"Following where my camera leads me!"

"Following where my camera leads me!"

Tuesday, April 27, 2021

taveau church

 Days we go for long drives out into the countryside are some of my favorites!

well, THAT'S a big post office! LOL



Driving through the Francis Marion National Forest....pretty scenery and lots of  tall trees!




Finding an old oak alle is always a plus.



Today we discovered this small old  weathered clapboard church with a wooden bell tower:










Taveau Church was built in 1835 on the old Clermont Plantation. The church was established by Martha Caroline Swinton Ball Taveau. She was a Presbyterian in a local sea of Epilscopalians, and she wanted this church to be Presbyterian.
Martha was born in 1785 and when she grew up she married a wealthy plantation owner (John Ball, Sr.) in 1805. When he passed away in 1817, she married Augustus Louis Taveau.
After Mrs. Taveau's death the church was used by slaves from neighboring rice plantations.



The old cemetery:






At the bottom of a bluff close to the old church, the old Strawberry Ferry operated. It took passengers across the Cooper River to near-by Bluff Plantation. People could then get on the path (which later became a highway) to travel right to Charleston.
 The ferry was also important because it transported rice, livestock, and other goods, as well as people.
There used to be a tiny town here called Childsbury. There was a school, a general store, a church, a tavern and other small shops for a tanner, a butcher, a shoemaker, carpenters, and a Town Square for marketing, fairs, social gatherings, and the like. There was even a big race track for racing horses!
An English settler named James Child established and ran the ferry in the early 1700s, and the little town up on the bluff was named after him. Farms, plantations, and pasture land surrounded the little town.
The little trade town eventually went into decline and was absorbed into one of the plantations.
The ladies in the picture below were probably on their way to church, in the early 1900's.
They have their pretty hats on and the little girl carries a basket
South Caroliniana Library, Berkeley Country Photograph Collection

I believe there were several large plantations here in this area of Childsbury--Clermont Plantation, Kensington Plantation, Washington Plantation, Strawberry Plantation, Comingtree Plantation, Mulberry Plantation, and others.
Middleburg Plantation, Library of Congress, 1940s



Middleburg, Library of Congress, 1940s



Scenes along the way







Leaving the countryside behind..........and back into the city







Eyes on the Skies!


There was a real pretty sunset as we drove back home. I love outings, but I am also always GLAD TO BE BACK HOME.

5 comments:

  1. You always find out about the places you go which makes it even more special. I love old churches and cemeteries! Oh...the memories this places hold. So wonderful when the big live oak trees spread their branches over the road too. We haven't made as many day trips this past year...something to look forward too! Take care! Hugs!

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  2. Oh, that was great Debbi! I enjoyed that ride so much! I love old buildings and churches and country roads. And that sunset was amazing too! Thank you for sharing your country ride with us. Did you take "the girls along" for the ride? Lily loves to go on rides and she just chatters all the time about all the things she sees. She makes our rides so much more interesting! LOL. Hope you have a blessed and wonderful week.

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  3. one big plus from the pandemic, we take more rides in the car and find wonderful, interesting old places. such a stalk change from the country road and that big beautiful bridge!! the skies are always so interesting, what a gorgeous sunset!!

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  4. This is the kind of day trip I like! Old structures, history, nature! I see that Taveau Church is near Mepkin Abbey, one of our favorite places. We will have to visit that neck of the woods again soon! xoxo

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