COLONIAL DORCHESTER
STATE HISTORIC SITE
300 State Park Road
Summerville, SC 29485
(843) 873-1740
that put color into the picture of life in colonial South Carolina. Colonial Dorchester
is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Colonial Dorchester
We invite you and your students to visit
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site and
participate in an educational program.
Colonial Dorchester preserves and interprets the archaeological site of a village
founded in 1697. For nearly one hundred years Dorchester prospered as an
inland trade center. Several generations
of South Carolinians, free and slave, lived
and worked in the homes and shops that
lined Dorchester’s streets. Evidence of the
affluence of the village can still be seen
today. A fort built during the French and
Indian War stands guard over the Ashley
River and is the best-preserved example of
tabby fort construction in the nation. The
brick bell tower of St. George’s Anglican
Church looms over the graveyard in what
was once the center of the village. Beneath
the surface lie remains of the village in an
archaeological record that spans much of
South Carolina’s early history. Today archaeologists are examining that rich record
and historians are delving into documents
Directions
From I-26: Take exit 199-A. Travel 3 miles
on U.S. 17 through downtown Summerville
to S.C. 165. Turn left onto Highway 165/
East Carolina Avenue. Stay in right lane
and travel .5 miles, veer right and continue
on S.C. 165/Bacons Bridge Road. Travel
2.5 miles to S.C. 642/Dorchester Road.
Travel 2 miles and the park entrance will be
on the right.
Reservations and Program Information
For reservations, contact:
Park Interpreter
Phone: (843) 873-1740
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Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Content Area:
History
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Grade Level:
7-8
Time to Complete:
1 to 1.5 hours
Title of Program:
A Town at the Edge of the Atlantic World:
Colonial Dorchester
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Grade 7: Contemporary Cultures: 1600 to
the Present
Standard
7.1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the colonial
expansion of European powers and
their impact on world government
in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
Indicators
7-1.1: Use a map or series of maps
to identify the colonial expansion
of European powers in Africa, Asia,
Oceania and the Americas through
1770.
7-1.3: Compare how European
nations exercised political and economic influence differently in the
Americas, including trading-post
empires, plantation colonies, and
settler colonies.
120
7-1.6 Explain the emergence of
capitalism, including the significance of mercantilism, a developing
market economy, and expanding
international trade, and the rise of a
middle class.
Grade 8: South Carolina: One of the
United States
Standard
8-1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the settlement
of South Carolina and the United
States by Native Americans, Europeans and Africans.
Indicators
8-1.3: Summarize the history of
European settlement in Carolina
from the first attempts to settle at
San Miguel de Gualdape, Charlesfort, San Felipe, and Albemarle
Point to the time of South Carolina’s
establishment as an economically
important British colony, including
the diverse origins of the settlers, the
early government, the importance
of the plantation system and slavery,
and the impact of the natural environment on the development of the
colony.
8-1.4: Explain the growth of the
African American population during
the colonial period and the significance of African Americans in the
developing culture (e.g. Gullah) and
economy of South Carolina, including the origins of African Americans
slaves, the growth of the slave trade,
the impact of population imbalance between African and European
Americans, and the Stono Rebellion
and subsequent laws to control the
slave population.
8-1.6: Explain how South Carolinians used natural, human, and
political resources to gain economic
prosperity, including trade with
Barbados, rice planting, Eliza Lucas
Pinckney and indigo planting, the
slave trade, and the practice of mercantilism.
Students will analyze archaeological and
historical records of selected lots at Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. Students
will complete a series of lot-specific guided
activities that are based on the pre-site activities. These activities will deepen student
understanding of colonial South Carolina
history and South Carolina’s place in the
Atlantic World.
Materials/Resources
In addition to the textbook, teachers may
consider using any or all of the following
materials as additional reading and source
materials.
Unesco’s African Passages: The Ashley River
Corridor – Charleston, South Carolina.
http://www.cofc.edu/unescoafricanpassages/
The Atlantic Slave Trade and Slave Life in
the Americas: A Visual Record.
http://hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/index.php
Archiving Early America: Primary Source
Material from 18th century America.
http://www.earlyamerica.com/.
