ACE Basin

Combahee River, Wiggins, SC

These are the rivers that make up the “ACE Basin” in South Carolina, one of the largest undeveloped coastal areas on the east coast, the result of a variety of public/private conservation partnerships. The river names come from the native American origins. In the beginning of settlement by Europeans , the land along these winding tidal rivers were found to be perfect for rice cultivation, which prompted the trade in enslaved people. This was the site of the famous “Combahee Raid” in which Harriet Tubman, a recently emancipated person, led 3 ships of soldiers up the river to the rice plantations to free the enslaved people there and recruit them into the Union Army. Emancipation and several successive years of severe hurricanes destroyed the rice industry, leaving these lands fallow and of little value. During reconstruction, wealthy northerners bought large tracts as hunting preserves, which began the process of preservation. Gunboat Island, on the bottom right, was the sight of the wreck of the gunboat Dai Ching, disabled by Confederate fire.