Etiwan Village

Front: In this area is the site of an Etiwan Indian village. The earliest record of the Etiwan tribe is a 1609 report from a Spanish voyage entering the Bar of Cayagua (Kiawah), later Charleston harbor. When the English founded colonial Carolina in 1670, Etiwan settlements were located on peninsular Charleston and what were then called Etiwan Island (Daniel) and Etiwan River (upper Cooper). Reverse: In 1710 an Etiwan village was sited “upon and near” the glebe lands attached to St. James Goose Creek Church (1/2 mi. W). A colonial census in 1715 reported a total Etiwan population of 240 and one village. The last documented referenced to the tribe’s existence dates to 1751. Among the Etiwans’ descendants are the state-recognized Wassamasaw Tribe of Varnertown Indians.