Abandoned town

Today we're visiting the abandoned old ghost town of Dorchester.

Leaving the city behind and going way out into another county.....

This is old abandoned trading town on the river, established in the late 1600s. I have come to see the bell tower! (and it didn't dissapoint!)

Saint George's Anglican church was here and this was their tower. The church was built in 1719 and they added this tower in 1751.

Parts of it are crumbling with the years. It may not be here for our great grandchildren to see. I am so thankful I get to see and touch all the history around us.

(below) inside, looking up at the windows

Oh, just think of all the stories these ancient old bricks could tell.......

Looks like somebody left some fairy stones here.........

These old bricks surround an old cemetery:

You really can't read what is on this headstone anymore:

This little town was created by settlers (Puritans) from Dorchester, Massachusetts. 

(The Pilgrims who had sailed on the Mayflower had named their new town Dorchester, after Dorchester, England. When a group of them later came to South Carolina as missionaries, they named this settlement Dorchester as well.)

The lush forest here was full of animals--deer, red wolves, foxes and raccoons, skunks, elk, bobcats, black bears and mountain lions back then. And of course, blue herons, pelicans, and hawks.

The town thrived as near-by roads led right to Charleston and the river here was perfect for shipping goods such as produce (carrots, onions, turnips and corn), lumber, cotton, flax, sugar cane, indigo, deer skins, rice, turpentine,  items imported from abroad, crafts  from local farmers, etc.

 At low tide, you can still see the remains of one of the wharves. There were almost 2,000 people living here at one time. They built a wharf, a bridge, a school and a library. The town was laid out like a British town, and had 116 quarter acre lots.

I tried to imagine this little town and what it was like, people lived and died here. They met and fell in love and married here. They had joy and sorrow, arguments, feasts and fairs, they went to church on Sunday and worshipped, babies were born and grew up here. I would say they danced---but I'm not sure if the Puritans approved of dancing??

 The church was the center of the community--people laughed and cried there. Couples exchanged their wedding vows there and families cried together as they had funerals for their friends and family.

 Young brides learned to tend the fires, cook meals, and hung their wash out to dry in the sunny yards. They read books and wrote letters and walked by the river in the evenings.Women may have sang as they swept their front steps and gathered eggs in baskets each day. They rendered animal fat to make candles and soap. People gathered berries to eat. Apple pie was a big treat! Butter was a luxury. The children might've watched otters swimming and playing in the river.

We live lives of luxury today compared to what these early settlers had to do just to stay alive. They had no electricity or fans or air conditioning for the sizzling hot Carolina summers. Laundry was done out in the yard, washed and rinsed and boiled in big tubs. Rugs were beaten on lines or fences to beat the dirt out as there were no vacuam sweepers then. I guess they heated with fireplaces and cooked on wood stoves. Bread was baked often in hot brick ovens and preparation took a long time!--but I bet that bread sure smelled amazing! They learned how to  get honey, make apple butter and molasses, and make porridges and soups in big black kettles. They learned how to gather and prepare acorns and hickory nuts. Food was pickled, salted, or dried to preserve it. They also used root cellars to keep eggs, fruits and vegetables in straw.

The men hunted food, fed, groomed and watered the livestock, did brick laying and carpentry, and grew crops, built houses and buildings, as well as fishing and trapping.

Sea captains from Europe and the West Indies brought spices, chocolate, tea and coffee, cheeses, almonds, olives, rum, raisins, and bananas into Charleston, and the "exotic" items began to be used in Dorchester. The great ships also brought horses and livestock such as cows, sheep and pigs.

The Southern ships came more frequently, and could have fresh bananas there in a few days, whereas the ships from far away ports could take up to a YEAR to return with goods. That's a long time to wait for things especially for the ladies anxiously anticipating pretty ribbons for their hair, dainty little purses and fancy handkercheifs, new materials to make into dresses, and laces, buttons, and trims.

I wonder what people ate back then, way out in the  middle of nowhere? I would think that they kept goats and chickens in their yards maybe, for eggs, milk, etc. They ate bread, corn meal mush, rice, stews, pots of beans, and smoked and salt cured meats.

  There was an abundance of animals to hunt and trap for the men back then--wild turkeys, rabbits, quail, ducks, partridges, and deer. The rivers and creeks were full of fish, clams, turtles, oysters, etc.

  I read that they had gardens of course, full of potatoes, corn, cantaloupes, pumpkins, squash, sunflowers, carrots, etc.

Of course, rice became a staple later on.

I read that the Puritan settlers believed that food should be as simple as possible, absolutely nothing "fancy". They thought fancy and indulging your appetite was a sin. They did fast and they abstained from eating meat on certain days.

 The Revolutionary War came. People died young from diseases we don't have today, women died in childbirth quite frequently, and people died from old age. The winters were mild here compared to up North in Massachusetts, but the sweltering heat of the swampy and  humid summers was brutal and brought malaria. 

Here is what their little town looked like all those years ago:

Here's the fort. The church and it's bell tower we saw would've been to the far upper left in this model. (lot #9)

The wall:

The wall is made from oyster shell concrete tabby. (lime, oyster shells and sand)

this is me at the top, and on the edge, of the fort:

Then we wandered down to the river:

Snaky looking trees limbs and murky water:

This little town was abandoned after the Revolution. As the centuries passed by, the wildlife and the river and the forest once again overtook the area, preserving it's remnants underneath. The Great earthquake of 1886 shook down the last remnants of the old church which stood here, but the Bell Tower survived. Archaeologists are busy piecing together the buried history here. Alot of artifacts have been uncovered and I'm sure lots more treasures will be found.--there was a dig going on the day we were there.
I hope you liked visiting here with us!