Tag Archives: Lowcountry history
Do You Know Your Lowcountry? The Mosquito Fleet
For more than two centuries before refrigeration, these Black fishermen braved the winds, waves and weather to supply Charlestonians daily with fresh fish and seafood, a mainstay of local diets. The fleet’s work was hard and dangerous, requiring perseverance in the face of all kinds of weather, as memorialized in America’s first native opera, “Porgy and Bess.” So critical was their role, Revolutionary War Gen. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney donated a parcel of his waterfront property at the east end of Market Street to serve as their wharf. Believing there was safety in numbers, the boats departed, fished and returned together. Though undocumented, folklore credits one of Pinckney’s daughters with giving the fleet its nickname, as she noted one morning that the boats looked like a swarm of mosquitos coming over the horizon. photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:12
Hilton Head Fishing Co-Operative a notable piece of Lowcountry history
The phrase “life-changing” is probably over used — as well as underappreciated. Typically, when we hear this phrase, we expect to hear stories about life and death and survival and courage, and people overcoming life-threatening challenges. However, it is no exaggeration to say that all of these elements are woven into the little-known story of the Hilton Head Fishing Co-Operative, which had an enormous impact on the economy of Hilton Head Island, as well as the quality of life for many native islanders during the 1960s and ’70s. Before the co-operative, individual families relied on the waters surrounding Hilton Head as a means to sustain their way of life; it was the way families fed themselves. Looking forward to the day’s catch was no sport, because fishing provided the meals for the day. Breakfast might be shrimp and grits, lunch could be an oyster boil steamed with fresh corn from the fields, and dinner likely was rice along with the catch of the day. Interesting, well worth the read, Click here 09:05
