Welcome to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

Welcome to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. . , South Carolina State Park Service Mission , To encourage people to discover South Carolina's state parks by providing resource-based recreational and educational opportunities that emphasize the conservation, protection and interpretation of the state's natural and cultural resources., Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site Mission , To promote understanding and stewardship of the natural, cultural, and archaeological resources of the colonial riverside village of Dorchester by providing ongoing excavation, research, and public education opportunities., About Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site , In 1697, Congregationalist settlers from Dorchester, Massachusetts, founded a town where you now stand. For nearly 100 years, Dorchester prospered as an inland trade center for the region. Trade with the Native Americans, the development of rice and indigo as viable cash crops and an infusion of people (enslave, planter and merchant) brought Dorchester to an economic peak in the mid 1700s. However, with the frontier shifting further inland, an improved overland road system, and destruction at the hands of the British during the American Revolution, the town slowly disappeared and was all but abandoned at the close of the 1700s. Today, the South Carolina State Park Service is charged with the care and preservation of this historical and archaeological treasure., Hours of Operation: , Park Hours: , 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. during standard time , 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during daylight savings, Office Hours: , 11:00 a.m. to noon