Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT YOURHANEY PLANTATION7WEATHER AND CLIMATEIn his discussion of the weather of Georgetown District, Mills only really mentions that of theseashore area since it was seen as the most pleasant and healthful part of the district. The dailylives and habits of the inhabitants of Yourhaney Plantation were greatly affected by the weatherand changing season. Planters and farmers in general were obsessed with the weather since itdirectly affected their livelihoods and there are numerous 19 th century journals that document thatobsession (see, for instance, Rosengarten 1987 and Racine 1990). Due to the fear of malaria,planters often moved from their homes around the end of May and did not return until the first weekin November. In September of 1739 Robert Pringle wrote:We have been Afflicted in this Town for these Two Months past with a greatSickness & Mortality by a Malignant Fever, which has Carried off a great manyPeople, but as the Season comes in now Pretty Cool, hope will be more healthful &that it will Please God to put a Stop to it (Edgar 1972: 135).In Georgetown District they either went to summer homes on the seashore, to retreats in the state orin other states, or even went to Europe. The most popular in state retreats for Georgetown planterswere Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Charleston, and a small community on the Pee Dee River calledPlantersville. Most frequented however were Pawleys Island and Murrells Inlet located on theseashore (Boyle 2006).It was during the absence of the planter and his family that the growing season occurred. Duringthe summer month, frequent thunderstorms accounted for about 33 percent of the year’sprecipitation, which aided in the growth of the staple and subsistence crops planted. The growingseason ended with the first frost, which is usually the end of November along the South Carolinacoast (Kovacik and Winberry 1987). The same climate that promoted the growth of staple andsubsistence crops also made its preservation problematic, as well as other provisions. Pringlewrote:Rice at this time is never so Good in Quality as in the Cold Season by Reason itGrowes Flowery & the Wevil & Worm is apt to gett into it. The Best time to Shipoff Rice here, & when it is most plenty & best in Quality, is from the Month ofNovember till the month of May, after which month is is Generally scarce, high inprice, & not Good (Edgar 1972: 391).Your Cocoa & Blubber still Remains on hand unsold, & as our hott Season nowbegins to Come in, the Blubber won’t keep, so must be Oblidg’d to expose it toPublik Venue. Pray never send any more of it (Edgar 1972: 676).Very dangerous for the South Carolina coast are hurricanes, which most commonly occur in latesummer or early fall. From 1670 to 1860 there were 10 major hurricanes to hit the South CarolinaCoast. Pawley’s Island was damaged during the hurricane of 1822, which destroyed most of theolder buildings. However the residents quickly built new houses on their property (Boyle 2006).David Doar commented that,