Lowcountry Waterways

In colonial times, travel from Snee Farm to Charleston was made by tidal creeks and rivers rather than by highways and bridges. People in Charles Pinckney’s time planned trips around favorable tides, departing on the outgoing tide and returning on the incoming tide, and a journey could last several days depending on how long business took and when the next tide allowed a return home. Rice was the major cash crop of the period, and the Carolina Gold variety brought the highest market prices. On most Lowcountry plantations, diked rice fields were flooded with fresh water pushed by the incoming tide and later drained with the outgoing tide, a process repeated three times during the growing season. At Snee Farm, rice was grown by the inland method, with fields flooded by rainwater collected in reservoirs. Lowcountry waterways also provided abundant wild foods, with waters rich in fish, shellfish, and waterfowl.

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina · United States