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History of Datha/Dataw Island

There is archaeological evidence that native people lived on Datha Island for over 10,000 years. Most archaeological sites on Datha are associated with Woodland people who lived throughout the Southeast from 1500 BC to 1000 AD. The first contact with the European explorers began as early as the 16th century. Under King Charles II of England, the Lords Proprietors of Carolina granted Datha Island to Caleb Westbrook in 1682.

William Sams, a grandson of Colonel John “Tuscarora Jack” Barnwell, was born in South Carolina on April 18, 1741. With the Patriots’ victory during the American Revolution, William was forced to leave his home on Wadmalaw Island and purchased Datha Island in 1783. At Datha, he began to grow Sea Island cotton. It was cotton that made the Sams family wealthy and the Beaufort region “the exclusive home of the most exclusive few of that most exclusive aristocracy.”

This period of prosperity abruptly collapsed with the advent of the American Civil War. Afterward, many former slaves remained on the island as free men and women. The tenant period came to an end in 1928 when Kate Gleason, a New York entrepreneur, banker, and engineer, purchased the entire island.

ALCOA purchased Datha Island in 1983, determined to build a premier residential community. They paid meticulous attention to preserving and enhancing the island’s natural beauty and its moss-draped live oaks, ponds, and saltwater marshes. This beauty and bounty continue to make the island a unique and special place to live.

Today when you visit our island, be sure and stop at our History & Learning Center. It’s open daily from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM. You’ll notice a timeline collage on one wall that describes our island’s history by the periods you see below in RESEARCH.

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Our History & Learning Center is our museum and venue for small group educational events. You’ll notice a timeline collage on one wall that describes our island’s history by the periods you see below, from prehistoric through to today. While our plantation ruins are impressive and unique, they come alive once you hear the stories of the people who built them and lived here; the Sams family and their enslaved servants.

We have a wealth of previously published, hard to find, and unpublished articles, journals, images, and reports about Dataw Island. We also research and publish articles or fund professional research to tease out these pioneers’ stories. The links below take you to our online archives, sorted by time. You might find it useful to use our search feature, available at the bottom of every page.

Native American Life
(10,000BC – 1682)

The Proprietary Period
(1682 – 1783)

The Sams Era
(1783 – 1865)

After the Civil War (1865 – 1983)

A New Era
(1983 – Present)

Library of Online Resources

Blog

The “weblog,” or blog area of our site, comprises short articles (i.e., blog posts). To view items in all categories, click here. You also can click on any category over there to bring up that subset of articles.

Some of the articles are shown below, those in the categories of 52 Sams in 52 Weeks and Tabby Tattler, now Tabby Times.

View all52 Sams in 52 WeeksBeaufort County HistoryDataw Historic FoundationDataw Island HistoryTabby Times

St. Helena Island’s Prehistoric Secrets: Mastodons

Beaufort County History, Dataw Island History

The DHF is proud that we have artifacts found on Datha Island in the early ALCOA days that date back thousands of years. For example, in the display on the southwest wall of the History & Learning Center is a Paleo Indian Point that dates to 10,000 B.C. However, many have explored our area over the centuries. I recently learned from a young lady in Massachusetts that Charles Upham Shepard found an older and much larger item on St Helena Island in the 1800s; an American mastodon (Mammoth americanum) from the late Pleistocene era! This intact skeleton, found next door, pushes back our knowledge of this area by several thousand years, to at least 12,000 B.C.

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The Green Taffeta Silk Dress

52 Sams in 52 Weeks

This week’s theme is HEIRLOOMS. The Dataw Historic Foundation is fortunate because the Sams descendants have entrusted us with several family heirlooms. This week features the story of two other items donated to the Foundation, a green silk taffeta Victorian gown and a shawl circa 1860. Ginny Hall-Apicella and BIll Riski recently presented the history of the dress to our Dataw Island residents.

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Of the people, By the people, For the people

52 Sams in 52 Weeks

Thursday, November 19, 1863, at about 3 PM, as the sun broke through the clouds, President Abraham Lincoln gave his two-minute address to the 15,000 gathered for the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg, PA. We’ve all read it, studied it, and seen it (on the wall at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.) I’m going to discuss the Gettysburg Address in a moment. The most interesting part of his speech is often skimmed over, “..of the people, by the people, and for the people..” First, I thought a summary of the Sams family members who served in the Confederate States of America army would provide some interesting context for you.

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Water in Motion

52 Sams in 52 Weeks

Water in motion is beautiful—most of the time. But once in a while, it grows from a rising tide into a boiling hurricane. Water indeed defines much of the character of our Lowcountry. It flushes and nurtures the marsh. Defines the borders of our island. And pushes us away when a hurricane approaches.Most of you reading this know about the beauty of the waters around Dataw. It’s a contributing reason I live here. The “beast face” of water is fortunately seen less often. This week I’m going to tell you about, by far, the most massive hurricane this area has ever experienced—the hurricane of 1893. And I’m going to tell you a little know story of Ting Sams Colquhoun’s ancestors that met their death in that hurricane.

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Declaration of Independence in America Led to Riches in Beaufort

52 Sams in 52 Weeks

William Sams fled with his family to the Beaufort area from Charleston in 1783. He left Charleston because of the Confiscation Acts of early 1782. They likely picked Beaufort due to family connections. As our past DHF president John Colgan might say, it was the second time the Sams were on the wrong side of history. But similar to the first time, this move was a blessing in disguise. The following 80 years would bring great wealth to Beaufort, South Carolina, and the Sams. This short article is about how we won our independence from Great Britain, seen through the lens of local South Carolina’s concerns and consequences.

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