Chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, the Santee Canal was the first summit canal built in America. It was also an integral part of a growing South Carolina economy, as it connected the Santee and Cooper rivers and provided a safer, more direct route for goods to travel from the Upstate and the Midlands to the port of Charleston. Among the shareholders of the charter were several notable South Carolinians, including William Moultrie, Francis Marion, and Charles Pinckney.

The 22-mile canal operated until the 1850s, when increasing costs and competition from railroads forced the shareholders to surrender the charter. Most of the abandoned canal disappeared in the early 1940s with the creation of Lake Moultrie and Lake Marion, but sections of it can still be seen along the park’s trails. The canal was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Today, visitors can explore the history and natural beauty of the area as the park offers nearly four miles of boardwalks and trails as well as an interpretive learning center. Also located on the grounds of the park are the Berkley County Museum and the Stony Landing Plantation house, which was built in the early 1840s.

For more information, please visit the park’s website.

Many thanks to frequent contributor Ann Helms of Spartanburg, who took this picture in 2008.