Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
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| | South Carolina State Park Service | |
The Ashley River served as highway connecting Charlestown and Dorchester. Vessels brought manufactured goods and enslaved people from the colonial capital on the coast. They also carried bundles of deerskins and barrels of rice back downstream, using several wooden wharves located along the riverbank before you. Dorchester thrived as a center of trade because these simple docks and the river linked it to the larger world beyond.
Though the riverbank is quiet today, try to imagine it as a bustling place where merchants haggled with boat captains, and enslaved men rolled barrels of valuable goods back and forth across the landings.
[Captions:]
The remains of two of Dorchester's wharves are visible at low tide. This photograph shows some of the surviving logs from one of the wharves. They were built by making a framework of logs and then filling the framework with soil.
This detail of a 1742 Dorchester map shows the location of "Baker warf," or the wharf owned by Richard Baker. Remnants of this dock are located near to where you are now standing.
In 1741, an enslaved man named Dick fled from a boat at Dorchester. He may have been part of the crew, or even the boat's pilot, since numerous slaves of African descent were skilled watermen in colonial South Carolina.
this page online
Erected by South Carolina State Park Service.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1742.
Location. 32° 56.86′ N, 80° 10.145′ W. Marker is in Summerville, South Carolina, in Dorchester County. It can be reached from County Road 18-373 south of Dorchester Trail, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 106 Park Ln, Summerville SC 29485, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Lowcountry. 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.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Linking Places and People (within shouting distance of this marker); Welcome to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site (within shouting distance of this marker); Constructed for Commerce (within shouting distance of this marker); Dorchester's Merchants: Middlemen on the Road to Riches (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); To Market, To Market (about 300 feet away); Fort Dorchester (about 300 feet away); Networks of Trade (about 300 feet away); A Concrete Solution (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Summerville.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Welcome to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site (was within shouting distance of
Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 11 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 28, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
