The Ashley River is a blackwater and

tidal river A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are influenced by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it has been given a separate name. Generally, tidal ri ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

just south of Fort Dorchester. The river then flows for approximately along the historical banks of the City of

North Charleston North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

before reaching peninsular Charleston. The much wider Ashley joins the Cooper River off the Battery in Charleston to form Charleston Harbor before discharging into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. the land around the Ashley River (or in Ashley Barony, as the original land grant was called) is mostly undeveloped. The river was named for

Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC FRS (22 July 1621 – 21 January 1683; known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1630, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1630 to 1661, and as The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1 ...

and chief

Lord Proprietor A lord proprietor is a person granted a royal charter for the establishment and government of an English colony in the 17th century. The plural of the term is "lords proprietors" or "lords proprietary". Origin In the beginning of the European ...

of the

Carolina Colony Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alabama ...

by explorer Robert Sandford. In 1675 Cooper was granted of land along the river after a permanent settlement was made at Albemarle Point in 1670. This settlement was the “first permanent European settlement” in South Carolina and today Albemarle Point is known as

Charles Towne Landing Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site in the West Ashley area of Charleston, South Carolina preserves the original site of the first permanent English settlement in Carolina. Originally opened in 1970 to commemorate South Carolina's tricentenn ...

. The settlement would be moved to its current peninsular location across the river ten years later and is well known as Charleston. The land closest to the river was developed by plantation owners throughout the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War the British occupied the plantations from 1780 to 1782. The major crops grown along the Ashley River included rice, indigo, and cotton. After the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

much of the region began to be used predominantly for hunting and tourism. The Ashley River area contains 26 separate sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places with being designated a State Scenic River, extending from Sland's Bridge (US Highway 17-A) near Summerville to the Mark Clark expressway (I-526) bridge in Charleston. Within this segment, a visitor can experience a blackwater swamp, the tides of the Atlantic, and the history of South Carolina. Some of the sites include

Drayton Hall Drayton Hall is an 18th-century plantation located on the Ashley River about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston, west of the Ashley in the Lowcountry. An e ...

Middleton Place Middleton Place is a plantation in Dorchester County, along the banks of the Ashley River west of the Ashley and about northwest of downtown Charleston, in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Built in several phases during the 18th and 19th cent ...

, Magnolia Plantation, and the

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site sits along the Ashley River, near the town of Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina. In 1969, the site was donated to the South Carolina State Park Service and was added to the National Regis ...

.The River Spans from 6-8 feet deep.

References

{{authority control Rivers of Charleston County, South Carolina Rivers of Berkeley County, South Carolina Rivers of South Carolina