Berkeley Journal Volume 5

vol. 5

berkeley journal An Amazing Hat Trick Saving the Old Santee Canal Guard Lock I and White Oak Lock II, 645 acres of South Carolina’s forests and the gravesite of Thomas Walter on one conservation easement

Plus: Thomas Walter in America For the Birds SC7 Explores Revolutionary Site

2

lordberkeley.org 2021

WELCOME

The last two months of the year are always a time when I pause, even if it’s just for a moment, to consider the reasons I should be thankful. Family, friends, and health always come to mind. My ability to work in the conservation field is also a privilege and honor I’m thankful for. While it’s true some days are the proverbial walkin-the-park, the opposite is also more true – full inboxes, endless paperwork, and too many meetings. However, it is never boring! And being deeply engaged in the complexity of our work brings a deeper appreciation for what makes South Carolina so special – our lands and waters.

This issue of the Berkeley Journal is about one of those special places often overlooked, or at least under appreciated. It’s incredibly easy to drive highway 17 crossing the North and South Santee Rivers without ever realizing the extraordinary beauty, biodiversity, and history that lies just beyond the roadway in the Santee Delta. Likewise, you can travel highway 52 crossing the Santee near St. Stephen and not know the Santee’s high bluffs, it’s expansive bottomland hardwood forests, or serene waterways extending all the way to the coast.

The Santee River and all of its hydrologic connections, even those manmade, have had such an intricate relationship with our environment, our lives, and our history. From the colonial era rice-field impoundments of the Santee Delta to the remnants of the Old Santee Canal, there’s a complex story of our ingenuity and innovation to harness natural forces and also of the people who labored to accomplish those ends. Today, the Santee is a mixture of seemingly untouched wilderness, coffee-table book scenery, and man-made improvements old and new.

We hope you enjoy this journal, and its exploration of the Old Santee Canal’s history as well as the life’s work of Thomas Walter, famous botanist of the 18th century. These are the stories that bring the Trust’s work to life showcasing our fascinating and complicated relationship with nature.

Thanks to your continued support we’ve been able to protect special places like the Santee Basin! If you’re not a member or haven’t contributed this year, please consider making a donation today. We value and need your support!

Best regards,

Chris

Chris Vaughn Executive Director

lordberkeley.org 2021

3

For the Birds Three hundred years ago, many of South Carolina’s waterways were transformed at the hands of enslaved people who harnessed the power of water and innovative engineering to grow one of the most lucrative crops the South would ever see.

While the rice culture was relatively short-lived, the dikes of the impoundments are still evident today and provide valuable habitat for a variety of waterfowl, wading birds, mammals, and invertebrates.

Management for waterfowl succeeds (or fails) on the same premise as the rice that once grew there, the ability to control the moisture of the soil. For landowners, moist soil management is a full-time job including the maintenance of water control structures or trunks, repairing dikes that have been

4

lordberkeley.org 2021

breached from heavy storm flows, and clearing internal drains that have silted in over a period of years. Only once the plumbing is in order and the soil moisture is managed, can undesirable vegetation be effectively eradicated, allowing desirable native plants and grasses to thrive. The result is a diverse habitat that not only supports waterfowl, but also wading birds, aquatic invertebrates, and cold-blooded vertebrates.

Success is most definitely part art and part science.

Fortunately, the Trust has established strong working relationships with Ducks Unlimited and the US Fish & Wildlife Services Coastal program and we can connect you with the right expert.

For more information, email info@lordberkeley.org.

photo by Sarah Nell Blackwell

SC7 Explores Revolutionary Site

In July, the Trust was honored to host the South Carolina 7 Expedition team at Francis Marion’s gravesite and Fort Fair Lawn. The mission of the expedition is to raise awareness of floodwater prevention and resiliency across South Carolina and engage leaders and citizens in the protection and enjoyment of South Carolina’s natural resources.

The team, led by Tom Mullikin, SC Floor Water Commision Chair, visited Francis Marion’s gravesite and Fort Fair Lawn while in Berkeley County among other stops. Keith Gourdin shared the history of the Marion family and the team participated in a wreath laying ceremony at Francis Marion’s gravesite. Adair Roark, Marketing Director for the Trust, shared with the team that the 11,000 acres surrounding the gravesite are under a conservation easement by the Trust thanks to the generosity of the landowner this area will remained protected in perpetuity (forever!).

