Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail

United States   Migration    Trails and Roads    Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail

The '''Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail''' connected the South Carolina colonial town of Charleston with the British military's colonial Fort Charlotte on the Savannah River in what is now McCormick County, South Carolina. Charleston was the largest European settlement, the capital, on the King's Highway, and the start of several other trails. Fort Charlotte was built 1765-1767 to help protect European settlers near Long Canes from Creek Indian raids. Fort Charlotte was near the place where the Middle Creek Trading Path crossed the Savannah River into South Carolina. Several other trails also radiated out from this fort. The Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail was opened to European settlers about 1765. It began in Charleston County, South Carolina and ended in McCormick County, South Carolina. The length of the trail was about 105 miles (169 km).

Historical Background
The British military constructed Fort Charlotte between 1765 and 1767 to help protect colonists near Long Canes from hostile Indians. The fort was then turned over to South Carolina. The Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail probably followed older Indian trails. Fort Charlotte was built at or became the nexus of several trails along the Savannah River in South Carolina and Georgia.

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Fort Charlotte played a role in the American Revolution. The South Carolina colonial government used the fort as an arsenal. The first Revolutionary War action in South Carolina ocurred when Patriots seized those supplies. They also negotiated at the fort trying in vain to win the Indians to the Patriot cause.

Route
The first European colonists settled in counties along this path (north to south) as follows:


 * McCormick 1732
 * Edgefield 1740s
 * Aiken 1730s
 * Orangeburg 1730s
 * Dorchester 1696
 * Charleston 1670

Connecting trails. The Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail links to other trails at each end. The migration pathways connecting in Charleston included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean 1670
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Fort Moore-Charleston Trail about 1716
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765
 * Charleston-Savannah Trail
 * Secondary Coast Road

The migration routes connecting in Fort Charlotte included:


 * Savannah River
 * Middle Creek Trading Path
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765
 * Ft. Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path
 * Augusta and Cherokee Trail in Georgia

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the old Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail start in Charleston. Follow I-26 north to the Orangeburg. Take State 601 north to Camden.

Settlers and Records
Most of the early colonists along the path and in Camden were Englishmen from Charleston. Later settlers included Quakers, and eventually immigrants from the Ulster part of Ireland.

No complete list of settlers who used the '''Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail''' is known to exist. However, local and county histories along the road may reveal first pioneer settlers who were candidates to have travelled the Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail from the Charleston area. Later pioneers also may have used other connecting trails such as the Occaneechi Path, King's Highway, Fall Line Road, and Great Valley Road.

For partial lists of early settlers who probably used the Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail, see:

in Kershaw County:


 * "Early Settlement of the Area Now Kershaw County" in Kershaw County Historical Society Blog at http://kchistory.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html (accessed 22 March 2011).

in Sumter County:


 * Anne King Gregorie, History of Sumter County, South Carolina (Sumter, S.C.: Library Board of Sumter County, 1954) WorldCat entry.
 * Cassie Nicholes, Historical Sketches of Sumter County (Sumter, S.C.: Sumter County Historical Commission, 1981) WorldCat entry.

in Calhoun County:



in Orangeburg County:


 * "The First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina" in Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogy Society at http://www.ogsgs.org/ffam/ff-intro.htm (accessed 23 March 2011).

in Dorchester County: