Edisto Beach State Park
PARK PROGRAMS
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...Not our animals! Join us as we feed the aquarium animals.
Edisto Beach State Park
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Experience our coastal critters close-up! Come interact with our touch-tank animals while being guided by a naturalist.
Edisto Beach State Park
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In 1670, the first English settlers arrived in Carolina. What was it like during the first ten years of the fledgling colony? What challenges, hardships, failures and successes did they experience? Who were the key figures and what were their roles? And did they accomplish what they set out to do?
Through a variety of program offerings, including costumed demonstrations, hands-on activities, ranger walks, PowerPoint presentations and more, park rangers will delve into the many fascinating aspects of the foundational years of Charles Towne. Program topics and activities will vary and may change due to weather.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Before cotton was king and rice reigned supreme, South Carolina colonists struggled to find a cash crop that would provide them with a life of luxury. Colonists experimented with a variety of plants for both produce and profit. Join us at Charles Town Landing for “From Seeds to Shillings: Growing Wealth at Charles Towne”. See costumed interpreters working in the crop garden and ask them what they are growing. Learn how colonial crops were used as medicines, fragrances, and dyes. Talk to the apothecary about health and healing. Experience colonial colors and fragrances as you participate in indigo dying and in making your own sweetbag, a colonial form of perfume. Visit the communal lodging house to see what’s on the menu and watch how an indentured servant would have cooked meals over an open hearth.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Be a part of this state and nationwide effort to rid our beaches and rivers of aquatic pollution. Join us as we clean up the beach at the park. Groups and individuals are needed to clean up and collect data. Bring gloves, protective shoes and sunblock.
Edisto Beach State Park
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During the early years of the settlement, the Charles Towne colonists faced several threats, especially from their primary enemy and colonial rival, the Spanish. The Spanish fleet at St. Augustine, Florida was within three days travel of the fledgling English colony. Charles Towne, "here settled in the very chaps of the Spaniard," was a direct challenge to the claim of this disputed land.
Following a review of Charles Towne's fortifications and defenses, the program will culminate with the Charles Towne Militia living history team's demonstration of 17th century artillery.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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The indigo has been grown, the dye has been fermented, and it’s your turn to color the colony indigo-blue. Join us to learn about the history of the plant and dye in South Carolina, then participate in dyeing your own cloth. T-shirts and bandanas for dyeing can be purchased in the gift shop, or you can bring your own from home. Gloves are provided, but you might want to wear clothes you don't mind getting stained with indigo dye.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Dig into history at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Discover how archaeologists see beyond written records and learn about past cultures based on artifacts left behind. Visit us for “Piecing Together the Past with Archaeology” for a first hand look at Charles Towne Landing’s archaeological resources. Meet Charles Towne Landing’s archaeologists and tour dig sites where Native American and colonial finds have been unearthed. Try your own archaeology skills in hands-on programs and learn how flint was used as a weapon, tool, and fire starter. Join us to discover the science of archaeology and the history revealed below the surface.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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The days are getting shorter and colder. The hardwoods are shedding their leaves and the growing season has reached its end. Will Charles Towne survive through the winter? Will there be enough food and resources? Come and see for yourself.
This living history event will not only showcase some of the professional trades that helped support the fledgling colony, but will also focus on other daily-life chores and activities that were essential to the survival and success of Charles Towne.
Visitors will get a sense of what life was like in the early settlement as they interact with costumed interpreters and craftspeople at stations inside the fortified area. Experiences will include colonial foodways, deerskin processing, land surveying, black powder demonstrations, indigo dyeing, cloth weaving, and pottery making.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Broken bowls, bone tools and glass beads… These are types of Native American artifacts that archaeologists routinely find at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site.
Such artifacts are tangible links to the Native cultures who once occupied this area. When the English arrived in 1670, they brought manufactured trade goods, such as glass beads and hatchets, that signaled a change in the traditional lifeways of local Native American groups, like the Kiawah.
Come participate in a Native American crafts programs where you can make your own clay pot or trade bead necklace. Pre-registration is advised as space is limited.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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December is a month full of traditions, celebrations, and family gatherings. Come to Charles Towne Landing during the month of December and imagine the English colonists’ first Christmas in the New World. Speak with costumed interpreters in the indentured servants’ quarters to learn about traditional English customs and how those may have been modified in the new colony. Visit the Native American Ceremonial center to listen to Native American drumming and hear about the spiritual traditions of the Kiawah. Listen to stories of some of South Carolina’s first African-Americans and the traditions that they brought to Carolina, helping to shape Charles Towne’s culture.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Before the colonists settled Carolina, several adventurers had explored the coast in search of a suitable settlement site. On these voyages the explorers sent back glowing accounts of the beauty and bounty of what would become Carolina. Join us for our January Festival “Staking a Claim: Exploration and Discovery in the New World” and walk in the footsteps of the first South Carolinians. Embrace your adventurous spirit as you learn the skills of nautical navigation and embark on an orienteering course. Learn how land disputes between European countries posed a threat to colonists and how individual land disputes made the surveyor’s occupation a high pressure job. Leave your world behind and explore the past at Charles Towne Landing.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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Travel back in time at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site and help us celebrate “the birth of South Carolina” at our annual Founders’ Day Festival.
Living history staff will bring to life the site’s fascinating history through a variety of programs and activities. Several groups of seventeenth-century re-enactors will interact with visitors in authentic encampments located within the reconstructed palisade wall that protected Charles Towne in the 1670s.
Demonstrations will include the firing of blackpowder cannons and muskets, as well as cooking and other daily chores crucial to the colony's survival. Site archaeologists will be available at current excavations to show visitors what they are uncovering in the fortified area.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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A reproduction 17th-century trading vessel, Adventure II, is once-again docked at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site. Come join us in May, board the ketch, and learn about all things Nautical. Visit with costumed interpreters to hear about the colonists’ stormy passage to Carolina, learn about the trade networks that helped to sustain the Carolina colony, and step into the shoes of a sailor as you try your hand at navigation and other sailing skills. Take a peek at our new wharf and shipbuilding exhibit.
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
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 Edisto Island
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