Brigadier General Marie Goff, U.S. Army Retired and one of the Expedition team members shared her day at Fort Fair Lawn with her followers of Travel Notes and Storytelling. “Chris Vaughn, Executive Director of the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust greeted Expedition members in the area of Fort Fair

Lawn. He explained the importance of learning our history so that we can raise funds to preserve these areas as recreational, natural, and historic resources.

David Paul Reuwer [with the South Carolina Battleground Trust] described the area of the fort and its strategic importance (1781) in the siege on Charles Town, to force the Continental Army to surrender the city.

The Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center holds a wealth of historical information and artifacts from the American Revolutionary War and other periods.

After touring the museum, Expedition members observed and participated in a period reenactment .

The British surrendered after a brief engagement with the Patriots in front of the Berkeley County Museum. SC7 Expedition members joined the Patriots and began training with the 3-pound canon being sworn in and reminded of why they were fighting: LIBERTY!” Learn more at southcarolina7.com

lordberkeley.org 2021

5

AN AMAZING HAT TRICK

SAVING THE OLD SANTEE CANAL GUARD LOCK I AND WHITE OAK LOCK II, 645 ACRES OF SOUTH CAROLINA’S FORESTS AND THE GRAVESITE OF THOMAS WALTER ON ONE CONSERVATION EASEMENT words by E L I Z A B A I L E Y

lordberkeley.org 2021

7

T

he expansive Santee River Delta, in southern Georgetown County, is the largest delta on the East Coast.

Rich with native habitat and wildlife it is revered by naturalists and sportsmen alike. The Santee River originates near Columbia, where the Wateree and the Congaree Rivers unite. From its origin, the Santee River flows for several miles joining the northwest corner of Lake Marion. Downstream, the River travels east, jogging southeast to form the boundaries of the Francis Marion Forest. Twenty miles from the coast, the river splits into the North Santee and South Santee. Here the Santee surrenders its cargo. Delivering nutrient rich sediment picked up and carried from the Appalachian Mountains through the Piedmont of South Carolina. The journey is complete.

Upstream, the river meets Lake Marion and is corralled by the Santee Dam. A diversion canal connects the Santee Dam to Lake Moultrie, a reservoir of the Cooper River. The shotgun marriage between the Santee and the Cooper produces a navigable inland water route to Charleston Harbor.

The modern Santee - Cooper project is not the first union between the two rivers. Listed in the National Historic Registry of Historical Places, the old Santee Canal, completed in 1800, was the first summit canal built in America.

The connection of the Santee and Cooper Rivers provided direct access from Columbia to Charleston. Differentiating from its contemporaries, a summit canal allows one body of water to go over a ridge and down to another body of water versus using a continuous lateral fall. The existing canals in America used lateral fall technology to operate. Esteemed botanist and historian, Dr. Richard Porcher, is co-authoring a book on the Old Santee Canal, he reiterates, “In the 1800’s the technology to build a summit canal was well known in Europe but not in America.” Being “a first” in America’s transportation history and critical to South Carolina’s economic foundation, the preservation of any remaining structures, not destroyed or underwater, warrant preservation.

The only remaining locks of the canal, Guard Lock I and White Oak Lock II are privately held northwest of Pineville near the old St. Stephen / St. John Parish. Recognizing the historical significance of man’s industry and desire to help preserve the Santee Basin’s fragile ecosystem, the property owners placed the locks and surrounding 645 acres under a conservation easement with Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust. Resting on the easement property is the graveside of botanist Thomas Walter and two miles of waterfront of the Santee River.

8

lordberkeley.org 2021

These protections reverberate throughout the preservation and conservation community, Dr. Porcher, emphatic about the Old Santee Canal’s contribution to the economic development in South Carolina, believes: “History can guide us in the future. It shows us who we are and what we can do when we work together. Preserving a place like the Old Santee Canal is critical. It is part of our history. It is part of who we are. It was the lifeline for the economy of South Carolina for more than 50 years and served a critical role in bringing wares from the upcountry to Charleston. Preserving a structure like this, is really preserving who we are.”

