Along US-17 south of Georgetown, this marker points out some Colonial-era history. Georgetown…read moreitself is the third-oldest city in South Carolina and this is part of that. The marker reads, "The Oaks Plantation was established on the Santee River in 1705 by a grant from the Lords Proprietors to John Sauseau, a French Huguenot settler. It passed through several owners in the prominent Buchanan and Withers families before 1793, when brothers Isaac and William Mazyck acquired a tract of more than 1,000 acres and began producing rice here on the rich Santee River delta." It is marker number 22-50 and was erected in 1999 by The St. James Santee Parish Historical Society. There is a turnoff from the roadway for this intersection so stopping to read the marker is no trouble. [Review 19435 overall - 1009 in South Carolina - 405 of 2023.]

As one of the most significant plantations in the South Carolina low country, it is really neat…read morethat this historic location still exists. The Santee Coastal Reserve has done a lot of recent work in the area making better trails and clearing land so that you can actually see and easily visit the ruins. It used to be that they were completely overgrown such that you could barely find them even when you were standing next to them, but now they have cleared the area around the ruins and have a nice fence up to delineate the ruins. There's lots of other things nearby-wells, cabin foundations, etc that the adventurous can go find, but beware of the bugs!! It is totally out in the boonies and the flies and mosquitos are from hell. And bug spray won't keep off the flies!!!

On the corner in front of Georgetown's City Hall (looks like it used to be a bank), this marker…read morepoints out some important history of the Revolutionary War. The marker reads, "Here Sgt. McDonald bayoneted the fleeing Maj. Gainey, following the defeat of the Tories under Major Gainey by the Americans under Col. Peter Horry. This bloody skirmish took place, January, 1781, between the Sampit and the Black River roads." It is marker 22-12 and was erected in 1938 by Georgetown County. There is parking in the City Hall building if you wish to stop and read the marker. It was originally erected at the corner of Indigo Avenue, but Indigo Avenue was later rerouted one block south. Sergeant McDonald was killed at the siege of Fort Motte, May 12, 1781. [Review 19432 overall - 1006 in South Carolina - 402 of 2023.]

This marker is along Georgetown's Front Street and is in front of the Rice Museum. It points out…read moresome Civil War history. Keep in mind, South Carolina was one of the first states to secede and was part of the Confederacy. There's a lot of text so it's on both sides. On the front, "In early 1865 the USS Harvest Moon, a 193-foot, 5-gun side-wheel steamer, was the flagship of Adm. John A. Dahlgren of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, U.S. Navy. It arrived off Georgetown and anchored nearby on February 26th. Confederate Capt. Thomas W. Daggett, in charge of coastal defenses from Little River to Georgetown, made plans to sink the Harvest Moon with a "torpedo," or mine." And on the reverse, "Daggett, working on the 2nd floor of S.W. Rouquie's store here at 633 Front Street, built a keg torpedo and floated it out as the Harvest Moon steamed down the bay early on March 1, 1865. The blast blew a hole in the starboard quarter and main deck, and the ship sank in five minutes, with only one sailor killed. The smokestack of the Harvest Moon can still be seen at low tide in Winyah Bay, near Battery White." There is plenty of street parking nearby and restaurants and even a bar. Cheers! [Review 19427 overall - 1001 in South Carolina - 397 of 2023.]