Howard Dodson. “How Slavery Helped
Build a World Economy. National Geographic News.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/
news/2003/01/0131_030203_jubilee2.
World History Sources: Unpacking Evidence.
http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/
whmunpacking.html.
Walter Edgar. South Carolina: A History.
Columbia: University of South Carolina,
1998.
Robert M. Weir. Colonial South Carolina:
A History. Columbia: University of South
Carolina, 1997.
Daniel Ray Sigmon. Dorchester, St.
George’s Parish, South Carolina: The Rise
and Fall of a Colonial Frontier Village.
Thesis (M.A.), University of South Carolina,
1992.
Dorchester Town Map, 1742. Collections,
SC Department of Archives and History.
Teacher Preparation
• Review Rules of Conduct with your students
• Read/Review “Teacher Background”
• Complete pre-site activities with students
Teacher Background
These activities will prepare the students for
the fieldtrip to Colonial Dorchester State
Historic Site through research of colonial
South Carolina’s place in the 17th and
18th century Atlantic World.
For information on Colonial Dorchester
State Historic Site, please read:
Transcripts: Colonial Dorchester.
http://www.teachingushistory.org/qt-dor/
dorchester-transcript.htm.
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Program Description
html.
Historical Concepts/Background/Focus
Questions
I. Introduce and review with the students the
following concepts.
• Plantation and Settler colonies
• Mercantilism
121
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Triangular Trade
Atlantic World
Cash crops and subsistence crops
Rice production
Task system (slavery)
Reformation
Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther, John Calvin); English Reformation (Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Anglican
Church), Puritanism, Congregationalism, Huguenots
2. Introduce and review with the students
the following focus questions.
• How did the arrival of African slaves
impact the economic, social, cultural, and political development of the
European colonies in the Americas?
• What was the role of South Carolina
in the British colonial empire of the
17th and 18th centuries?
• What was the role of Dorchester in
the economy of colonial South Carolina?
• How did the population of Dorchester interact with other settlements in
colonial South Carolina, and with
the wider Atlantic World?
• How do archeological records and
primary sources reveal the history of
a colonial settlement?
Procedures
1. Preparation:
Begin by asking students to review and
discuss the causes of European expansion in the early sixteenth century.
Gold, God, and Glory
Imperial rivalries
Mercantilism
Can they explain why the British began
the process of exploration and settlement of North America in the late 16th
and early 17th centuries?
British/Spanish, and British/French
rivalries
Mercantilism
122
Do they know the political and economic structure of the early South Carolina
society?
Plantation colony;
Lord Proprietors
Production of cash crops and trade
with Native Americans
Can they identify the most important
export products of South Carolina in the
17th century?
Deerskins
Wood products (firewood, boards,
naval stores)
Indian Slaves
Discuss the answers and make sure that the
students take correct and detailed notes.
Introduce and review key concepts: the Columbian Exchange, the Atlantic World, the
Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, Plantation and
Settler economies.
Review and discuss the differences between
the work of historians and archaeologists,
review and discuss the different types of
primary sources, and review the differences
between primary and secondary sources.
2. Projects:
Have each student prepare a short
presentation, or complete the attached
charts and maps, based on their reading of textbooks and other resources
that:
Trace the political and economic
linkages between South Carolina,
the West Indies, Europe, and Africa on a map. [For historic Atlantic
World maps, refer to materials/resources links.]
Summarize their knowledge of the
Atlantic Slave Trade and the British
colonial system
Summarize their findings regarding different types of historical and
archaeological evidence in the attached table [Middle School Pre-site
World History Sources]
3. Conclusion:
Based on the preparation and the projects, students should be able to answer
the focus questions.
On-site Activity
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
123
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
World History Sources
124
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European Spheres of Influence, 1754
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Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
125
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
The Atlantic World
126
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Content Area:
History
Time to Complete:
1 to 1.5 hours
Title of Program:
A Town at the Edge of the Atlantic World:
Colonial Dorchester
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Grade 7: Contemporary Cultures: 1600 to
the Present
Standard
7.1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the colonial
expansion of European powers and
their impact on world government
in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
Indicators
7-1.1: Use a map or series of maps
to identify the colonial expansion
of European powers in Africa, Asia,
Oceania and the Americas through
1770.
