• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

SC Picture Project

The purpose of the South Carolina Picture Project is to celebrate the beauty of the Palmetto State while preserving some of its vanishing landscapes.

  • FIND A LANDMARK
    • BY CITY
    • BY COUNTY
    • BY CATEGORY
    • BYGONE LANDMARKS
  • ADD IMAGES
  • VOLUNTEER
  • SPONSORS
  • DONATE

Cooper River

SC PICTURE PROJECT Leave a Comment

SC Picture Project / Berkeley County / Cooper River

Named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, chief Lord Proprietor of the Carolina colony, the Cooper River is one of the most historically significant rivers in South Carolina. It served as a main transportation route during the colonial period and played a crucial role in the development and success of early South Carolina plantations. The photo below was taken on the upper part of the river near Pimlico.

Cooper River Moonrise
Barry Gooch of Port Royal, 2014 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

The Cooper River is a relatively short but wide river that flows through Berkeley and Charleston counties and joins the Ashley River to form the Charleston Harbor. The river consists of two branches – the East Branch, which rises in Huger near the edge of the Francis Marion National Forest, and the West Branch, which rises in Moncks Corner.

Cooper River Tugboat

Donnie Smith of Moncks Corner, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Not all of scenes along the Cooper River are bucolic. The image above shows thick smoke billowing from a factory in North Charleston which stands on the bank of the river.

Parts of the Cooper River are listed in the National Register as the Cooper River Historic District:

The Cooper River Historic District, which is a 30,020-acre section of the region centered along both branches of the Cooper River, is a remarkably intact historic and cultural landscape. In the mid-eighteenth century, the Cooper River served not only as a principal transportation route for plantation goods, services and people, but also played a vital role in the successful production of rice. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries most of the plantations in the district were acquired by wealthy Northerners looking for a warmer climate in which they could create hunting preserves for their own pleasure and leisure-time activities. These new owners left their mark on the landscape by building stately new residences but they also played an important role in preserving the earlier landscape. Many historic buildings, structures, and objects from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries are still standing, and archaeological remains of settlements, machines, barns, and other structures that supported agricultural activity are generally intact. In addition, landscape features such as rice fields, banks, canals, dams, reservoirs or reserves, causeways, roads, avenues, upland fields, fence lines, and cemeteries – many of them present on eighteenth and early nineteenth century plats and maps – can be seen on the ground today. Numerous outbuildings are also included with several of the properties.

Reflections on the Cooper River


Contributor Donnie Smith says of his above photo of the Cooper River, “International commerce is vital to the South Carolina economy. This morning’s capture is the April Moran of McAllister Towing waiting to guide a container ship to the South Carolina Port in North Charleston.”

Add your own reflections here.

Plan Your Trip:

Where is located?
SC
GPS Coordinates: 33.096851,-79.952186
What else should I see?
Taveau Church 1.6 miles
Strawberry Chapel 1.6 miles
Mepkin Abbey 2.2 miles
Comingtee Plantation 3.3 miles
Show me more like this!
  • Moncks Corner Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina National Register
  • See other South Carolina Rivers
    Map

    Please Help Us Stay Online

    We’d like thank everyone who generously supports the South Carolina Picture Project. You provide us with the inspiration and financial support we need to keep doing what we do. Every reader’s contribution, larger or small, is valuable. If you have enjoyed this website or found it helpful, please pitch in. Each donation helps – and it only takes a minute. Thank you!

    Support the SC Picture Project!

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    You may also like

    You may also like

    Biggin Church RuinsBiggin Church Ruins Mulberry Plantation Old Santee CanalOld Santee Canal Park Loch Dhu PlantationLoch Dhu Plantation Pineville ChapelPineville Chapel

    Reader Interactions

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    FIND A LANDMARK

    Why This Site Matters

    Help Keep This Site Online

    We depend on the support of today’s readers to document South Carolina’s landmarks for future readers. Please help us continue this important work by making a donation below.

    $ 50.00
    Select Payment Method
    Personal Info

    Credit Card Info
    This is a secure SSL encrypted payment.

    Donation Total: $50.00

    Recent Posts

    • H.L. Hunley
    • Strand Theater
    • Camden Depot
    • Charleston City Marina
    • Secession Hill

    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.

    Footer

    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.

    CONTACT US

    We’d love to hear from you! Send us a quick email at share@scpictureproject.org.

    If you are looking for permission to use a photo, please reach out directly to the photographer listed in the image’s credit.

    JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

    The South Carolina Picture Project has two Facebook groups. One is dedicated to SC Historic Landmarks and Iconic Landscapes, and the other is dedicated to SC Nature and Wildlife.

    South Carolina Picture Project © 2022 · All Rights Reserved