Hidden in Plain Sight

Conservation uncovers history, culture, and healing

Beek Webb and his wife, Kathy, have lived on Coosaw Island for over 40 years. Long-time outdoors people, they love the waters and wildlife that surround them.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, they found themselves spending even more time walking and exploring the island’s diverse landscapes and stunning views. That’s how they came across something completely unexpected.

On one of their morning walks, Beek and Kathy noticed some interesting features in the marsh that did not look natural.

Beek’s curiosity was piqued. When he got home, he began a long and winding process of investigation.

After many site visits with experts and more research, it was determined that the Webbs had stumbled upon a piece of untold history. The beauty of the marsh they walked every morning held more than the deer, egrets, herons, and wood storks; it held a piece of the Lowcountry’s past.

Unexpected, but not unexplained

Hidden in plain sight were rows upon rows of former cotton beds and supporting dykes, created by enslaved labor to cultivate Sea Island Cotton. The Sea Island Cotton industry was one of the most important economic forces in South Carolina from the late 1700s until the Civil War. Few remaining sites are known to exist—and this is one of them. Until now, almost no one knew these fields existed.

Over the past three years, the Open Land Trust has worked with three local families to purchase multiple parcels of land totaling roughly 120 acres to conserve these rare, former cotton fields.

As a result, the cotton fields and the adjacent lands surrounding them are protected from future development and will be conserved for wildlife and as a historic landscape. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Heritage Trust Program has partnered with the Open Land Trust and will eventually take ownership as part of the Heritage Trust Program. Public access and educational information is planned as part of this conservation strategy.

This important conservation project protects not only the rural character and wildlife habitat of Coosaw Island but also the history of our region. The land holds stories, difficult stories of human suffering and perseverance that need to be told. These stories can be better understood now that the land is protected.

As Beek puts it, “It is amazing to think what we can find if we slow down and pay attention. It also makes you wonder how much of our history may have been lost.”

But not all is lost.

Looking back, looking forward

Queen Quet, Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation whose ancestors lived on Coosaw Island, shares, “I look forward to sharing the history and legacy of native Gullah/Geechees from Coosaw, including the stories and voices of my family members.” She notes that “conserving these spaces will allow future generations of people to be able to step back in time and see and feel these historic places in a natural state.”

Other residents expressed similar feelings and appreciation for conserving the island’s sometimes hidden past. “I’m so happy the land is protected. I have lived on Coosaw Island since 1981 and my wife’s family is from Coosaw Island and we never knew this was here,” Reverend Isaiah Smalls says of the project.

As a land trust, we know this land and other places on the Island hold stories that have yet to be told. That’s one of the reasons we look forward to working with other community members going forward.

These stories are hard to find and even more difficult to comprehend. Yet Queen Quet has hope, reflecting “This will open the space for all of us to walk through together, and God willing, we will all come out healed.”

Protecting this land will ensure that these stories will be told for generations.