History is like water. It flows from place to place, meandering through the landscape of time. Sometimes it collects in pools, never to escape, quickly forgotten. At other times it rages uncontrollably, remembered by all for its destructiveness and suffering. Yet, history is always there, lurking just under the surface, unseen but tantalizingly within reach, waiting to be revealed.

The transition of enslaved Africans to enslaved South Carolinians, to freedmen and American citizens, plays out over 400 years of history, forever entwined with the triumphs and tragedies that made South Carolina one of the great economic powers of the Atlantic World. The skills, labor, and adaptability, of the Afro-Carolinian people, formed a foundation upon which the present-day Palmetto State now rests.

Across Time and Many Waters explores various aspects of Afro-Carolinian maritime history. The journey begins with the tragedy of the transatlantic slave trade, where Africans by the thousands were brought to our shores. For some of the enslaved, water, critical to life, also became a conduit to freedom, particularly for those with experience working in the maritime trades. Following the Civil War, freedmen left Lowcountry plantations to form the backbone of the lumber and shipping industries in South Carolina!s busy ports during the economic boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Join us as we cross the waters of time to explore our rich Afro-Carolinian history. Only by parting the waves may we catch a glimpse of the past, how it shapes our perceptions today, and how we can grow from it in the future.

*Please Note – Not all of the panels for To Distant Shores: The Transatlantic Slave Trade to South Carolina, 1680-1808 could be featured due to usage rights. To view the entire exhibit, please contact Justin McIntyre (Curator/Maritime Historian) at 843-520-0111 or mcintyre.scmm@gmail.com.*

Exhibit Panels

Oral Histories