Hardeeville in Jasper County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Rice Field Trunk
Photographed by Sandra Hughes, September 28, 2015
1. Rice Field Trunk Marker
This water control structure is called a trunk. It is similar to trunks used to manage water flow to and from plantation rice fields. On Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, trunks are operated to set water levels in impoundments (reservoirs).
A trunk is a long wooden box with a heavy flap gate at either end. This dike crosses over the trunk. Only the gates and their support structures are visible. The gates facing the canal and the field are often kept closed.
To flood the nearby impounding: The trunks tide creek/canal side gate is raised. Raising tidewater flows through the trunk and forces open the opposite field-side gate, letting water into the impoundment. When the water reaches the preferred depth in the impoundment, the water pressure pushes the field-side door shut. Both gates are kept closed to hold water in the fields.
To drain the fields: The field-side gate is raised allowing water to drain out to the tidal creek/canal during low tide.
Erected by Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Environment • Man-Made Features.
Location. 32° 10.125′
this page online
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 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 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Managing Water for Wildlife (here, next to this marker); Prescribed Burning (here, next to this marker); Laurel Hill Plantation (approx. Ό mile away); Using Fire to Benefit Wildlife (approx. Ό mile away); Plantation Cistern (approx. one mile away); Savannah River Plantations (approx. 2.6 miles away in Georgia); Atlantic Coastal Highway Through Georgia (approx. 2.6 miles away in Georgia); Savannah Sugar Refinery Explosion (approx. 2.8 miles away in Georgia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hardeeville.
Additional commentary.
1. About the signage
At the time that this profile was published, signs that did not interpret human history were included in HMdb.org. While this is no longer the case, this profile remains published for posterity.
— Submitted May 31, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
Photographed by Sandra Hughes, September 28, 2015
2. River Tides for Rice
Savannah River rice planters used tidal power to supply water to their rice fields. Planters operated floodgates, called "trunks" to irrigate rice fields during high river tides and drain them when tides fell.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 31, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. This page has been viewed 2,105 times since then and 308 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 30, 2015, by Sandra Hughes Tidwell of Killen, Alabama, USA. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
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