Charleston-Savannah Trail

United States   Migration    Trails and Roads    Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path

The Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path (also known as part of the King's Highway) connected the South Carolina colonial town of Charleston with the colonial Georgia town of Savannah on the Savannah River in what is now Chatham County. Charleston was the largest European settlement in South Carolina, its capital, on the King's Highway, and the start of several other trails. Savannah was the earliest, the largest, and the original capital city of Georgia, established in 1733. Several other trails eventually radiated out from Savannah. The Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path was probably opened to European settlers in the late 1730s. It began in Charleston County, South Carolina and ended in Chatham County, Georgia. The length of the trail was about 120 miles (193 km).

Historical Background
Charleston was founded in 1670 by English and African immigrants from the Caribbean island of Barbados. Savannah was established in 1733 by colonists directly from England, and a few months later Sephardic Jews. Because of swamps, rivers, and forests there was probably a delay of a few years before a trail between the two colonies was constructed. The Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path served as an extension of the King's Highway. Later in 1856 a railroad was built between the towns which played a significant role in the Civil War.

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Route
The first European colonists settled in counties along this trail (north to south) as follows:


 * Charleston County, South Carolina 1670 by English and African Barbadians
 * Colleton County, South Carolina 1682 by English, French Huguenots
 * Beaufort County, South Carolina 1686 by Scots Highlanders
 * Jasper County, South Carolina 1732 by Swiss/Palatines, French Huguenots
 * Chatham County, Georgia 1733 by English

Connecting trails. The Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path links to other trails at each end. The migration pathways connecting in Charleston, South Carolina included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean 1670
 * King's Highway about 1704
 * Fort Moore-Charleston Trail about 1716
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path late 1730s
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765
 * Secondary Coast Road

The migration routes connecting in Savannah, Georgia included:


 * Savannah River pre-historic
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path late 1730s
 * Augusta-Savannah Trail 1739
 * Savannah-St. Augustine Trail 1740s

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the old Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path start in Charleston. Drive west on US-17 South to I-95. Merge onto I-95 South/Jasper Highway to just past Hardeeville. Take Exit 5 onto US-17 South to Savannah.

Settlers and Records
The first colonists in each county along what became the Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path arrived before the trail existed, usually by way of the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, some of the new arrivals and settlers after the late 1730s may have used the Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path and even the King's Highway.

No complete list of settlers who used the Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived after the late 1730s and who were candidates to have traveled the Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path from the Charleston, or the Savannah areas.

For partial lists of early settlers who may  have used the Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path, see histories like:

in Charleston County, SC:


 * Thomas Petigru Lesesne, History of Charleston County, South Carolina: Narrative and Biographical (Charleston, South Carolina : A.H. Cawston, c1931) WorldCat entry.

in Colleton County, SC:


 * "Colleton County, South Carolina Early History" in Colleton County SCGenWeb at http://www.oldplaces.org/colleton/colhistory.html (accessed 27 March 2011).
 * Evelyn McDaniel Frazier Bryan, Colleton County, S.C.: a History of the First 160 Years, 1670-1830 (Jacksonville, Florida : Florentine Press, 1993) WorldCat entry.

in Beaufort County, SC:


 * Lawrence S. Rowland, Alexander Moore, and George C. Rogers, Jr., The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina : University of S.C., c1996) WorldCat entry.

in Jasper County, SC:



in Chatham County, GA:


 * Mary Granger, ed., Savannah River Plantations (Spartanburg, South Carolina : Reprint Co., 1972) WorldCat entry.
 * Elizabeth Carpenter Piechocinski, Once upon an Island : the Barrier and Marsh Islands of Chatham County, Georgia (Savannah, Georgia : Oglethorep Press, c2003) WorldCat entry.