By VICKI BROWN
The first settlement of Colleton County called Willtown, and once located on the Edisto River near Jacksonboro, is now under permanent protection and part of the ACE Basin.
On May 7, 2021, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) announced the permanent protection of Charleston County’s third-largest undeveloped property through a conservation easement. The 2,101-acre Willtown Tract shares more than one mile of its border with the ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge and contributes to a 29-mile contiguous corridor of natural habitats for wildlife.
According to Jennifer Howard, spokesperson for TNC, “A conservation easement like the one now protecting Willtown keeps a property in private ownership, promoting conservation values, by limiting its future development. In this case, the easement held by TNC restricts the number of times the property can be divided for home lots and supports agricultural, forestry, and recreational uses,” said Howard.
“Willtown is a very large property, but the impact of its protection is even larger,” says Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director, TNC, South Carolina. “The forested land will help filter and clean the water that drains from Willtown into the Edisto River and eventually the ecologically rich St. Helena Sound. And by keeping that forest working, as the conservation easement allows, will support local jobs and South Carolina’s timber industry.”
Willtown is located near the Ashepoo/Combahee/Edisto river basin, and is one of the largest undeveloped wetland ecosystems on the Atlantic Coast. It sits between the federal refuge and private land and adds to the 300,000 acres of land protection on the South Edisto River, about 30 miles from Charleston and a few miles from Jacksonboro. The site is accessible by road from Highway 17 South, and then by paved road at Parker’s Ferry; this paved road ends at a dirt road which is remnant of the old Willtown road.
In 1682 Willtown, or Willton, was first named New London by the Lords Proprietors and renamed Willtown in 1708. There were at that time boat docks, small shops, two churches and 80 families.
Willtown was a fort during the Yemassee War in 1715, and protected settlers which primarily consisted of religious dissenters. It supported the Indian trade and was a popular stop for traders between Savannah, St. Helena, Beaufort and Charleston. In the 1720s a church, court, a school and stores were in operation.
In the Civil War, Col. Thomas Higginson of the First Colored Infantry and Col. H.K. Aikin, Sixth Cavalry Commanding Second Military District Headquarters, Adams Run, sailed up the Edisto River with 250 men on the Enoch Dean and the Union forces took possession of Willtown bluff.
Later, the town was destroyed, abandoned and land parceled out and purchased. But remnants still exist on the Willtown Plantation and Willtown Bluff, namely a grist mill chimney and a column from the church.
The ACE Basin Task Force has worked hard for land protection and management of historical acreage and critical habitats. For example, red cockaded woodpeckers did not exist in the ACE Basin when the Task Force was established but since have been successfully re-introduced. The basin is home to many rare plants and animals, migrating birds and wading birds.
Willtown Tract was identified as a high priority by and received funding from the South Carolina Conservation Bank and the Charleston Greenbelt Grant Program. Additional funding was provided by TNC and the ACE Basin Task Force. The remaining easement value was donated by the landowner.
“Willtown is an incredible success story, not only because of the special nature of the property, but also because of the breadth of partnerships – a private landowner and conservation non-profit ensuring permanent protection of critical habitats by leveraging both local and state funding,” remarked Raleigh West, executive director of the South Carolina Conservation Bank. “Ultimately, the future of our special places is in the hands of those willing to work together.”
