S.C. Weather - The reality of it, please (Charleston: live in, dangerous)

[Geechie North]

Originally Posted by JIer

Geechie, I'm not sure about the cause of the landslides. It never seemed like they should have been able to build homes there in the first place.

Didn't cotton thrive on James Island too?

I didn't mean to imply there was a line in the sand, as plantations on both John and James Island grew the Sea Island variety.

But the places where it really anchored the economy were Edisto, Hilton Head, and Beaufort.

From Charleston up the coast, and Westward to around Eutawville, rice was king. Some of the most productive rice plantations are now at the bottom of Lakes Moultrie and Marion.

They called it 'Carolina Gold'; thought that the quality was so superior to the stuff grown in Arkansas and Mississippi after the Civil War that nobody would buy anything but theirs.
But then came the storms of the 1890's and the mechanization of the Arkansas growers, and the industry in SC went kaput.

One of my father's cousins was the last big commercial grower in the state.

Funny thing: Although everybody said the best rice came from Georgetown County, it was also a common maxim that the best seed rice came from the plantations around Wilmington, N.C.

Don't know why that was.


Yeah, I remember the slope on those hills above Laguna. But I bet the views were great..... while they lasted.

[newtotheocean]

Originally Posted by Geechie North

Rice was the big crop around the Lowcountry. Sea Island cotton was big on, as its name implies, the Sea Islands, but since it needs around 300 days to grow (before frost) it was only profitable in places like Edisto Island.

After Eli Whitney invented his 'gin' (short for 'engine') to get the seeds out of short staple cotton, which needs only 200 days to grow, then it became THE crop of the area above Orangeburg.

My family's plantation was on the Santee. I'm not proud of that fact because plantations thrived by working 16 year-old black kids to death.

I don't know if any are left (Sonny Goldberg's passed, I understand), but the closest thing you'll probably find to an authentic Charleston brogue will be among the old Jewish families who (probably used to by now) have shops on King Street.

Largest rice producers at the time the guide at the plantation told us. Fascinating to me!

Plantations are a fact of the south & the suffering of the slaves although extremely sad is a part of our history. Did you know that a large majority of the slaves were sold to these plantation owners by their own countrymen? Apparently tribes taking over other tribes & selling off the people as they considered them a lower people? That was shocking to me.

I love it that everytime I wander into a house tour or something like that the guide is usually pushing 80+ and they are so animated & proud of the history.

[newtotheocean]

Originally Posted by Geechie North

I didn't mean to imply there was a line in the sand, as plantations on both John and James Island grew the Sea Island variety.

But the places where it really anchored the economy were Edisto, Hilton Head, and Beaufort.

From Charleston up the coast, and Westward to around Eutawville, rice was king. Some of the most productive rice plantations are now at the bottom of Lakes Moultrie and Marion.

They called it 'Carolina Gold'; thought that the quality was so superior to the stuff grown in Arkansas and Mississippi after the Civil War that nobody would buy anything but theirs.
But then came the storms of the 1890's and the mechanization of the Arkansas growers, and the industry in SC went kaput.

One of my father's cousins was the last big commercial grower in the state.

Funny thing: Although everybody said the best rice came from Georgetown County, it was also a common maxim that the best seed rice came from the plantations around Wilmington, N.C.

Don't know why that was.


Yeah, I remember the slope on those hills above Laguna. But I bet the views were great..... while they lasted.

Our guide also told us that the freeing of the slaves made the rice plantations die out because it was such a dangerous (gators, poisenous snakes & disease carried in the water they had to stand in all day) and such hard work - very labor intensive. The money made on the rice did not outweigh what they would have to pay in order to have adequate workers to produce the rice.

[Geechie North]

Originally Posted by newtotheocean

Largest rice producers at the time the guide at the plantation told us. Fascinating to me!

Plantations are a fact of the south & the suffering of the slaves although extremely sad is a part of our history. Did you know that a large majority of the slaves were sold to these plantation owners by their own countrymen? Apparently tribes taking over other tribes & selling off the people as they considered them a lower people? That was shocking to me.

I love it that everytime I wander into a house tour or something like that the guide is usually pushing 80+ and they are so animated & proud of the history.

Ah, but you see in Africa slavery wasn't forever. It was more like indentured servitude was in Europe.


Yep, the coastal tribes- Hausa, Falani, etc raided tribes in the interior to sell to the white slavers. But the coastal tribes sure didn't consider them 'fellow countrymen'; it would be like a Norseman selling a slav to an Arab trader.

And also consider the fact that by 1800, white South Carolinians were so afraid of their enslaved majority that they forbade importation of slaves.

So from then on we're talking domestic populations.


So, sorry: it's just not something to be proud of. It's more like taking a tour of Karinhall or Berchtesgarten.

Might be stunning, but...............

[Geechie North]

Originally Posted by newtotheocean

Our guide also told us that the freeing of the slaves made the rice plantations die out because it was such a dangerous (gators, poisenous snakes & disease carried in the water they had to stand in all day) and such hard work - very labor intensive. The money made on the rice did not outweigh what they would have to pay in order to have adequate workers to produce the rice.

Guide is correct; rice plantation was a death sentence. And slaves were cheap enough to where you could use 'em the way we use toilet paper:

Ya run out, ya just get more.

So when the slaves were freed, the industry went down.

It did, however, make a comeback after the Fed Troops went home in the deal of 1876. Jim Crow and other factors made limited planting/harvesting profitable again, although the margins were much thinner.

So when the Arkansas and Mississippi operations got going- and then became mechanized- coupled with the storms in the 1890s, South Carolina had to depend upon brand loyalty for their more expensive rice, to keep market share.

It didn't work.

[LOVNCharleston]

Here is a good overview of weather in Charleston:

Charleston Weather: Average Highs and Lows of the Lowcountry

I have also lived in NY and DC (the VA and the MD side). I agree, the long winters of the north can seem un-ending! I love the Mid-Atlantic states because you still get a fall and spring at the same time of year as northern states, just not so drastic in temperatures. But I also love SC! Yes, the summers are HOT, but I'll take 2 months of extreme heat over what can sometimes be 9 months of winter!

I hope the site helps... best of luck!

[CrusherCountry]

Hey thanks for the replies so far! Wasn't expecting a history lesson on rice farming in S.C. along with it, but what the hey.

And YES northen winters seem never-ending. I hate living inside for six or seven months, wearing 'layers' inside my house which is still cold even with the heat on.

[LOVNCharleston]

haha! I hear ya!

[Luvsdabeach]

Hodges was the governor during the Floyd fiasco. I watched the mess on tv. We planned on staying just like we did during Hugo.

I think this summer has been great! We've been going in the boat each weekend & doing stuff outside. Not looking for to the cold weather and time change.

[OleTomCat]

Just to let yall know, you can still get Carolina Gold rice, there are a few small plantations that still grow it along the Cooper River...