Real EstateA New Beginning: Life on the Ashley River in Charleston SC

By JG Walker, Guest Contributor

“Location, location, location” is a repetitive phrase by design; it underscores what many consider to be the most vital aspect when considering a real-estate purchase. And it’s certainly true. But other factors sometimes come into play. Shakespeare wasn’t thinking about property deals when he wrote The Tempest, but a famous quote from that immortal play is applicable when contemplating residence in an area of historical significance: “What’s past is prologue.”

Consider the Ashley River Historic District. Agents of England’s Lord Proprietors in 1670 initially sought to establish a colonial capital on the Ashley River, then decided that a more strategic site was the peninsula where the City of Charleston has flourished ever since. But that original beachhead hasn’t been forgotten and is today the Charles Towne Landing State Historical Site.

What the founding families of South Carolina recognized was that the verdant land along the Ashley River was better suited for agriculture. As early as 1671, an ancient Indian trail was used to access the farms that spread from the landing site. By 1691, that path had become an official colony road, with a ferry service across the river soon in operation. Today’s Ashley River Road follows that original route and is thus considered to be the oldest road in South Carolina still in use.

And while that byway has been resurfaced countless times since then, one defining characteristic of the Ashley River Road has deep roots indeed: A statute adopted in 1721 prohibited the cutting of shade trees along the road and it’s believed that some of the massive, moss-draped oaks that line it today date to that very same period in time.

The farmlands between the road and the river became huge plantations that grew rice and other crops to fuel the burgeoning Carolina economy. Of those, three major sites survive today: Drayton Hall, which dates from 1738, was saved from Civil War destruction because it served as a hospital, and is now a National Trust for Historic Preservation site; Magnolia Plantation, home to 14 generations of the Drayton family since 1676, which today is best know for its 30 acres of magnificent themed gardens; and Middleton Place, established in 1706 and the unique contributor to American history of signers of both The Declaration of Independence in 1776 and The Ordinance of Secession in 1861. All three sites are now part of the nearly 12-mile-long Ashley River Road Historical District, one of the Lowcountry’s most popular tourist destinations.

But life along the Ashley River Road today is about more than antebellum plantations and trees that are older than the nation in which they grow. Because of the agricultural vitality of the area, the commercial ports and later industrial factories of Charleston were located well to the east on the Cooper River. As a result, the Ashley flows into the 21st century without pollution or obstruction, still bordered with wetlands where fish, shrimp and oysters thrive, much to the delight of the white ibis, great blue heron and bottlenose dolphin that find sustenance there.

And the humans that live along the Ashley River have discovered a modern lifestyle in harmony with the area’s tradition, a place to enjoy spectacular sunrises over the marsh, lazy mornings with coffee on the dock, kayak and sailboat adventures on the water in the afternoon, and breezy backyard barbecue feasts with family and friends until late in the evening.

Where past is prologue.

Note: If you think the slow, graceful lifestyle of living among ancient oak trees and sweeping historic plantations might be just the place for you, then start searching for the perfect place you’d like to call home in Charleston SC …