Archaeological Investigations at Yourhaney Plantation (38GE18)

20A few Waccamaws were still in the area in the 1730s according to some records (Milling 1969:227) and in April 1733, Rangers on the Northern Frontier were ordered to “Observe the behaviorof the Pedee and Waccamaw Indians” (Journal of the Council, April, 18, 1733). Mooney (1894:77) believes that the Waccamaw were finally incorporated with the Catawba. The Barnwell-Hammerton map shows the area circa 1721 (Figure 4). Neither the Waccamaws nor Winyahsettlements are shown. However, the map does show the location of the Sarrau and Pedeavillages.The reasons for the war with the Waccamaws are unclear, but issues probably included “unrestgenerated by the Cheraw, who continuously encouraged dissent among other Indians, and thegrowing presence of Europeans and their impact on the lives of the indigenous people” (Michie1993: 12). Members of the other tribes in the area, namely the Pedea and the Wineas, also losttheir separate identity and had completely assimilated into colonial society by 1755 (Michie 1993:14).During the two years in which the Indian trade on the Black and Pee Dee rivers was recorded, over6,000 deerskins were transported to Charles Town. If the trade continued through 1720, thatamount may have doubled (Rogers 1970: 14-15).Along with the deerskin trade, cattle ranching was also an early financial pursuit of the colonists,since it required little capital or labor other than an initial investment in stock and perhaps a slaveor two. Hogs were also raised. Well into the 18 th century meat products ranked fourth amongSouth Carolina’s exports, behind rice, deerskins, and indigo. However, by the middle of the 18 thcentury ranching was no longer profitable. In 1758 a Charleston merchant reported to the RoyalSociety for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce: “Labour Comes very High &Dear, which makes the Planters on Apply Themselves to the Planting and Raising thoseCommodities that will bring Them in a Certain and present Advantage & Profitt. The planting ofRice, Indigo, & c. Answers to Afford the Value of High Labour” (Edgar 1998: 139).The South Carolina colonists also depended on naval stores. This pursuit, in fact, replaced theIndian trade as the colonists’ primary livelihood in the 1720s in the Pee Dee area. In 1733 exportsfrom Georgetown included 7,361 barrels of pitch, 1,092 barrels of tar, and 1,026 barrels ofturpentine (Bridwell 1982: 12; Rogers 1970: 14-15; 46-47). Shipbuilding was also an importantindustry that began to flourish by the 1740s. However, by the mid 1750s the industry began todecline and was replaced by other enterprises (Bridwell 1982: 14-16).Indigo was one the earliest major crops of the area, but it lasted less than 50 years. Productionpeaked from 1754-1760 and the crop grew well along the Pee Dee, Black, and lower Waccamawrivers. In 1753 the Winyah Indigo Society was officially organized and Thomas Lynch, Sr. servedas their first president. With the loss of the bounty on the crop during the American Revolution, itwas no longer profitable to grow indigo and production came to a near stand still. Although someeffort was made to cultivate it after the war, it disappeared as a staple crop by the 1790s. Withthe indigo industry on the verge of collapse by 1796, many planters embraced cotton as their cashcrop. Both long and short staple cotton grew well on former indigo lands (Sharrer 1971).Early white settlers of Georgetown County were initially drawn to the Waccamaw Neck area ofWinyah Bay to trade with the Indians.