Port of Georgetown

Georgetown is South Carolina’s second largest port.  More on that in a moment, but for now, here’s an intriguing photo from the South Carolina Maritime Museum in town.  Where in New York was this steam houseboat built, I wonder.  In the Santee Gun Club notes, it reports that it took four months to deliver Happy Days from NY to Santee.  And, are they standing on ice here?

Here’s what I saw of commercial vessels in port.  In the background is

the now-shuttered ArcelorMittal steel plant.  Beyond the steel plant is International Paper mill, clearly quite busy. The mill grew out of the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company.

I mentioned the maritime museum:  it’s worth a stop.  Also, check out the Gullah Museum.

This intriguing artifact is outside, with the story

here and below.   What’s misleading about the photo below is that the propeller is from the Norwegian freighter Eriksson, which at 285′ was smaller than the whaleback Everett, 346′.

From Auke Visser, here are many more photos of City of Everett.

One thing I found surprising about the history of Georgetown is its connections with Maine shipbuilders.

You can guess how this encounter between the 168′ 506 ton four-master and the 403′ 6026 ton steamer turned out.  Read about the findings of the court in reference to the collision here. Click here for more info on SS Prinz Oskar, which became Orion after the US seized it.

Will Van Dorp, who’s heading back to Georgetown in the spring, took the photos here both inside the museum and along the boardwalk.

*** Click here for the archive of the “early history of the Santee Club”