The site's advantageous location helped the town thrive - nearby roads led to Charleston and to the interior of the colony and the Ashley River provided a convenient highway for the shipment of goods and produce.
Trade with Native Americans, the development of rice and indigo as cash crops and a growing population, helped secure Dorchester's economic peak in the mid 1700s.
During this time, wealthy planters, merchants and plantation owners continued to reap the benefits of this trading town, which remained relatively small through most of its hundred-year existence, and the town continued to be a bustling commercial center for trade.
A fair was established in 1723, and a Free School in 1734; by 1781 Dorchester had about 40 houses.
The site's advantageous location helped the town thrive - nearby roads led to Charleston and to the interior of the colony and the Ashley River provided a convenient highway for the shipment of goods and produce. Trade with Native Americans, the development of rice and indigo as cash crops and a growing population, helped secure Dorchester's economic peak in the mid 1700s. During this time, wealthy planters, merchants and plantation owners continued to reap the benefits of this trading town, which remained relatively small through most of its hundred-year existence, and the town continued to be a bustling commercial center for trade. A fair was established in 1723, and a Free School in 1734; by 1781 Dorchester had about 40 houses.
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site