Basic Information

• Location – Kiawah Island, St. John's Colleton Parish, Charleston County

  This plantation was located on the whole of Kiawah Island and bounded by the Kiawah River, the Stono River, and the Atlantic Ocean.
  

• Origin of name – Kiawah Plantation, Kiawah Island, and today's Kiawah River (which separates Kiawah Island from Johns Island) are all named for a Cusabo tribe that lived on the western shore of the Ashley River when the English settlers landed there in 1670. In fact, area tribes called this river the Kiawah River.
  

  As more settlers arrived, the Kiawah were pushed westward, and the name Kiawah River was changed to Ashley River.
  

• Other names – Kyawah, Kyawha, Oristo

• Current status – Gated community and resort
  

Timeline

• 1699 – Earliest known date of existence

• 1807 – House built

Land

• Number of acres – 5,000

• Primary crop – Cotton, indigo

Owners

• Alphabetical list – Bradley, Gibbes, Moore, Raynor (Rayner, Reiner), Royal, John Stanyarne (1739), Arnoldus Vanderhorst (1807), Wilson
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 150 (1860)

Buildings

• ?

Web Resources

• National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form - submitted in 1973 by Elias Bull - requires Adobe Reader
  

• A Short History of Kiawah Island and Quash Stevens

• Vanderhorst Mansion

Print Resources

• Initial references: 1, 12, 49

More about Charleston

• Learn more about historic Charleston County including the port city of Charleston. We have helpful guides to Charleston history and Charleston libraries and museums – plus Charleston restaurants, Charleston bed & breakfasts, Charleston hotels, Charleston real estate, and Charleston jobs.