Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
Cemetery and ruins of the St. George Bell Tower
Nearest city	Summerville, SC
Coordinates	32°56′58″N 80°10′19″W / 32.9495°N 80.1719°W / 32.9495; -80.1719Coordinates: 32°56′58″N 80°10′19″W / 32.9495°N 80.1719°W / 32.9495; -80.1719
Area	325 acres (1 km2)
Open	1960

Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site sits along the Ashley River, near the town of Summerville in Dorchester County, South Carolina. In 1969, the site was donated to the South Carolina State Park Service and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 2, 1969. Currently the site of a 325-acre park, Old Dorchester State Park offers visitors a glimpse into South Carolina's Colonial past. The park boasts one of the most well-preserved oyster-shell tabby forts in the country, St. George's Bell Tower, log shipping wharves, burial sites and cemeteries, as well as on-going archaeological digs that are still unearthing the settlement's history.

The historic site is situated on the Ashley River where the town of Dorchester once stood. The site of the town of Dorchester is on a neck of land between the Ashley River and Dorchester Creek, originally known as Boshoe Creek.

In 1675, John and Mary Smith came to Carolina from England. On November 20, 1676 the Earl of Shaftsbury granted 1,800 acres of land to John Smith, which included the future Dorchester site. John Smith's land grant was situated on Boshoe Creek, in Boshoe Swamp; subsequently, he became known as "John Smith of Boo-shoo." In December 1682, John Smith died and his widow married Arthur Middleton, and when he died in 1684, she married Ralph Izard. Because John Smith had no children, his land grant lapsed after he died and ownership of the land went to the state.

In January 1696, small group of settlers from the township of Dorchester, Massachusetts acquired 4,050 acres, including the 1,800 acres along the Boshoe Creek and Ashley River. After receiving permission from the Dorchester church of Massachusetts, Reverend Joseph Lord and his Congregationalist parishioners, considering themselves missionaries and ready to "settle the gospel, " ventured to Carolina to settle this land. On Sunday, January 26, 1696, the Reverend Lord preached his first sermon at the place selected for the church building. The new settlers quickly began planning and building the town's first church, which was eventually known as St. George's Anglican Church, or the Parish Church of St. George. After the church was established, the town of Dorchester quickly developed and more settlers came from Massachusetts.