This marker along US-17 between Georgetown and Charleston points out some of the earliest…read moresettlements in the area. The front of the marker reads, "Thomas Pinckney, 1750-1828. Distinguished planter-diplomat Thomas Pinckney owned nearby Fairfield and Eldorado Plantations. A national figure, he was Governor of South Carolina, Minister to England, Envoy Extraordinary to Spain where he negotiated the "Pinckney Treaty," and major general in the War of 1812." Thomas Pinckney was not only a statesman but also a central figure in the transformation of South Carolina's Lowcountry into a rice empire. His connection to those plantations came through marriage to Elizabeth Motte, daughter of Jacob Motte Jr. and Rebecca Brewton Motte, a Revolutionary War heroine. Pinckney named Eldorado Plantation after the golden buttercups that bloomed on the land, a nod to his diplomatic service in Spain and the Spanish term El Dorado, meaning "the golden." And the reverse*, "St. James, Santee. One of the earliest settlements in South Carolina and refuge for French Huguenots, St. James, Santee, Parish was a major agricultural area containing a number of large-scale rice plantations. At nearby Peach Tree Plantation, Jonathan Lucas, Sr. introduced a water mill for beating rice around 1787, which gave an impetus to rice culture in this area." The Huguenots were French Protestants--followers of Calvinist theology--who faced brutal persecution in Catholic France, especially after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. That edict had once granted them limited religious freedom, but its repeal triggered waves of violence and forced conversions. Lucas's innovation transformed rice processing and helped make South Carolina a global leader in rice exports. It is marker number 10-19 and it was erected in 1989 by the St. James Santee Parish Historical Society. [Review 1404 of 2025 - 1348 in South Carolina - 24956 overall] * Yelp renamed this! It was "Thomas Pinckney / St. James, Santee Historical Marker" when I added it.

Nearby is a marker showing President Monroe's visit in 1819 but this marker commemorates President…read moreWashington's visit in 1791. The marker is off the road by the entrance and there is room to stop and park. It is on the southbound side. The marker reads, "President George Washington on his southern tour traveled southward over this road, April 27-30, 1791. While in this vicinity the day and night of April 29, he was the guest of Captain William Alston on this plantation, Clifton, which was originally a part of the Hobcaw Barony." This is marker number 22-5 and it was erected in 1981 by the Georgetown County Historical Society. [Review 19413 overall - 987 in South Carolina - 383 of 2023.]

Just north of Georgetown on US-17 on the southbound side of the roadway, this marker is the welcome…read moreto the city. It points out some post-Colonial history. There is space at the side of the road to pull over. The marker reads, "On his tour south to inspect the defenses of the Atlantic coast, President Monroe reached Prospect Hill, Col. Benjamin Huger's residence, April 21, 1819. During his stay, April 21-24, he was lavishly entertained by his host and by the citizens and the town council of Georgetown." This is marker number 22-4 and it was erected in 1991 by the Georgetown County Historical Society. [Review 19412 overall - 986 in South Carolina - 382 of 2023.]

Unfortunately, this marker is pretty far back from the road so we were not able to see the subject…read more But maybe you'll have better luck. It's quite rural and there was no cell coverage out here. Note that the property is privately owned so no trespassing! The front of the marker reads, "This plantation, with its origins in several grants to John Allson in 1732, 1734, and later, was in the hands of his grandson Benjamin, Jr., of Brookgreen, by 1806. The property passed first to Benjamin's widow Charlotte and then after her death in 1824 to her son Robert F.W. Allston (1801-1864), rice planter, state representative and senator 1828-56, and governor 1856-58." And the reverse, "This house was completed in 1838 by Robert F.W. Allston and his wife Adele Petigru. Their daughter Elizabeth Allston Pringle (1845-1921) continued to plant rice here for 40 years after her father died in 1864 and wrote of life at Chicora Wood in A Woman Rice Planter (1913) and Chronicles of Chicora Wood (1922). She died here in 1921." Originally known as Matanzas, the plantation's name was changed to Chicora Wood in 1853, likely in homage to the Chicora people, a Native American tribe once native to the region. The property's architectural footprint is more complex than the marker suggests. Evidence from architectural archaeology indicates that a smaller wing on the north side of the house may have been part of a mid-1700s structure that burned around 1798. That surviving wing was later incorporated into the new Greek Revival house completed before 1809, with the final form emerging in 1838 under Robert F.W. Allston. It is marker number 22-53 and it was erected in 2001 by the Georgetown Committee of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina. [Review 1396 of 2025 - 1340 in South Carolina - 24948 overall]