Eighteen Mile House Tavern

Front: From the 18th century, the State Road from Charleston and the Road to Dorchester met near here. These paths connected Charleston to the S.C. interior. Travelers from Charleston would have crossed Goose Creek, two miles south, before reaching this point. By the early 18th century a tavern complex developed here providing travelers with room, board, pasturage, and other services, such as coopering and blacksmithing. Reverse: By the turn of the 19th century, Lewis Breaker owned the business. Later, Carston Vose, who also owned the Oaks Plantation, ran the tavern. In April 1865 African American troops of the 55th MA Infantry camped near here. They skirmished with Confederate cavalry and liberated slaves living on nearby plantations. After the war the Road to Dorchester was abandoned and a farm family occupied the site.