Colonial Dorchester

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
2019 Hiking Week 15

This weekend was full of adventures. First, my husband took me on a surprise road trip and we visited the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. It’s between Summerville and North Charleston. It was a pretty neat park. It was a 1697 settlement by congregationalists from Massachusetts on the Ashley River. The park is $2.00 per person to enter and you pay using the envelope system, so be sure to bring exact cash.  Once you park, there is an informational sign with a self-guided tour that starts by the river and winds its way around the settlement. 

Tabby Fort
There’s a fort that is built out of oyster tabby. It was originally built as a back up storage for Charleston’s gunpowder. There are also archaeology sites, tombstones, and a large bell tower from the former Anglican church. The settlement was abandoned in the revolutionary war and it didn’t recover. It’s a beautiful place on the river that has escaped development. It's a great place to take some neat photos. I gave my husband the camera and he enjoyed taking a lot of artistic photos. 
Views of the bell tower.

Down the road from the park, in North Charleston, we stopped by a favorite brewery of ours, Freehouse. I recommend this place mostly because of the view. It’s the only brewery we know of that is on the marsh and river in Charleston. You can see towards downtown Charleston from their parking lot. It's back in a warehouse/industrial district so it feels hidden, but there are a few signs to point you in the right direction. Friday, they had a food truck where we had dinner and some drinks and relaxed along the marsh. Unfortunately, the no-see-ums were out and we didn’t have any bug spray. Near by, there are also Pawley’s Island and Holy City breweries. 
View from Freehouse

Entrance to Freehouse


Saturday, we took some family back to Poinsett State Park as well as visited Millford Plantation. The Millford Plantation was built by the Hampton and Manning families in 1839. It’s a beautiful property that was spared the Civil War. There’s a neat spring house on the property, as well as some other out-buildings. They're very nice to let us wander around the beautiful property. The house is open once a month throughout the year, with extra visitor days in April and during Christmas. It costs $15.00 for admission but it is a beautiful house that is worth checking out. We saw some Rhododendron blooming already as well as some Mountain Laurel near by when we had our picnic lunch at Poinsett State Park. 







Spring house on the property



 Another house that we visited last year that is just across the river from Millford Plantation, is Kensington Mansion. This house has been through a lot but has recently been restored and has limited openings for tours. Historic Columbia has been hosting these the past couple of years. There are a couple of dates coming up in May and I highly recommend the visit! Currently, tours are $15.00 for non-members. 
Location: Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, 300 State Park Rd, Summerville, SC 29485, USA

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