This marker along US-17 between Georgetown and Charleston points out some of the earliest settlements in the area. The front of the marker reads, "Thomas Pinckney, 1750-1828. Distinguished planter-diplomat Thomas Pinckney owned nearby Fairfield and Eldorado Plantations. A national figure, he was Governor of South Carolina, Minister to England, Envoy Extraordinary to Spain where he negotiated the "Pinckney Treaty," and major general in the War of 1812." Thomas Pinckney was not only a statesman but also a central figure in the transformation of South Carolina's Lowcountry into a rice empire. His connection to those plantations came through marriage to Elizabeth Motte, daughter of Jacob Motte Jr. and Rebecca Brewton Motte, a Revolutionary War heroine. Pinckney named Eldorado Plantation after the golden buttercups that bloomed on the land, a nod to his diplomatic service in Spain and the Spanish term El Dorado, meaning "the golden." And the reverse*, "St. James, Santee. One of the earliest settlements in South Carolina and refuge for French Huguenots, St. James, Santee, Parish was a major agricultural area containing a number of large-scale rice plantations. At nearby Peach Tree Plantation, Jonathan Lucas, Sr. introduced a water mill for beating rice around 1787, which gave an impetus to rice culture in this area." The Huguenots were French Protestants--followers of Calvinist theology--who faced brutal persecution in Catholic France, especially after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. That edict had once granted them limited religious freedom, but its repeal triggered waves of violence and forced conversions. Lucas's innovation transformed rice processing and helped make South Carolina a global leader in rice exports. It is marker number 10-19 and it was erected in 1989 by the St. James Santee Parish Historical Society. [Review 1404 of 2025 - 1348 in South Carolina - 24956 overall] * Yelp renamed this! It was "Thomas Pinckney / St. James, Santee Historical Marker" when I added it. read more

Thomas Pinckney - Thomas Pinckney/St. James, Santee Historical Marker, North Santee - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - MC CLELLANVILLE, South Carolina

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