaining walls making them stronger. After the American Civil War, the fort was fixed up to defend Charleston during the Spanish-American War and then was used continuously through WWII. Such a violent history.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Lots of History and Lots of Walking in Downtown Charleston SC [March 3, 2016]

Today was devoted to downtown Charleston. Lots-a walking - my fitbit recorded 15,000+ steps.

We are staying in the James Island County Park Campground just across the Ashley River from downtown Charleston. For $10/person they will shuttle you over to the Visitors Center. From there you can catch a free trolley around town, or set off on foot. We initially took the trolley south down King Street, but figured out pretty quickly that we walk faster and if we were walking we wouldn’t miss the wonderful sights along the way.

Our first destination was Legare Street, south of Broad, in the most historic (read expensive), and lovingly restored parts of town. We were in search of “single houses” and wrought iron gates. Charleston has a unique architectural style called the single house. The single house is only one room wide as it faces the street. From the street you see 2 windows upstairs, and 2 windows and a door downstairs. The door looks like your and my front door, but actually leads on to an open air porch that extends the length of the house. The rest of the rooms open up on to the porch all the way back to the rear of the house. The same with upstairs. (There are pictures of what this looks like at the end of this post!)

The porches face gardens and the gardens are secured from the street by fences and gates. Oftentimes the gates are made of wrought iron. Long ago I read that the wrought iron work was done by free men of color. Each family had their unique design and every gate made by that family followed that design. The skill and the design were passed from generation to generation. That said, in two trips to Charleston spent walking up and down these streets looking at wrought iron work, I’ve never seen a duplicate gate. So maybe the story isn’t true, but it is a great story.

We followed Legare down to the Battery and walked along the sea wall admiring the view, the cannons in the park and the enormous houses along the Battery. We learned later that when the settlers moved over from Charles Town Landing around 1680, this part of the peninsula was all wetland. It wasn’t filled in and secured with a sea wall until the 1750's. The stately mansions that grace the Battery were built after that.

We walked back up East Bay Street, and along the City Market. We had a seafood lunch at Hyman’s on Meeting Street and then headed south again. This time we followed a walking tour that we had ripped out of the AAA South Carolina Tour Book. We made an interesting stop at the Powder Magazine (79 Cumberland St.) To finish off the day, we took a tour of the Heyward-Washington House at 87 Church St. The house was built in 1772 for Thomas Heyward, who later went on to sign the Declaration of Independence. In 1791 George Washington was a guest there, hence the name of the house. The tour was interesting with a heavy emphasis on antique furniture that had been built in Charleston. Of special interest to Dana was that the house was briefly the home of the Grimke family (the daughters were famous abolitionists whose story was told in Invention of Wings), though they moved into a different house when Sarah was 11, before Angelina was born.

The Battery

Following our tour, we hoofed it back to Lagare to walk back to where we would catch our shuttle home. We liked walking along less traveled streets. We passed through the College of Charleston campus. As we got near the Visitors Center, we stopped at Republic Ice Cream for some extremely tasty, reasonably priced, South Carolina produced ice cream. Why not, we walked 15,000+ steps!

Hope you enjoy the photos!