11 Most Endangered
Ashley River Historic District
Year Listed: 1995
Location: South Carolina
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Development
A 13-mile corridor bound by the Ashley River Road and the Ashley River northwest of Charleston, the area includes 53 properties and archaeological sites tracing history from Native American habitation to 18th century African-American settlements to Civil War fortifications. More than 420,000 tourists, residents and scholars each year are drawn to the beauty of the area's slow-flowing streams, bright green marshes, moss-hung live oaks, stately plantation houses and colorful gardens. But the region is threatened by intense development pressures and a lack of coordinated regional planning, both of which threaten to overwhelm the tranquility of the Ashley River Road and historically significant sites such as Drayton Hall (c.1740), Magnolia Plantation (purchased in 1676), and Middleton Place whose gardens were laid out in 1741, making them the oldest gardens in the nation.
Update
A developer has asked to rezone Watson Hill (6,600 acres) within the Ashley River Historic Corridor to a Planned Development for 5,000 homes. If approved, this development will cause serious damage to the Dorchester County taxpayers and to thousands of acres of historically and environmentally sensitive lands. The Ashley River Corridor is an important resource for tourism in both Dorchester and Charleston Counties. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the Ashley River Historic Corridor every year. Middleton Place Plantation, Drayton Hall and Magnolia Plantation are some key properties in the area. All are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ashley River Road is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Watson Hill is directly adjacent to Middleton Place Plantation and the portion of the Ashley River directly across the street from Watson Hill is part of what is listed in the National Register. Development of Watson Hill would adversely affect economic revenues from Heritage Tourism as well as the historic properties of Drayton Hall, Middleton Place Plantation, Magnolia Plantation and the historic Ashley River Corridor.
