Archaeological Data Recovery Investigations at Edwards Plantation (38BU1), Lot 9, Old Boathouse Lane, Spring Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina

Stonemark Construction Management contracted Brockington and Associates, Inc. on behalf of the owners, Susan and Ronald Morrow, to conduct data recovery investigations at Lot 9, Old Boathouse Lane, on Spring Island, located near Beaufort, South Carolina. Lot 9 partially encloses the northern portions of archaeological site 38BU1. Site 38BU1 has been identified as the site of the eighteenth- through nineteenth-century Edwards Plantation complex. Site 38BU1 was first recorded by R.L. Stephenson in 1969. The site includes the remnants of a large tabby house and outbuildings, two slave settlements (north and south), a tabby building ruin (previously identified as a barn), and a historic landscape. Site 38BU1 is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Data recovery followed the Treatment Plan approved by the SHPO and is in compliance with the Memorandum of Agreement and the deed covenant for Lot 9, Old Boathouse Lane. The information recovered and documented in this report makes a significant contribution to the history of enslaved people who lived and worked on a Sea Island Cotton plantation in Lowcountry South Carolina and effectively mitigates adverse effects that development of Lot 9 may have on this site.