Prior to the development of inland infrastructure, the rivers were the highways. Around 1730-1750 discussions of creating a canal system to link the economy of the upstate to Charleston Harbor began. To accomplish this task, the Santee and Cooper rivers need to be connected. At this time, the only viable means of transporting goods from the upstate was to ride Santee River through the Santee Delta to the Atlantic Ocean, run parallel to Bull’s Bay into Charleston Harbor. Not only were the inland farmers and merchants at the mercy of this arduous journey, the investments of Lowcountry merchants and bankers, who had ships anxiously awaiting cargo, also assumed risks. The proposed canal would bypass the Santee-Atlantic route, lessening the liabilities for all.

To cure the plague of difficulties suffered by insufficient modes of transportation, in 1786, the Santee Canal Company formed. Consisting of members from the upstate and lowcountry, the membership underscored South Carolina’s desire for economic unity. A charter to build the canal was granted in 1793. Subscriptions were sold to fund this private venture. The state engineer, Colonel John Christian Senf, a Hussein soldier during the Revolutionary War, familiar with summit canal technology was commissioned to build the canal. Three years after the initial meeting, construction began under Col. Senf ’s tutelage and supervision.

In The History of the Santee Canal, published in 1903, Professor F. A. Porcher describes the canal: “The canal is twenty-two miles in length. Thirty-five feet wide at the surface of the water and twenty feet at the bottom. It’s depth is five and one half feet, with four feet of water...On each side is a draw path ten feet wide; it has two double and eight single lock; and it’s course over the country it lies eight aque-

ducts or culverts through which many swamp streams find passage...From the Santee it rises by locks, thirty four feet to the summit level, whence it descends by seven locks to the Cooper River, sixty nine feet making the difference of level between the two rivers thirty-five feet” (Porcher, p. 7-8).

Nearby landowners were paid annually for their enslaved laborers to construct the canal, locks, and surrounding structures.

“At first the company paid 15 to 16 pounds sterling per head, two thirds of which were men. By the year 1800 the price of labor had risen to 24 pounds sterling per annum for men and 20 pounds sterling for women...The work was commenced in 1793 with ten laborers; by the month of July the number was increased to one hundred and fifty. After that time a fresbet in the Santee River brought in so many laborers that by the end of the year they amounted to over a thousand” (Porcher, p.6).

In 1800, a boat carrying salt from Charleston to Columbia navigated the waters of Old Santee Canal. At its peak, in 1830, seven hundred and twenty boats and barges made the voyage. Moderately successful, the canal was sabotaged by design flaws, insufficient water and backlogged debris resulting in unforeseen closures. The drought of 1817-1819 added insult to injury, drying riverbeds, and halting all traffic on the canal for almost two years. Steamships, unable to pass through the narrow locks of the canal, took the Santee - Atlantic route. Forgoing the canal. In 1842, the completion of Branchville and Columbia Railroad served a fatal blow to the Old Santee Canal’s patronage. The railroad provided a faster, safer, and more reliable means for moving goods.

Marred by faulty design, drought, the expansion of the steamships and railroads, the shareholders surrendered the Charter in 1858. A century later, the majority of Old Santee Canal was submerged during the construction of Lakes Marion and Moultrie. Despite its deficiencies and lack of financial prosperity, the Old Santee Canal was considered an engineering accomplishment. According to the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places, the canal: “Totally hand fashioned with ten stone, brick and wooden locks, the canal was masterfully piece of workmanship. Although today (1982) even those pieces not inundated by Lake Moultrie are in a severe state of deterioration, the magnitude of the project and careful craftsmanship are still evident” (South Carolina Department of Archives and History).

Adjacent to the series of ten hand fashioned locks were houses occupied by either a gatekeeper or tollkeeper. The series of locks, Guard Lock I to Biggin Creek Lock X, started in Pineville and ended at Tide Lock on the Cooper River. Barges entered the canal at Guard Lock I, paid toll at White Oak Lock II and continued down the canal through the remaining locks and tolls.

Of the ten locks used, only two locks, Guard Lock I and White Oak Lock II,

are not destroyed or submerged underwater. They are protected under Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust’s conservation easement and will be available for future study.

Guard Lock I shows significant deterioration, however, Guard Lock II is intact. The steps used by the tollkeeper and craftsmanship of the bricks are visibly evident. Dr. Porcher comments, “The craftsmanship of the bricks and construction of White Oak Lock II is a testimony to engineers, tradesmen, enslaved laborers and their apprenticeship.

