Great Loop: Georgetown South Carolina

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Mike and Beth getting ready to explore Georgetown South Carolina


April 20th -23rd, 2022

Georgetown was once the Rice Capital of the United States.  Blessed with a well protected harbor it became wealthy exporting crops of Indigo, lumber, Carolina Rice, and cotton to world wide locations.  Their pre-industrial, agricultural economy was successful due to the exploitation of slaves.  With essentially free labor, the plantation owners reaped huge profits.  


Georgetown presents well, as you enter the harbor from the Great Pee Dee River.  One of the first things you see are a boat yard with a travel lift and the presence of commercial fishing boats.  There are retail stores adjacent to the docks where fresh fish and shrimp can be purchased.  At the far end of the harbor there is a rolling mill and a a pulp mill.  There is no commercial ship traffic to either of these facilities that we saw.


One of the Seafood Retail Outlets


There is an over the water board walk which provides scenic access both to the waterfront but also to the businesses and historical points of interest along Front Street.  We found eateries and bakeries with decks that provide waterfront views while enjoying their delicacies. 


The Rice Museum
Adjacent to the Clock Tower


The Clock Tower

The Rice Museum is located adjacent to the Public Dock, along side the clock tower.  a visit here will acquaint you with Georgetown's history and the industries that contributed to it's rise as one of the top 3 South Carolina cities prior to the Civil War.  Here we met and listened to a wonderful local historian and author , Vennie Deas Moore, relate Georgetown's story.


The Gullah Museum



The second museum we visited was the Gullah Museum.  Here another local historian, Alexander Rodriquez, used quilts created by his wife, to relate the history and culture of the Gullah Geechee people of the low country.  Her Gullah Ooman story quilt relates the history of the Gullah Geechee people from Africa to their freedom from slavery.  She also created a Michelle Obama Story Quilt which is now part of the Smithsonian's permanent collection.

I greatly appreciated the passion and vividness of the oral history presentations by both historians.



No visit to Georgetown would be complete without walking the streets of the historic district to appreciate the colonial and antebellum homes.  Current owners are competent and gifted stewards of these artifacts of American history.


The Kaminski Mansion


Mike and Beth on their walking tour.  The Visitor's Center provided a map to identify the many historic structures and points of interest.


Instead of moss, ferns grow on the limbs of the Live Oaks.


An active boatyard 


Note the curved front porch on the left side of this home.


Yes! a coffee house where you can sip and be surrounded by cats.  


Sebastian and Mike check out the cats.


Docktails Thursday night at Buzz's Roost




No stop would be complete without Docktails and Dinner.  We managed to round up 16 loopers for a raucous Friday evening at the SoCo Grille on Front Street.


Berthing


We used a hybrid approach to berthing.  During the day we tied up to the Georgetown Public Dock near the Clock Tower.  After dinner, we would move our boat to anchor inside the harbor.  The next morning we would return to the Free Dock to continue our exploration of the town.  We depended on our solar panel to maintain our house batteries.  This worked well.  We had plenty of power for the refrigerator and lights after dark.

There are also marinas in town.  If you need shore power and/or prefer the comforts of a marina, there are options.  All looked nice.


Trip Log






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