A Walking Tour of Georgetown, South Carolina

a walking tour in the Look Up, America series from walkthetown.com

by Doug Gelbert

published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 by Cruden Bay Books

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Georgetown was South Carolina’s third city, following Charleston and Beaufort. The first permanent settlers to the area were the English who were actively involved in the Indian trade. The settlement was founded in 1729 and declared an official port of entry in 1732. This meant that all foreign imports and exports no longer had to pass through Charleston and the area’s merchants and planters could deal directly with all ports.

Georgetown quickly flourished on the back of its indigo and rice crops. In the early days indigo, used in dyes, was the big money crop but it was not grown after the Revolutionary War. Rice, which had been grown in the area as far back as 1690, picked up the slack. By the