By preserving the locks, their skill can be seen and valued”.

The conservation of Walter’s gravesite pays homage to his life’s work: naming over 88 varieties of flora and fauna in South Carolina. Maintaining nature’s balancing act, the 645 acres of South Carolina forests and two miles of riverfront, is a sanctuary for fish and wildlife. Home to a variety of native plants and vegetation, preservation of the Santee Canal Tract’s pristine, undeveloped land will help maintain the precarious ecosystem threatened by development.

Chris Vaughn, Executive Director of Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust affirms: “The Santee River continues to provide a near wilderness experience from below the Marion dam to the Atlantic Ocean. These lands will remain unspoiled forever, providing renewable resources, clean water, scenic beauty, and diverse habitats. Protection of the 645-acre Old Santee Canal tract represents a significant milestone in our efforts to conserve the Santee Basin. Conserving these extraordinary historic, scenic and natural resources would simply not have been possible without the dedication and generosity of the landowners – Dr. Bert Pruitt, Ken and Cathy Wingate, James and Jenny Edwards, Jr. and funding from the South Carolina Conservation Bank.”

Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust’s protection is conservation’s hat trick: preserving both Guard Lock I and White Oak Lock II, Thomas Waters gravesite and the parts of the Santee Basin watershed. The easement protects evidence of man’s ingenuity and is critical in balancing the ecosystem where the Santee’s high bluffs give way to expansive bottomland hardwood forests.

The acquisition of one site is an accomplishment. Two, blessings. Three, a tour de force.

Sources Porcher, F. A. The History of the Santee Canal with an Appendix by A.S. Salley, The South Carolina Historical Society, 1903. pgs. 6-8.

Unknown. “South Carolina Department of Archives and History.” SC Department of Archives and History, National Register of Properties in South Carolina, Santee Canal, Berkeley County, 2021, http://www.nationalregister. sc.gov/berkeley/S10817708022/index.htm., 09/18/2021

Santee River Basin The Santee River basin transects the middle and lower parts of the Coastal Plain, extending from the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers southeast to the Atlantic Ocean. It includes nine South Carolina counties including: Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Clarendon, Dorchester, Georgetown, Orangeburg, Sumter, and Williamsburg. The Santee basin is the 6th largest in the state, encompassing an area of approximately 2,985 square miles or about 9.6% of the state’s area. In its original form, the 144-mile long Santee River had the fourth largest average flow of any river on the Atlantic coast of the United States, and periodic flooding nourished extensive swamplands along its entire length. With construction of the Santee Dam (a.k.a. Wilson Dam) in 1941, much of the upper reach of the Santee River became part of Lake Marion, which is the dominant hydrologic feature in the basin.

GATHER

Old Santee Canal Celebration The Trust and Landowners gathered along with project partners to celebrate the protection of the Old Santee Canal property.

lordberkeley.org 2021 10

Christian Senf map of Santee Canal (32-105-01) from collections of the South Carolins Historical Society

OLD SANTEE CANAL

lordberkeley.org 2021 13

Thomas Walter in America

by David Hodges

The only hint left of Thomas Walter in America is a six-foot long grave on the ground with an iron fence and a gate. The remains of the English botanist, famous for his book, Flora Caroliniana, lie on the bank of the Santee River in Berkeley County, just a half-mile from the ruins of the Santee Canal. Thomas Walter arrived in South Carolina by 1769, when he was about 29 years old; we know this because that was the year he married Ann Lesesne of Daniel Island. Sadly, she died six months later.

We don’t know much about Thomas Walter’s life in England. He did not graduate from Oxford or Cambridge, yet he was a learned man; he wrote his book entirely in classical Latin. While many people became indentured servants to afford the trip from England to the Colonies, Thomas Walter had enough money to get here and to buy land in St. James Parish, St. Johns Parish, St. Stephens Parish, Christ Church Parish and St. Marks Parish. He ultimately accumulated over 4,000 acres that he farmed including two Royal Grants consisting of 200 acres in Berkeley County and 300 acres on the Wateree River near the High Hills of Santee.

with a garden nearby and as he roamed fifty miles in each direction, he gathered hundreds of plants and planted them in his garden. He named and described 88 plant species from South Carolina that still carry the names he gave them.

