Gouedy Trail and Charleston Road

The Gouedy Trail follows a 1.5-mile route through the woods at Ninety Six past the presumed site of Robert Gouedy's trading post, established in 1751, the archaeological remains of Fort Ninety Six, and an unmarked cemetery where body-length depressions and rough stone markers indicate the graves of about 50 unnamed people, perhaps from the colonial era. The old Charleston Road intersects the trail; one of the oldest Indian trails in upper South Carolina, it later became a major colonial route between the town and the coast and is sunken from age and use. In 1759 and 1760, Cherokee raids threatened the settlers of Ninety Six as part of the larger conflict between France and England known as the French and Indian War. In late 1759, Royal Governor William Henry Lyttelton arrived with militia, occupied Gouedy's trading post, and converted it into a fort to protect local settlers. The Cherokee attacked the fort twice, on February 3 and March 3, 1760, and in the March attack 250 Cherokee warriors besieged it for 36 hours, but the garrison held.

Ninety Six, South Carolina · United States