• 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

Wescott Road

SC PICTURE PROJECT 3 Comments

SC Picture Project / Charleston County / Wescott Road

Little reflects the romantic imagery of the South Carolina Lowcountry as much as this canopied path on Edisto Island. The dirt road is known Wescott Road (sometimes Wescoat or Westcoat Road) for the Wescott or Wescoat family, who owned a local plantation. Local legend claims that the road is a portion of the King’s Highway, or a colonial-era road leading from Charleston to Boston and named for King Charles II. The king had ordered the road built in the seventeenth century to connect the colonies, and it is most famous for being used by George Washington in 1791. However, records show that the highway’s northernmost terminus was Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant.

Wescott Road

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Regardless, Wescott Road was a main thoroughfare on Edisto Island, and a road thought to be Wescott Road is documented in the 1825 Mills Atlas by Robert Mills, then the State Architect and Engineer for the South Carolina Board of Public Works. When South Carolina Highway 174 was aligned in 1937, this segment of Wescott Road was preserved. The rustic road is 2/5 of a mile long, and both ends of the road join with South Carolina Highway 174.

Wescott Road Edisto

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Wescott Road is listed in the National Register:

(Westcoat Road) One of the last undisturbed remnants of the main road on Edisto Island, Wescott (or Westcoat) Road, undoubtedly named for the Westcoat family of a nearby plantation, is according to local tradition a short stretch of what was the old King’s Highway. Laid down in the Colonial era, this section of the road was isolated when S.C. Highway 174 was straightened and paved ca. 1940. The road is an oak-lined dirt road approximately 2/5 mile in distance. The road both begins and ends at its intersection with S.C. Highway 174. Robert Mills’ Atlas indicated a main road through Edisto Island along the approximate route of the present-day thoroughfare.

Wescott Road on Edisto Island

Brandon Coffey of Charleston, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

Plan Your Trip: Wescott Road

Where is Wescott Road located?
Address: Wescott Road, Edisto Island, SC 29438
GPS Coordinates: 32.560923,-80.280128
What else should I see?
Edisto Island 0.1 mile
Bailey's Store 0.1 mile
Bailey House 0.2 mile
Trinity Episcopal Church 1 mile
Show me more like this!
  • Edisto Historic Sites
  • See other South Carolina National Register
    Wescott Road 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

    Botany bay EdistoBotany Bay Cassina Point Plantation HomeCassina Point Plantation Edisto Island Baptist FrontEdisto Island Baptist Church Default ThumbnailCrawford Plantation Middleton's Plantation on Store CreekMiddleton’s Plantation

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. thomas Dunning says

      January 31, 2018 at 3:11 PM

      It would be framed and displayed over the fireplace. Personal use only.

      Reply
    2. thomas Dunning says

      January 29, 2018 at 6:44 PM

      Are these digital? What is the size of the digital image? How do I get them?

      Reply
      • SCIWAY says

        January 30, 2018 at 10:07 AM

        The images that appear on any webpage or computer are digital, these are protected from saving but we can forward the request to the photographer if you would like to use them. What would they be used for?

        Reply

    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