Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
One can't help but notice the creeping feeling, upon traveling the oak-protected entrance into the tucked-back Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, of casually happening upon a time portal to Revolutionary War-era South Carolina.
Salem, Massachusetts, instantly pops up as a comparable atmosphere to Colonial Dorchester. The Wuthering Heights-like despondence of the trees mixed with the smattering of sparse grave plots and foreboding murky gray current of the Ashley River tells me what I've heard before from seemingly unassuming landscapes that charm you in with their storied past: the land, too, possesses wisdom.
At the start of the Revolutionary War, Dorchester was a fortified American post ocated 15 miles up from where the Ashley River pours into the Charleston Harbor. Its troops were led by none other than the notorious Swamp Fox himself, Francis Marion.
While Americans reclaimed the village from the British by the end of the war, it was not long thereafter that the entire town was abandoned, left for the surrounding forest and swamp to swallow up.
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site: Getting Oriented
When you crawl up the entrance, you'll notice what looks like a large mailbox in the median -- this is where you can either submit a cash payment in an envelope with your vehicle information noted or scan a QR code where you can make an online payment. Visitors are very much on an honors system when entering the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. Paying the small fee to enjoy the meticulously preserved South Carolina state parks near you contributes to improving the SC state parks experience for all visitors. Each revenue dollar is spent on this important cause.
Once you pay your SC state park fee, parking at Colonial Dorchester feels intuitive -- a gravel lot at the back with a single aisle and cars flanked on the left and right. There is an information kiosk in the parking lot (find the Ultimate Outsider stamp on the back). The kiosk will detail a map of the interpretive trails, which are marked by exhibits narrating the significance of the landmarks.
It can be worthwhile to grab a map at the kiosk, though admittedly, we did our own thing and affirmed afterward that we saw all the attractions we were supposed to see. Stopping to read the markers and exhibits deepened our appreciation for the history of Colonial Dorchester and the efforts of those who have kept it preserved since then.
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site: Things to See and Do
At the 325-acre Colonial Dorchester SC state park, there are three main things to see: the tabby fort, 18th-century wharf remains, and Anglican Church bell tower.
The areas are connected by interpretive trails. There's no Wifi available at Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, so you can enjoy bird-watching for red-shouldered hawks and bald eagles soaring above you, spot white-tailed deer and fox skittering about the forest, and keep an eye out for gators by the Ashley River.
Any time of year is appropriate to visit Colonial Dorchester, as its enjoyment isn't dependent upon the seasonal blooms. Colonial demonstrations and archaeological programming are held throughout the year and advertised on the SC state parks events page.
Ahead, the Palmetto Bug breaks down the three main things to see at Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. The site order follows the order in which we visited each site, but you could easily take a different path.
Our recommendation is to start where the least amount of people are congregated first, so that you can really take in the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of the area and feel transported back to a time that feels both distant and yet not so far away.
Part I: The Tabby Fort
Our Colonial Dorchester adventure starts with a tabby fort overlooking the Ashley River. The best-preserved tabby fortification in the United States, in fact, it was completed in the 1760s to serve as a powder magazine. The next-closest place to store gunpowder was a ways away in Charleston, and Dorchester's proximity to the Ashley River made it a prime location for a defensive stronghold.
But why tabby, made from oysters? How could such seemingly fragile materials be used to fortify a village?
Tabby is a mixture of water, sand, and lime, which enslaved persons in Colonial Dorchester would extract by cooking oyster shells, slaking (adding water) to them, and letting them decompose. Whole oyster shells and fragments were then added to that sludge to provide more volume.
This early version of concrete was poured to create walls like you see in the tabby fort at Colonial Dorchester. Many slave quarters were also constructed from tabby. The process of making tabby dates back thousands of years before the existence of Colonial Dorchester.
The Colonial Dorchester tabby fort's original bright, smooth, white appearance has clearly been weathered by time and nature. Visitors are advised to please not touch or climb on the tabby fortification.
Fun Fact President Teddy Roosevelt stood in the center of the tabby fort where many Colonial Dorchester visitors stand today!
Part II: The 18th-century Wharf
Colonial Dorchester's geographic location on the Ashley River escalated it to a major trading epicenter. Traders passed through Dorchester en route to the Mississippi River and beyond. In addition to trading goods, ships ferried news and information to and from England.
One early example of transatlantic correspondence between Dorchester and England is revealed in plant samples a colonialist -- Rev. Joseph Lord -- sent in 1704 for his peers to examine. These samples can today be pored over at the London Sloane Herbarium.