There is a mystery about Bennett’s Bluff, where he lived and kept his garden and died. He did not own his homesite; at least, most of his life.

He finally bought Bennett’s Bluff in 1787, just fifteen months before he died. He owned plenty of other land, just not that property.

Thomas Walter married Ann Peyre in 1777, eight years after Ann Lesesne died. Ann Peyre was the daughter of Samuel Peyre and Sarah Cantey. She was 22 years old and Thomas Walter was about 37 years old.

Ann Peyre Walter died in 1780, three years later. She left two daughters under three years old, Ann Walter and Mary Peyre Walter. Thomas Walter married his third wife, Dorothy Cooper within a year and they had one daughter, Emily Walter.

So, where did he get his money? He was described as a merchant when he married Ann Lesesne but a more likely source was his Aunt Frances from whom he borrowed 350 pounds. She forgave the debt in her will when she died in 1784. She also left him her house in Southampton, England that gave him rental income.

When Thomas Walter died in 1789, his will listed his wife Dorothy and his three daughters as his heirs. His probated estate listed 32 slaves by name and value, 7 oxen, 9 cows, 39 sheep, 19 hogs, 230 bushels corn, 45 barrels rice and 2,700 bushels rough rice. Rough rice is the grain including the hull, representing about 20% of the volume of the rough rice.

Thomas Walter moved to Bennett’s Bluff plantation on the Santee River where he lived his life and was buried. He had a modest home

The Revolutionary War was America’s first Civil War. Even before the war started in 1775, there were conflicts between the Patriots and the

14 lordberkeley.org 2021

Loyalists that quickly became personal. The Patriots tended to be Lowcountry planters and Loyalists tended to live in the Backcountry. One Loyalist, nicknamed “Burnfoot”, refused to sign a revolutionary petition and a mob scalped him, tarred his legs and held them over a fire. He lost two toes. Two weeks later, John Drayton, who would later become the Governor of South Carolina, spoke in the Backcountry in favor of the Patriots and had to listen to “Burnfoot” denounce the Patriots as savages.

Often, Patriots and Loyalists were neighbors and their brutality to each other was shocking. One militia surrounded a neighbor’s house and demanded a resident come out; they set the house on fire until the family ran outside.

Englishman Thomas Walter was considered a Loyalist who did not get involved in revolutionary activity but who spent his time collecting plants.

It is believed his neighbor Francis Marion protected Thomas Walter from harm to his home or to his family; however, Francis Marion grabbed Charles and John Peyre, Thomas Walter’s brothers-in-law and marched them by foot to a Continental Army Prison in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where they died in 1781.

But Thomas Walter did get involved in the fight for independence, to a degree. President Charles Pinckney of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina appointed 35-year old Thomas Walter in 1775 to a committee responsible for imposing economic sanctions against Great Britain. Also, by 1779, he was appointed the Deputy Paymaster of the Militia. After the war, 36-year old Scot John Fraser sailed to Charleston to collect plants along the Savannah River. He met Thomas Walter later in the year and helped increase Walter’s collection to 1,000 plants, including 200 new species.

Thomas Walter discovered a Carolina grass that he and John Fraser thought had commercial potential in England as forage, a high-quality feed for livestock and wildlife. Fraser took seeds with him to England and began to market the grass, promising it to be ready in London by Christmas.

Thomas Walter wrote his book, Flora Caroliniana, and he sent it to England with John Fraser in 1787. Later that year, Thomas Walter sent a letter to a merchant in England, praising John Fraser and describing the plants that he cultivated in his own garden. The next year, his book was published, and Walter wrote Fraser to ask how his manuscript had been received. Walter wanted to correct any mistakes or to defend his book if anyone criticized his work.

Thomas Walter died at age 48 in January 1789 of a fever. He was buried next to his home in the garden he loved. He left his plantation to his daughter Emily while she and his other two daughters continued to receive the rental income from his aunt’s house in England.

After Walter’s death, John Fraser had financial problems and their commercial venture selling grass failed. That grass is generally known as Autumn Bentgrass.