7-1.3: Compare how European
nations exercised political and economic influence differently in the
Americas, including trading-post
empires, plantation colonies, and
settler colonies.
Grade 8: South Carolina: One of the
United States
Standard
8-1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the settlement
of South Carolina and the United
States by Native Americans, Europeans and Africans.
Indicators
8-1.3: Summarize the history of
European settlement in Carolina
from the first attempts to settle at
San Miguel de Gualdape, Charlesfort, San Felipe, and Albemarle
Point to the time of South Carolina’s
establishment as an economically
important British colony, including
the diverse origins of the settlers, the
early government, the importance
of the plantation system and slavery,
and the impact of the natural environment on the development of the
colony.
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Grade Level:
7-8
7-1.6: Explain the emergence of
capitalism, including the significance of mercantilism, a developing
market economy, and expanding
international trade, and the rise of a
middle class.
8-1.4: Explain the growth of the
African American population during
the colonial period and the significance of African Americans in the
developing culture (e.g. Gullah) and
economy of South Carolina, including the origins of African Americans
slaves, the growth of the slave trade,
the impact of population imbalance between African and European
Americans, and the Stono Rebellion
127
and subsequent laws to control the
slave population.
8-1.6: Explain how South Carolinians used natural, human, and
political resources to gain economic
prosperity, including trade with
Barbados, rice planting, Eliza Lucas
Pinckney and indigo planting, the
slave trade, and the practice of mercantilism.
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Program Description
Students will analyze archaeological and
historical records of selected lots at Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. Students
will complete a series of lot-specific guided
activities that are based on the pre-site activities. These activities will deepen student
understanding of colonial South Carolina
history and South Carolina’s place in the
Atlantic World.
Objectives
Students will be able to connect the themes
of the pre-site activity – South Carolina’s
place in the Atlantic World and the political,
economic, social, and cultural basis of European colonization of the Americas – with
a specific historic site: the colonial town of
Dorchester.
Focus Questions
1. How did the arrival of African slaves impact the economic, social, cultural, and
political development of the European
colonies in the Americas?
2. Why have historians chosen the term
Atlantic World to define the system of
economic, social, political, and cultural
exchanges that arose in the 16th and
17th centuries between Europe, Africa,
and the Americas?
3. What was the role of South Carolina in
the British colonial empire of the 17th
and 18th centuries?
4. Who were the people who lived at
Dorchester in the 17th and 18th centu128
ries?
5. What was the role of Dorchester in the
economy of colonial South Carolina?
6. How did the population of Dorchester
interact with other settlements in colonial South Carolina, and with the wider
Atlantic World?
7. How do archeological records and
primary sources reveal the history of a
colonial settlement?
Materials/Resources/Equipment
• Archaeological resource kits, two per
lot, that include archeological records
and primary sources
• Historical Records Charts and Archaeological Records Chart
• Dorchester Town Map, Courtesy SC Department of Archives and History
Procedures
1. Introduction and Welcome
a. Safety issues
b. Divide into groups if necessary
c. Ranger-led orientation to Colonial
Dorchester
2. Ranger-led introduction to the interpretation of archaeological evidence
3. Colonial Dorchester
a. In collaborative pairs or groups the
students will explore one of the surveyed lots at Colonial Dorchester
b. Students receive the resource kit,
including archeological records and
primary sources;
c. Students will receive the Lot Report
d. Students will complete the analysis
the archaeological field kit, and will
complete Lot Report
e. Groups will share the results of their
work (the Lot Report, the Historical
Records Chart, and the Archaeological Evidence Chart with each
other, with their teacher, and with the
ranger
4. Post-Site Activity
1742 Town Map
Map courtesy of SC Department of Archives and History
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
129
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Middle School Report - Solve the Puzzle
130
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Middle School Historical Records Chart Lot 15 COPEY!
