Commerce on the River

We've looked at how Black River has brought pleasure to Kingstree residents through the years at both Wee Nee and Boswell Beaches, and we've looked at some of the tragedies and near-tragedies that have occurred on the river. We also touched on the commercial appeal of the river when we recently looked at Thorn's Mill. Today we'll expand on the income possibilities of the river and take a look at a number of ways area residents over the years have used the river to their advantage.

Black River

To the early settlers, the river was a lifeline to Georgetown. Those who were able to navigate the river could buy goods there they could not produce on their own and could sell some goods to provide  income outside their farm labor. We get a small piece of information from the January 31, 1823, issue the Southern Patriot, a Charleston newspaper. "Mr. Gibson's two boats from Kingstree with 144 bales of cotton have arrived in Georgetown." In the May 22, 1823, issue of the same newspaper we learn that E. Gibson's boat from Kingstree, carrying 25 bales of cotton had arrived in Georgetown. E. Gibson was likely Ebenezer Gibson, Jr., who died in September of that year. His estate records show that while he farmed, he hauled freight for others, as well. It is also of note that his estate was never closed.

One of the most surprising pieces of information I've run across concerning the river was published in the Kingstree Star on February 21, 1866, and reprinted in the Charleston Courier on February 24. It reads: "PORT OF KINGSTREE–The steamer Adie, Capt. Daggett, from Georgetown, arrived at this port on Sabbath-last and discharged her cargo at the Kingstree bridge. Her principal cargo consisted of molasses, salt, furniture, etc. and was consigned to M.(orris) Schwartz and Henry Solomon. We understand that this is the first time that steam navigation has reached as high up Black River as this place. The Adie draws three feet water and is 60-feet long and 18-feet wide."

Capt. Daggett was likely Thomas West Daggettt, a native of New Bedford, MA, the center of the New England whaling industry. At some point, he made his way South and into the history books as the person who built the exploding mine used to sink the Harvest Moon off Georgetown during the Civil War. He had operated a rice mill before the war, and with the decline in rice production afterward, he captained the government's dredge boat which kept the Waccamaw River navigable for paddle-wheelers. It seems likely that in February 1866, he also brought the Adie to Kingstree. Capt. Daggett is buried at Kingston Presbyterian Church in Conway.

Kingston Presbyterian Church, Conway, SC.

The Charleston Daily News noted in October 1869 that a large quantity of tow timber was lying upon the banks of Black River at Kingstree awaiting the rise of river for shipment to Georgetown, but I've found no other evidence that any other steamboat found its way upriver to Kingstree. However, by the early 20th century, there was a great deal of interest in deepening the river to accommodate larger boats from Black Mingo to Kingstree. (The Rhems had a steamboat company operating from Black Mingo to Georgetown.) In 1908, the Kingstree Board of Trade sponsored an initiative aimed at opening up the river to commercial traffic. W.H. Carr and J.D. Gilland were responsible for gathering information to help in the decision making. That year, Carr attended a Rivers and Harbors Conference in Washington, DC, to put in a request for funding to remove obstructions and to dredge the river. Later, the Coast & Geodetic Survey of the U.S. Corps of Engineers conducted a study of the river. Their report, however, dashed any hope of large-scale commercial traffic coming upriver as far as Kingstree. The survey pointed out that the river had too many bends and curves to make it practical for this kind of traffic.

Beginning in 1907, however, many Kingstree residents were able to enjoy the river when Capt. Conrad Constine began taking them on pleasure cruises, both up and downriver. His first boat, named The Mercedes, was a flat boat on which he installed a 10-horsepower engine. The boat was eight-feet wide and 32-feet long. On its maiden voyage on April 25, 1907, it carried 27 people from the river bridge on Main Street to the railroad bridge, a six-mile trip, which it accomplished in 30 minutes. Constine also used his boat to haul logs to the mill, and on occasion was called upon to ferry a body that had been found floating in the water to Kingstree. For eight years, he went up and down the river on one of the four boats he owned. The others were named Rover, Rover II, and The Wanderer. The landing near the bridge was often jokingly called Constine's Wharf.

The Williamsburgh Museum has collected Conrad Constine's

letter to The County Record into a book: Poor Conrad; Tales From a River Rat.

Wendell Voiselle has it for sale at the Museum, 135 Hampton Ave., Kingstree.

Some residents earned extra cash by selling fish they caught from Black River. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Fish Laws governing the river were strict. In 1898, it was illegal to fish with nets or gigs or to set traps or to shoot fish between May 1 and September 1. It was also illegal to fish with a hook and line between June 15 and August 15. The County Record noted that despite these laws, there were multiple fish fries on the river bank that summer both day and night. The paper also noted, "The river has fallen considerably, and the fish bite quite well, in spite of the fact that it is not lawful for them to bite."

A May 1903 story in The County Record recounted the tale of Sam Strong, a Black River fisherman, who regularly sold his catch on the Courthouse Square. On May 4, 1903, Strong had several strings of fish for sale. At the entrance to the Courthouse, a gentlemen bargained with him to buy four of his strings. As he handed Strong the agreed-upon four quarters, two of the quarters fell and couldn't be located. Both Strong and his customer searched their clothing and all around the area but found nothing. Strong began to wonder if one of the catfish on his strings had swallowed the money. He quickly performed surgery on the fish right there on the Courthouse Square, and there were the two quarters wedged together inside the fish.

One of the arguments made later that year by then Sheriff J.D. Daniel for fencing off the Courthouse Square was that it was time for those who spent their days trying to sell "spoiled fish" on the Courthouse Square to find someplace else to peddle their wares. He noted that jurors had often "agreed to disagree" to end trials so that they could escape the odors that wafted up through the open widows of the court room and jury rooms from below.

Two ladies enjoying an afternoon of fishing in Black River.

And while we recently detailed the operation of P.B. Thorn's mill on Black River, we should note that Joel E. Brunson operated the Black River Cypress Mill on the river just on the other side of the railroad trestle. That mill produced 30,000 feet of lumber a day and 20,000 laths.

There are also tales of residents using the Black River swamp as a cover for ill-gotten gain obtained through gambling. In 1909, six unnamed African-American men appeared before Kingstree Magistrate Richard Wallace, charged with gambling in the swamp. The all-white, all-male jury could not reach a verdict on the case that morning, so Wallace called in a second all-white, all-male jury for the afternoon. That jury reached a verdict of "not guilty" due to insufficient evidence.

The river and the surrounding swamp have also provided a treasure trove of wildlife that caught the fancy of Kingstree residents. Baby alligators were often displayed. In September 1897, Sam Carter caught six of them on the river bank and spent the rest of the day "exhibiting them around town." In 1910, young Nappie Nelson had three baby alligators which were the talk of the town, especially the one that was prone to bite.

Also in 1910, a fisherman caught a flounder in Black River near Kingstree. Many residents were awed that a saltwater fish had found its way so far up the river.

In 1898, a young African-American boy killed a 5-foot, 4-inch rattlesnake near the second bridge. The snake had seven rattles and a button. The boy proudly displayed the snake all over town before T.J. Brown, foreman on The County Record printing staff, "taxedermized" the snake for the boy. 

And Paul Wheeler was hunting in the swamp in the spring of 1915 when he killed an eagle which had a wingspan of 75 inches from tip-to-tip.