John Fraser kept Walter’s plant collection until John died in 1811, and his family kept it until Fraser’s son donated the collection to the Linnean Society of London in 1849. The Linnean Society was founded in 1788,

the year before Thomas Walter died, and is still active. Fourteen years after the plant collection was donated to the Linnean Society, the British Museum of Natural History in London bought the collection for 15 shillings, the same value as Bob Cratchit made in a week in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

The Santee Canal ultimately was located about one-half mile from Thomas Walter’s home on the bluff of the Santee River. In 1786, Walter was appointed a director of a corporation established to open an inland navigation between the Santee and Cooper rivers. Thomas Walter served with Governor Moultrie, John Rutledge, General Pinckney, General Sumter, General Marion and Henry Laurens, Jr. Thomas Walter died three years later. The canal opened in 1801, fifteen years after the corporation was formed.

Thomas Walter’s daughters Ann and Mary hired a stonecutter in Charleston in 1814 to inscribe and place a slab of white crystalline marble two inches thick, two and a half feet wide and six feet long over his grave. The girls were younger than 12 years old when their father died and they were in their 30s when Ann and Mary hired the stonecutter. They put their dad’s incorrect date of death on the stone slab.

Thomas Walter’s grave cracked and needed repairing by the 1930s. Through the joint efforts of the College of Charleston and the Charleston Museum, the grave was restored with a new brick and cement foundation and a wrought iron fence with gate, wrapped around the grave. The Santee Cooper Authority kept the iron fence painted and the area cut and open.

Thomas Walter’s garden did not take long to return to a native condition after he died. Several botanists have visited Thomas Walter’s grave; Henry Ravenel stopped by in the 1850s, Ezra Brainerd in 1907, W.C. Coker in 1910, John K. Small in 1935, William R. Maxon in 1936, John Peyre Thomas in 1946 and David Rembert in 1979.

No one found any indication of Thomas Walter’s famous garden. Even Andre Michaux, a French botanist, who developed a botanical garden at the site of the present Charleston airport, did not mention Thomas Walter’s garden in his diary even though he ferried across the Santee River very close to Walter’s home only three years after Thomas Walter died.

Dr. Dudley Jones of Presbyterian College visited Walter’s grave in 1935 and expressed sadness the grave had been so neglected. He wrote about his experience and referred to deer treading softly by and forest trees, tall and heavy where once the garden grew.

References:

Thomas Walter, Carolina Botanist by David H. Rembert, South Carolina Museum Commission, 1980 Letter from Charles E. Thomas to Claude Henry Neuffer, 1974 Thomas Walter, Botanist by John Peyre Thomas, Jr., Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1946 Thomas Walter, Botanist by William R. Maxon, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 1936 South Carolina Botanists: Biography and Bibliography by Wilson Gee, Bulletin of the University of South Carolina, 1918 Thomas Walter, Botanist by Charles E. Thomas, Sandlapper Magazine, 1969 River of the Carolinas: The Santee by Henry Savage, Jr. 1956 lordberkeley.org 2021 15

UPDATE

original condition: the Ninety-Six National Historic Site in Greenwood County and Fort Fair Lawn in Berkeley County. The Fort Fair Lawn site is one of five new battlefield parks to be created in the first phase of The Liberty Trail. “Working with Lord Berkeley to acquire and permanently protect Fort Fair Lawn in 2016 was a significant first step,” commented Doug Bostick, executive director, South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. “We’re eager to get residents and visitors onsite to experience the history that shaped our nation’s independence.”

“The creation of parkland at Fort Fair Lawn will draw visitors young and old to step back in time and imagine what life was like during the American Revolution,” said American Battlefield Trust President David Duncan. “The philosophy that there is power in place is at the very heart of The Liberty Trail.”

photo by Sarah Nell Blackwell

New Trails to Bring Access to Fort Fair Lawn The Trust and The Liberty Trail, a project of the American Battlefield Trust and South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, along with numerous local and state partners, recently announced the groundbreaking of trails at Fort Fair Lawn. One and three quarter miles of walking trails, providing a connection to Old Santee Canal Park and access to the Revolutionary War British fort are under construction and expected to be completed in the Spring.

Fort Fair Lawn is the first property that Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust owns and has opened for public access.

