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Silver Dew Winery

SC PICTURE PROJECT 1 Comment

SC Picture Project / Beaufort County / Silver Dew Winery

The Silver Dew Winery is a historic winery located on Daufuskie Island in Beaufort County. The small building dates back to 1883 and originally served as a wick house (a building used to store the lighthouse lamp and wicks) for the Bloody Point Lighthouse.

Silver Dew Winery

Dawna Moore of Fernandina Beach, FL, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Bloody Point Lighthouse guarded the southernmost tip of the island until the early 1920s, when it was decommissioned and sold at a private auction to Francis Keenan. Former lighthouse keeper Gustaf Ohman purchased it from Keenan in 1924, only to sell it two years later to another former keeper, Arthur “Papy” Burn.

Bloody Point Lighthouse

Dawna Moore of Fernandina Beach, FL, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Papy loved the island and was very active in the small community. In the early 1950s, Papy began making scuppernong wine in the old wick house. By 1953 the brick building had been dubbed the Silver Dew Winery, and Papy was making wine out of grapes, elderberries, pears, and other fruits. The winery was made famous when South Carolina author Pat Conroy mentioned it in his 1972 autobiographical novel The Water is Wide:

The beach road began about a quarter of a mile from the school. It was a dark and brooding part of the Island, very wild and uninhabited. Purple and yellow wildflowers grew in profusion. The first time I walked the road I was shocked to find two odd-looking brick structures on a curve in the road. There was a sign on one of the buildings that read Silver Dew Winery 1953.

Silver Dew Winery

Dawna Moore of Fernandina Beach, FL, 2017 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The wick house is included in the Daufuskie Island Historic District:

Daufuskie Island Historic District includes the geographic entirety of this South Carolina sea island. Accessible only by boat, Daufuskie contains 5,200 acres of mostly high dry land. The district’s character is defined by eighteen properties of particular historic and/or architectural note, and fifty-six contributing sites or structures. Wooded tracts account for another 167 contributing properties. Most of the buildings consist of folk housing, which is concentrated in two building complexes, both on the island’s western side. They were constructed from 1890-1930, but reflect a much earlier building technology. They are significant architecturally as a survival form. The buildings also include educational, religious, and public buildings which serve the whole population. The design of Daufuskie’s two lighthouses has architectural significance in its structural combination of a functioning lighthouse with living quarters. Other areas of significance are historical in nature. Military engagements of note during the Yemassee and Revolutionary Wars took place on Daufuskie. In addition, buildings, sites, and structures represent Daufuskie’s antebellum plantation society based on the cultivation of long staple cotton as well as the history of the island in the early twentieth century when life revolved around the oyster industry, logging, and truck farming operations. Daufuskie’s cultural resources illustrate a three-century long history (ca. 1700-1930) that has evolved with a minimum of outside influence. Listed in the National Register June 2, 1982.

More Pictures of Silver Dew Winery


Silver Dew Winery, Doors Open

Kim Lewis of Hilton Head, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Silver Dew Winery, Side View

Kim Lewis of Hilton Head, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Plan Your Trip: Silver Dew Winery

Where is Silver Dew Winery located?
Address: Beach Road, Daufuskie Island, SC 29915
GPS Coordinates: 32.095557,-80.868234
What else should I see?
First Union African Baptist 1.4 miles
Haig Point 6.3 miles
Stoney-Baynard Plantation 6.3 miles
Harbour Town Lighthouse 7.1 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Lighthouses
  • See other South Carolina National Register
    Silver Dew Winery Map

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    Comments

    1. Joe Yocius says

      May 16, 2015 at 9:52 PM

      Silver Dew Winery and the Daufuskie Vortex. One and the same.

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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