Daniel Island in Berkeley County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Pritchard Shipyard
Photographed by Thomas Moore, January 18, 2025
1. Pritchard Shipyard Marker
Inscription.
Pritchard Shipyard. . In 1803, Paul Pritchard purchased Fairbank Plantation on Daniel Island and erected a shipyard on part of the land along the Wando River. Here, Jefferson Gunboat #9, which would be part of a fleet of boats to protect the waters of the United States from 1806-1815, was constructed and launched in 1805. Pritchard also built the frigate John Adams, as well as the Privateer Decatur at his other boatyard called Shipyard Creek, located on the Cooper River. Shipbuilding was an important industry in Charleston from the beginning of the colony to 1865. The port was a natural stopping point for repairs along the sailing routes to Europe and to the Caribbean. All types of boats - schooners, sloops, ships of war and merchant vessels - were built or repaired here using local pine, live oak, and cypress wood. Over the years, Charleston would be home to 14 shipyards.
In 1803, Paul Pritchard purchased Fairbank Plantation on Daniel Island and erected a shipyard on part of the land along the Wando River. Here, Jefferson Gunboat #9, which would be part of a fleet of boats to protect the waters of the United States from 1806-1815, was constructed and launched in 1805. Pritchard also built the frigate John Adams, as well as the Privateer Decatur at his other boatyard called Shipyard Creek, located on the Cooper River. Shipbuilding was an important industry in Charleston from the beginning of the colony to 1865. The port was a natural stopping point for repairs along the sailing routes to Europe and to the Caribbean. All types of boats - schooners, sloops, ships of war and merchant vessels - were built or repaired here using local pine, live oak, and cypress wood. Over the years, Charleston would be home to 14 shipyards.
Marker is on Daniel Island, South Carolina, in Berkeley County. It can be reached from the intersection of Fairbanks Drive and Fairbanks Oak Alley, on the right when traveling east. Located along the Daniel Island Trail in Governors Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 165 Fairbanks Oak Alley, Charleston SC 29492, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Lowcountry and in Santee Cooper Country. 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 the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 7, 2025, by Thomas Moore of Charleston, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 205 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on March 7, 2025, by Thomas Moore of Charleston, South Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
