McCord's Ferry: The Charleston to Camden Connection

McCord's Ferry: The Charleston to Camden Connection. . , John McCord began operating a ferry in 1755 near the location where you are now standing. An immigrant from Ireland, McCord started out trading with the Catawba Tribe. His business was successful and he was soon able to purchase land near the confluence of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers, where he and his wife Sophianisba settled and raised a family., McCord's Ferry helped to connect South Carolina's then-capital city Charleston to Camden, which was the commercial hub of the colony's backcountry. Both McCord's Ferry and the adjoining road were soon recognized as vital parts of the colony's transportation and trade network and were granted public charters by the Province of South Carolina in 1766. John McCord's wife and sons kept the ferry operating after he died in 1768., South Carolina joined twelve other American colonies in declaring independence on July 4, 1776 and for a time, successfully kept British forces at bay. However, in May of 1780 the British Army captured Charleston. From there, royalist forces swiftly moved to occupy the backcountry, securing key towns, roads and river crossings including McCord's Ferry. The ferry and road to Camden were then regularly used by royalist messengers and supply trains. During this time, British officers and soldiers frequently stayed overnight at the nearby tavern that Mrs. McCord operated., The McCord family were, however, firm supporters of American independence and did what they could to make their royalist guests uncomfortable. Sophianisba McCord was a devoted revolutionary, much like her neighbor across the river, Rebecca Motte. She gained such a reputation as a thorn in the side of the British that it was decided that something had to be done to put an end to her rebelliousness (see quote on right).

"This woman [Sophianisba McCord], who lived on the road from Camden to Charlestown and kept a tavern and ferry, was a person of notorious disaffection to the British cause... In short, her ill behavior was so glaring that...Lord Rawdon on the 25th [March 1781] sent Capt. Munro of the Volunteers of Ireland with a small party of that regiment...with orders to burn her house and order her never to be found within twenty miles of the river again." - Levi Smith, Royalist Justice of the Peace (1782)

(caption) , McCord's Ferry crossed the Congaree River near your present location. The path you are walking along today (Bates Ferry Trail) was once a vital link between the colonial capital of Charleston and the important backcountry settlement of Camden. In 1852 a flood altered the river channel and a new ferry (Bates Ferry) was put into service.