Ashley River Historic District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located west of the Ashley in the

South Carolina Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an import ...

near

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The Historic District includes land from five municipalities, almost equally split between Charleston and Dorchester counties. The district includes dry land, swamps, and marshes of the Rantowles Creek and Stono Swamp watershed. The historic district includes historic and archaeological resources associated with the rice culture and

phosphate mining In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt (chemistry), salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acids and phosphates, phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of phosphoric acid, orthophosphoric a ...

of the early-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, and the hunting plantations and timber industry preserves of the late nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. Historically, the Wando,

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

Ashley Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

Stono Stono, also known as Jordan's Point (pronounced "Jer-don"), is a historic home located at Lexington, Virginia. It was built about 1818, and is a cruciform shaped brick dwelling consisting of a two-story, three-bay, central section with one-stor ...

, and Edisto rivers served as the primary transportation routes in the Lowcountry. These waterways were used for exploration and settlement, the movement of goods, and the cultivation of staple crops. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1994. Its boundaries were increased from 7,000 acres to 23,828.26 acres on October 22, 2010. It includes some of the following separately listed sites as contributing properties: *

Ashley River The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina, 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 ti ...

* Ashley River Road * Fort Bull * Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Trestle *

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 ...

, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

; *

Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (Charleston, South Carolina) Magnolia Plantation and Gardens (464 acres, 187.77 hectares) is a historic house with gardens located on the Ashley River at 3550 Ashley River Road west of Ashley, Charleston County, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest plantations in ...

; * Runnymeade Schoolhouse *

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 ...

, another National Historic Landmark * Old Dorchester; * The Laurels * MacLaura Hall

Gallery

Drayton Hall, rear view.jpg, Drayton Hall, front view House at Magnolia Plantation.JPG, House at Magnolia Plantation Middleton-place-sc1.jpg, Middleton Place Church Ruins in Old Dorchester.jpg, Ruins of the St. George Bell Tower at Old Dorchester

References

External links

* Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Geography of Charleston County, South Carolina Buildings and structures in North Charleston, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston County, South Carolina {{DorchesterCountySC-NRHP-stub