M
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
131
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Middle School Historical Records Chart
Lot 10 & 11 (page 1 of 3)
132
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Middle School Historical Records Chart
Lot 10 & 11 (page 2 of 3)
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
133
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Middle School Historical Records Chart
Lot 10 & 11 (page 3 of 3)
134
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John Joor Inventory (page 1 of 3)
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
135
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
John Joor Inventory (page 2 of 3)
136
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John Joor Inventory (page 3 of 3)
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
137
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Ad for Sale of Property (page 1 of 2)
138
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Ad for Sale of Property (page 2 of 2)
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
139
Colonial Dorchester: Post-Site
Colonial Dorchester: Post-Site
Content Area:
History
Grade Level:
7-8
Time to Complete:
1 to 1.5 hours
Title of Program:
A Town at the Edge of the Atlantic World:
Colonial Dorchester
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Grade 7: Contemporary Cultures: 1600 to
the Present
Standard
7.1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the colonial
expansion of European powers and
their impact on world government
in the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
Indicators
7-1.1: Use a map or series of maps
to identify the colonial expansion
of European powers in Africa, Asia,
Oceania and the Americas through
1770.
7-1.3: Compare how European
nations exercised political and economic influence differently in the
Americas, including trading-post
empires, plantation colonies, and
settler colonies.
140
7-1.6: Explain the emergence of
capitalism, including the significance of mercantilism, a developing
market economy, and expanding
international trade, and the rise of a
middle class.
Grade 8: South Carolina: One of the
United States
Standard
8-1: The student will demonstrate
an understanding of the settlement
of South Carolina and the United
States by Native Americans, Europeans and Africans.
Indicators
8-1.3: Summarize the history of
European settlement in Carolina
from the first attempts to settle at
San Miguel de Gualdape, Charlesfort, San Felipe, and Albemarle
Point to the time of South Carolina’s
establishment as an economically
important British colony, including
the diverse origins of the settlers, the
early government, the importance
of the plantation system and slavery,
and the impact of the natural environment on the development of the
colony.
8-1.4: Explain the growth of the
African American population during
the colonial period and the significance of African Americans in the
developing culture (e.g. Gullah) and
economy of South Carolina, including the origins of African Americans
slaves, the growth of the slave trade,
the impact of population imbalance between African and European
Americans, and the Stono Rebellion
and subsequent laws to control the
slave population.
8-1.6: Explain how South Carolinians used natural, human, and
political resources to gain economic
prosperity, including trade with
Barbados, rice planting, Eliza Lucas
Pinckney and indigo planting, the
slave trade, and the practice of mercantilism.
Program Description
This lesson is designed to reinforce the material covered in the program and for the
teacher to assess the work completed by the
students.
Focus Questions
1. How did the arrival of African slaves impact the economic, social, cultural, and
political development of the European
colonies in the Americas?
2. Why have historians chosen the term
Atlantic World to define the system of
economic, social, political, and cultural
exchanges that arose in the 16th and
17th centuries between Europe, Africa,
and the Americas?
3. What was the role of South Carolina in
the British colonial empire of the 17th
and 18th centuries?
4. Who were the people who lived at
Dorchester in the 17th and 18th centuries?
5. What was the role of Dorchester in the
economy of colonial South Carolina?
6. How did the population of Dorchester
interact with other settlements in colonial South Carolina, and with the wider
Atlantic World?
7. How do archeological records and
primary sources reveal the history of a
colonial settlement?
Activity 2
Have individual students summarize and
combine the material and resources from
the pre-site and on-site activities in a written report. The report should provide
answers to the Focus Questions, and should
use ample evidence from the on-site activities in support of the arguments.
Colonial Dorchester: Post-Site
Activity 1
Have groups of students combine the material and resources from the pre-site and onsite activities in a PowerPoint presentation.
The presentation should provide answers to
the Focus Question, and should use ample
evidence from the on-site activities in support of the arguments.
Materials/Resources/Equipment
Computer (Word Processing/PowerPoint);
worksheet
141