The SC state parks website for Colonial Dorchester notes that the 18th-century log shipping wharf remains are only visible at low tide. While we didn't check our tide charts before driving to Summerville, our visit fortuitously coincided with low tide. I was barely able to make out the logs jutting parallel into the water.
Just as crossing the threshold of the site whooshed me into Salem, so did standing on the banks of the Ashley River transport me to the mother Mississippi River in the age of Mark Twain and the explosion of westward exploration in America. The promise of a storybook adventure is just the pushing-off of a raft away from becoming a reality. Perhaps we trick ourselves into believing we are so evolved from our centuries-old relatives.
Part III: The Bell Tower Ruins
Let's talk about the fascinating story of conflict behind the Anglican Church Bell Tower of St. George's, which begins in 1620 when the Puritan Pilgrims broke with the Anglican Church and departed England for America. Their descendants, who became the Congregationalists, established Dorchester in the 1690s. In a cruel turn of events, South Carolina declared Anglicanism as the colony's official church in 1706.
What visitors see at Colonial Dorchester are the 1751 Bell Tower ruins of the St. George's Anglican Church, a 50 ft. x 30 ft. wide structure built in 1719; however, the Congregationalists who lived there did not worship there. They traveled two miles away and were still taxed to support the Anglican Church.
It was at this point that my initial flashback to Salem, Massachusetts made sense. The narrative of escaping persecution only to be met with it is an inherent part of both Salem and Colonial Dorchester. I avert my eyes at the tiny, crooked graves as I walk around -- not through -- the cemetery that sits in the shadow of the Bell Tower.
The St. George's Church Cemetery served as a church burying ground, though Dorchester families continued to bury their deceased into the 20th century. Experts have identified 20 graves organized into four "plots" (families): Joor, Prior, Hutchinson, and Sineath. You can even read a few details about most of the people whose names are transcribed on the tombstones.
For example, the oldest tombstone belongs to John Joor, Sr, who died on September 15, 1772. The most recent tombstone is attributed to Georgianna More Sineath, who died on October 13, 1920. What may be the oddest story behind one of the St. George's Church Cemetery tombstones belongs to Stubbins Firth, a doctor who conducted experiments on himself with the intent of proving that yellow fever was not contagious...
Summerville SC Breweries
If "SC state parks near me" and "national parks near me" are at the top of your Google search history, you're likely an expert in planning day trips out of SC state park visits. Everyone knows that parks pair exceptionally well with local craft beer. It's a match made in heaven of the Bonnie and Clyde, Cleopatra and Mark Anthony, Romeo and Juliet kind of caliber. Never mind that they all die in the end.
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site is located in Summerville, South Carolina, home to a healthy roster of breweries, though we only visited two. The following breweries are all within 20 minutes of Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site:
Frothy Beard Off World Brewery/Summerville: 30+ beers on tap with an in-house food menu (6.6 mi/14 min)
High Score Brewing Company/N Charleston: play your favorite arcade games and video games on your favorite consoles while drinking beer (6.6 mi/15 min)
Snafu Brewing Company/N Charleston: look no further for your sour beer haven (8 mi/16 min)
View map of breweries within 20 minutes of Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site.
Our first brewery stop was High Score Brewing, a just-opened video game-themed brewery. Unfortunately, they were sold out of most of the items on their list (at the start of Saturday opening). While we didn't confirm, we attributed the low volume to having recently opened. I ordered a guest guava sour while my husband got a flight of the only four options they had on tap.
High Score Brewing's handling of the video game consoles is applause-worthy. TV monitors displayed each video game according to consoles, and there was a row of arcade-style games on a separate wall. I imagine you could "bring your own" old-school video games and they would function in High Score Brewing's consoles.
From there, we headed to Snafu Brewing for some memorable sour beer selections. I loved their King Cake sour, an homage to Mardi Gras, which tasted like a box of Betty Crocker yellow cake dumped into a beer and served with a purple, green, and gold sprinkle rim. We played pool in the inviting and casual open warehouse while sipping on the other unique sour concoctions. The SIPA (sour IPA) was my favorite.
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site 101: Contact, Hours, Admission, FAQs
CONTACT
Address Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, 300 State Park Rd, Summerville, SC, 29485
Phone 843-873-1740
OURS
9 AM to 6 PM daily during Daylight Savings Time
9 AM to 5 PM outside of DST
ADMISSION
$3 adults
$1.50 SC seniors
$1 youth ages 6-15
Free youth 5 and younger
Allowed
Special events
Fishing -- reserved for the area behind the tabby fort on the Ashley River (freshwater fishing license required)
Picnics -- any food must be pre-cooked
Pets -- must be kept on a physical restraint or leash no longer than six feet
Prohibited
Camping
Grilling
Biking
Metal detectors
Boating river access
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