Hidden glory

SUMMERVILLE -- The first ribbon will be cut today on what could be a "major makeover" of the state's three-century-old Colonial Dorchester site, a gesture that would be the start of giving a historic stepchild its rightful place.

A new ranger's home will be opened in the woods down from the bluff where archaeologists are digging for the remains of one of the 17th century's "lost towns," the beginning of inland settlement of the Lowcountry. The ranger's former home, a ramshackle 1960s-era forester's house, sits on what was a lot in that town. It will be torn down piece by piece so that the patterned digs can continue beneath it.

"We want to make sure we don't disrupt what's underneath," said site archaeologist Rebekah Sease. "It was a quarter-acre lot (in the original town plan). It could possibly have held a home, and it was next to a town road. We don't know what might be there."

Once the old house is torn down and the site dug, it will be landscaped as an entrance. A small archaeology office alongside will be renovated as a provisional visitors' center that might display excavated artifacts, such as a kaolin pipe bowl with a carved lion figure and a head-turning display model of just how big Dorchester was in its 1759 heyday.

The ribbon-cutting marks a public commitment by the S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department, a tiny first step toward reworking the place to show the town it was, providing interpretive histories as to "why it played a key role in the development of South Carolina," according to a PRT tourism accountability report.

It's part of a concerted move by the parks service to show its stuff, to attract more tourists and revenue.

The ranger, site manager Ashley Chapman, has lived in the former ranger's house for nine years. It is the only home his 10-year-old son, Gus, has ever known. You'd think Chapman might feel a little bit reluctant to move. Not a chance. He's an archaeologist himself.

"There are very few sites like this from the pre-Revolutionary War era. This is an entire, intact town. Imagine four or five blocks of downtown Charleston, and everyone just pulling up and leaving it -- without all the modern infrastructure, the roads, over top," Chapman said. "This is a candy store for an archaeologist."

In a Lowcountry full of history, Colonial Dorchester is as little regarded as it once was large. Less than a decade ago, the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site was run as a modest, roadside state park known as much as a place to throw Frisbees as for its ghostly bell tower ruins and imposing tabby fort on the bank of the Ashley River.

The colonial town was much bigger than most people realize, a grid of streets and houses stretching from a wharf on the river to today's Dorchester Road nearly a half-mile away. A footbridge bridge across the river connected it to the historic Ashley River Road and its plantations.

But the site has lagged behind others in the state for funding, operating on only about $100,000 per year, with a percentage of that from visitor fees, and little more than maintenance work on its structures. The new ranger's home was cleared and built with $80,000 in materials and labor contributed by Harbor Homes and the Mungo companies and about $35,000 in state money.

In contrast, Charles Towne Landing in West Ashley just completed a $19 million renovation.

Harbor Homes, a Columbia-based builder, took on the job because "this is a very important historic site, and we've got to invest in our community," said Kim O'Quinn, marketing director.

A conceptual plan for Colonial Dorchester envisions a site equal to its historic significance, with offices set on property the state owns across the river. A re-creation of the footbridge would be the only visitor entrance to the town site, where artifacts could be on exhibit, excavations could show the remains of actual homes and businesses, and re-creations could be made of town life.

That day is nowhere near; Chapman still is seeking a grant to pay for a master plan to begin the process. In February, he plans a "living history" week, including a re-enactment of a pre-Revolutionary War settlement, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the building of the tabby fort.

"We want to bring this place back alive," he said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
WHERE: 300 State Park Road, Summerville. Off Dorchester Road between Bacon's Bridge and Trolley roads.
HOURS: 9 a.m.- 6 p.m. all week.
ADMISSION: $2 adults; $1.25 South Carolina seniors; free ages 15 & younger.
MORE INFORMATION: 873-1740.

Source: S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism

Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744 or bpetersen@postandcourier.com.