The BitterEnd The Lowcountry By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill
Photo by Captain Gator
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He referred to this area as Los Bajo, or basically low and flat; in essence, the lowcountry. As I have mentioned in other writings here in Southern Tides, Spain played a very prominent role in early settlements along the lowcountry coast, from Saint Simons, to Saint Helena. In Savannah, General James Oglethorpe played a key role in asserting the British as the dominant force to be reckoned with. A nine-foot statue erected in Chippewa Square has the notable figure facing Southward, keeping an ever-vigilant eye on Spanish incursion coming from the south. How could I close without touching on cuisine? The ol’ Gator loves to eat and for the consummate foodie, the lowcountry offers a cornucopia of flavors to entice the palate. From lowcountry boils to a treasure trove of other seafoods, to Gullah and other fare with roots in Africa, nothing says lowcountry like sitting down to a table loaded with these cultural delicacies. So take a little time to explore this magical place, from Penn Center on St. Helena Island to Pinpoint Heritage Museum near Skidaway Island, and Sapelo’s Hog Hammock. Better yet take the kids and really educate them on what lowcountry truly means. I'll see you on the water — be safe out there!
hat’s the first thing that goes through your mind when you hear the term lowcountry? It seems the lowcountry means many things to many people. For some, it’s pretty straight forward: it’s the flat, marsh-covered wetlands, extending from about the midportion of South Carolina to the Florida-Georgia state line. For others, it’s more cultural, as we’re blessed to have a rich and diverse melting pot of nationalities. Going back to the early days this land was peopled by folks from Africa, such as the Gullah and Geechee, to those of European descent, from Ireland, Scotland, England and Germany. The lowcountry, to some, is art, such as classical sweetgrass baskets and bowls from the many talented Gullah artisans of South Carolina. These wares are often offered for sale in roadside stands along what has been deemed the Sweetgrass Highway, a stretch of Highway 17, or Coastal Highway 17, from Charleston, northward towards Georgetown. From bottle trees found in yard art to haint blue paint used on door and window frames, it’s a mixing bowl of color and texture. Whether your roots are European, African, a combination of the two, or elsewhere entirely, the lowcountry is a magical place. Technically speaking, lowcountry is also a geographical term. In South Carolina, the area extends out from below the fall line or what is sometimes referred to as the Sandhills region. Basically speaking, the area where the Atlantic Coastal Plain meets the Piedmont Plain, extending just south of Aiken eastward to the Charleston area. Some people extend this somewhat northward to the Pawleys Island area, though this has also been dubbed the PeeDee region. One major difference I’ve found is in the soil composition; once you get into the Peedee or the Myrtle Beach areas you find more sand versus the pluff mud of our lowcountry area. I encountered more information some time ago while reading about Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, a Spanish magistrate and explorer who explored the east coast of America from as far south as north Florida to as far north as the Chesapeake area of Virginia.
Peace and love, shrimp and grits ... and wash your hands!
Email: TheOriginalCaptainGator@gmail.com 22
Southern Tides Magazine
August 2020