“South Carolina’s landscape is rich with stories,” said Chris Vaughn, executive

16 lordberkeley.org 2021

director, Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust. “We’re grateful to partner with organizations which share our passion for protecting special places and in the case of Fort Fair Lawn, opening the property to area residents and visitors.”

The Liberty Trail is a unique initiative that combines land preservation, cutting edge digital interpretation and traditional on-site tourism infrastructure to create a unified narrative of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina.

Of the more than thirty forts constructed during the American Revolutionary war in South Carolina, only two remain in their

The property is nestled between two residential neighborhoods and adjacent to Santee Cooper’s Old Santee Canal Park.

Acquisition of the Fair Lawn project was a joint project with South Carolina Battleground Trust and Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust with Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust holding the deed and South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust holding the easement. Since that time, a masterplan and extensive archeological work have been completed. Interpretive kiosks are expected to be available along the trail early next year. The Berkeley Museum is developing a dedicated exhibit and will serve as the gateway to the park.

The high-profile project has attracted more than $2.2 million in funding from multiple county, state, and federal sources including the American Battlefield Protection Program, South Carolina Conservation Bank, South Carolina State Ports Authority, Berkeley County, the Town of Moncks Corner and American Battlefield Trust. “Historic sites, like Fort Fair Lawn have a demonstrated track record of strengthening tourism and boosting economic impact,” commented Johnny Cribb, Berkeley County Supervisor.

“We’re grateful for the diversity of partners working together to conserve and develop this tremendous asset in our county.”

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

Bethel Durant Bethel Durant grew up on a 121-acre farm in Williamsburg County near Hemingway. “My dad purchased the land in 1950 and we’ve owned it since then. Growing up here, everything I ever needed to know I learned on the farm. My dad loved it and I watched him work so hard and I loved him so very much.”

In May 2016 Bethel chose to honor his father and leave his own legacy by putting a conservation easement on the property. “The thing I appreciated about a conservation easement is that the land is protected. You know there will not be a shopping center or a subdivision here. The conservation easement makes this happen.”

Since then, Bethel has been a steadfast supporter of the Trust’s mission by contributing financially, and attending almost all of the Trust’s events. If the doors are open or the tent is up, we know Bethel will be there.

We are grateful to Bethel and his family for their support! Our hope is that you are inspired as well and will help us to continue to preserve family farms and the land they steward. In addition to one-time or monthly gifts, please reach out to us about other types of donations including conservation easements, land, IRA distributions, planned gifts and bequests.

CONTACT US CHRIS VAUGHN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CHRIS@LORDBERKELEY.ORG 843.209.2290

ADAIR ROARK FINANCE DIRECTOR ADAIR@LORDBERKELEY.ORG 864.630.8689

lordberkeley.org 2021 17

DONORS

18 lordberkeley.org 2021

PARTNERS

lordberkeley.org 2021 19

SOCIAL

Clays For Conservation The Trust hosted its first annual Clays for Conservation on a beautiful Friday in April at Back Woods Quail Club in Georgetown. A sincere thank you to our old and new friends who joined us and a special thank you to our sponsors who made it possible: Sabine & Waters, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd PA, Berkeley County Economic Development, and the Givens Family.

SOCIAL

Berkeley Battlefield Tours We explored the Battlefields of Berkeley County with our fearless tour guide, David Reuwer of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. We are thrilled to partner with Explore Berkeley County and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust to share the stories and history of these historic sites, and to tell the story of the conservation of these sites. As David said, “Liberty is freedom with responsibility.” We take our responsibility to protect and preserve these special places to heart and look forward to continuing the good work. Learn more or sign up for our next tour at lordberkeley.org/battlefields.

lordberkeley.org 2021 21

HOLIDAY DROP-IN THURSDAY, DEC 09 | LORD BERKELEY OFFICE 5PM - 7PM

OYSTER ROAST SATURDAY, FEB 05 | THE PONDS 4PM - 7PM

CLAYS FOR CONSERVATION FRIDAY, APR 01 | BACK WOODS QUAIL CLUB 9AM - 1PM

BERKELEY BATTLEFIELDS TOURS FRIDAY, APR 08 OR SAT APR 23 8:30AM - 2:30PM

WWW.SAFFRONCHURCH.COM/REVIVALWORSHIP

PURCHASE TICKETS AND LEARN MORE AT LORDBERKELEY.ORG/EVENTS