Shem Creek, SC

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The History Behind Shem Creek, SC

In 1696, 51 new settlers arrived to the area. Each family was allotted several hundred acres in the area that became known as Christ Church parish. In 1706 the Province of Carolina withstood several attacks by the Spanish and the French and were victorious in defeating French invaders in an area known as "Abcaw".

The area of "Abcaw" was known as Hobcaw Plantation, located between Shem Creek and the Wando River. Later, it was also known as shipyard Plantation because its deep water and abundance of good timber made it ideal for a prosperous shipbuilding enterprise. Lands adjacent to Hobcaw Point were owned at different times by several different families, many of which maintained ferries which served Mount Pleasant.

In 1770 Andrew Hibben obtained a ferry charter and bought land from Jacob Motte on the south side of Shem Creek. Hibben's ferry was the first to connect Haddrell's Point with the city of Charleston.

Mount Pleasant played a leading role in the first major military engagement - and victory - of the Revolutionary War. When Charleston finally fell to the British on November 12, 1775 Cornwallis crossed the Cooper River with 2,500 troops and took possession of Haddrell's Point. The British headquarters is said to have been the home of Jacob Motte, later known as Hibben House.

The first small settlement to become a village was Greenwich. It was adjacent to Jacob Motte's "Mount Pleasant" estate and was the home plot of 100 acres belonging to Jonathon Scott. James Hibben (son of Andrew Hibben), who owned the waterfront property adjacent to Motte's, purchased "Mount Pleasant" in 1803 and divided it into 35 large lots. On December 20, 1837 the village of Greenwich was merged with Mount Pleasant and incorporated by an act of the Assembly. In 1858 the limits of the town were extended to embrace Hilliardsville, an area acquired in 1847 by Charles Jugnot and Oliver Hilliard for a picnic ground. Hilliardsville included a grove of live oaks called Hort's Grove (now known as Alhambra Park). Lucasville, a settlement on Shem Creek, was merged with Mount Pleasant in 1872. [src]