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propelled the ship so quickly that it arrived in
Charles Town after only six days on December 20, when the journey should have taken two weeks. There was a mixed reaction to their arrival. Many residents, including the governor, Joseph Blake, were of the opinion that the party should settle on the Pon Pon River, at New London. However, Joseph Lord did obtain a 1,800-acre (7 km) land grant- the same that had lapsed John Smith's ownership. The immigrant party settled the Boo-shoo-ee area, which had been surveyed in advance, in late 1684, by one of the settlers, William Norman. On February 2, the party held church services for the first time under a large oak tree.
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township. the proposal was endorsed by
Reverend John Danforth, and six more agreed to embark, bringing the total to nine prospective emigrants. Four of these, however, do not appear in any records as having settled in the new town, so they may have died along the way, or changed their minds. Settler William Pratt wrote in this diary that the group were fewer than nine when they arrived in the Province of South Carolina.
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The new settlers first built crude wooden lean-tos to live in, and set to work on the more important task – building a church. They named the church Old White
Meeting House, after the Reverend John White of England, who had supported their emigration. They named the new town as Dorchester and built
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On
October 20, 1695, Reverend Joseph Lord and two of his supporters were officially given permission by the church of Dorchester, Massachusetts to lead followers south into South Carolina. Two days later, on October 22, Lord held a meeting to recruit parishioners to accompany him to establish a new
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On
December 5, a skiff carrying the settlers left the Boston Town Dock. A storm engulfed the ship four days into the journey, on December 9, nearly sinking it, and the passengers held a day of prayer for deliverance through the maelstrom. The storm's wind blew southward, however, and it actually
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in 1720, and the town in
Dorchester, South Carolina, gradually declined. The residents were unaccustomed to the hot climate. In addition, others became ill from local diseases, such as malaria or fevers. The natural resources near the town were insufficient to support a large population.
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The town was developed near the mouths of
Dorchester Creek and Eagle's Creek, where they flowed into the Ashley. Both had been named by English colonists. The local Native Americans, of this region, referred to the land between the two mouths, as
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it in the style they knew from
England and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. On November 1 of that year, after the town had been established, the church at Dorchester, Massachusetts approved the emigration of dozens more to the new village.
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In 1675, a wealthy
Englishman named John Smith arrived in South Carolina with his wife Mary. As a personal friend of the influential
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They named it after their home town, which had been named by earlier immigrants after the
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suffix probably referred to water, given that nearly all other names ending in
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477:‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
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and its cemetery are owned and maintained by its successor congregation,
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In 1751, the townspeople abandoned the village. Most resettled at
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Liberty County, Georgia and the
Abandonment of Dorchester
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Map of South Carolina highlighting Dorchester County
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45:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
559:1751 disestablishments in the Thirteen Colonies
564:Geography of Dorchester County, South Carolina
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262:Cemetery led to oversight of Dorchester ruins
179:A drawing of an old fort built at Dorchester
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227:, which had effects reaching a wide area.
252:The Town of Dorchester, in South Carolina
76:Learn how and when to remove this message
257:The Baptists of Maine and South Carolina
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287:Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
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569:1696 establishments in South Carolina
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126:). Dorchester was abandoned in 1751.
554:Populated places established in 1696
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327:Municipalities and communities of
212:and others back to Massachusetts.
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330:Dorchester County, South Carolina
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99:about 18 miles (29 km) from
292:Webquest for Colonial Dorchester
241:Summerville Presbyterian Church.
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223:. It was destroyed during the
192:Reverend Lord returned to the
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549:Ghost towns in South Carolina
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147:referred to a water feature.
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225:1886 Charleston earthquake
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93:Province of South Carolina
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31:This article includes a
237:Old White Meeting House
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60:more precise citations.
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272:Letters of Joseph Lord
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525:32.94806°N 80.16972°W
488:South Carolina portal
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495:United States portal
282:Lyman Hall Biography
215:In 1781, during the
194:Massachusetts colony
530:32.94806; -80.16972
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217:American Revolution
157:Earl of Shaftesbury
95:. Situated on the
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33:list of references
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235:The ruins of the
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427:Summerville
412:Reevesville
401:Harleyville
345:County seat
267:Joseph Lord
137:Boo-shoo-ee
105:Joseph Lord
66:August 2009
58:introducing
543:Categories
516:80°10′11″W
513:32°56′53″N
464:Dorchester
456:Ghost town
422:St. George
417:Ridgeville
352:St. George
151:John Smith
124:Dorchester
109:Dorchester
101:Charleston
89:Dorchester
473:Footnotes
163:Founding
231:Present
204:in the
130:History
120:English
54:improve
446:Grover
202:Midway
188:Demise
393:Towns
122:town
107:from
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362:City
438:CDP
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
