Edisto Island in Colleton County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
The Struggle for a Long Straight Line
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 20, 2022
1. The Struggle for a Long Straight Line Marker
The eastern seaboard had been divided into sections, each to have its own master baseline. Charleston's dependence on shipping made charting the treacherous channels near its harbor especially important, and only Edisto Island offered a straight line of adequate length.
Although an 1848 report described the area as "secure from any encroachment of the sea...little grading will serve to prepare it for measurement," Boutelle and his crew labored for a month to clear and level a 20'-wide path stretching almost seven miles.
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Once the path was prepared, Bache's team spent fourteen days in January 1850 carefully measuring the line. Resting on tripods, two Bache bars were leapfrogged across the island. NOAA Central Library
Laborers, contractd from a local plantation, had to claer forest and croplands to make way for the measuring of the Edisto Island baseline. William Cullen Bryant, Picturesque America (1872) Vol. 1
Erected by South Carolina State Park Service
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Exploration • Science & Medicine • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 180 CE.
Location. 32° 30.465′ N, 80° 19.547′ W. Marker is on Edisto Island, South Carolina, in Colleton County. It is on Oyster Row Lane half a mile south of Palmetto Road, on the right when traveling south. Located at the Edisto Environmental Learning Center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Oyster Row Ln, Edisto Island SC 29438, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, in the Ashepoo and Combahee and Edisto Basin. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 12 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Markers in the Woods (within shouting distance of this marker); How to Measure the World, and Why (within shouting distance of this marker); Bache's Bar of Invariable Length (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Lafayette's Tour (approx. 4.7 miles away); Charleston Tea Plantation (approx. 11.2 miles away); A Life-Saving Light Station (approx. 11.2 miles away); A Guiding Light (approx. 11.2 miles away); Fuel for the Flame (approx. 11.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Edisto Island.
Also see . . . Edisto Environmental Learning Center. (Submitted on October 20, 2022.)
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 20, 2022
2. The Struggle for a Long Straight Line Marker
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 20, 2022
3. Edisto Environmental Learning Center
Credits. This page was last revised on October 20, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2022, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 504 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 20, 2022, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
