“A” is for Ashley River

“A” is for Ashley River. Emerging from the Wassamasaw and Cypress Swamps in Berkeley and Dorchester Counties, the Ashley River runs only about sixty miles before flowing into Charleston harbor. Despite its short length, the river transitions through three separate types of riverine ecosystems: a blackwater stream, a freshwater tidal river, and a saltwater tidal river, each producing extensive and different types of wetlands. The colony’s first English settlement was established at Albemarle Point in 1670. For two centuries rice production gave rise to celebrated plantations: Drayton Hall, Magnolia, and Middleton Place. During the post-Civil War era phosphate was mined extensively from land on both sides of the Ashley. Mile for mile, the Ashley River is unrivaled in the Southeast, if not the nation, for its history, its diverse habitats, and its location in a major city.