Basic Information

• Location – Jenkins Creek, Morgan River, St Helena Parish, Dataw Island, Beaufort County
  

• Origin of name – From the Historical Chronology of Dataw Island, "According to history, Dataw Island's name was derived from the legendary giant King Datha, whom the Spanish learned of from Francisco Chicora, an Indian captured in 1521. Legend tells us that he grew so big because of the magical herbs he ate. The meaning of the name Datha was thought to be Greenwood." (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island)
  

• Other names – Datha, Data, Westbrook (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island)
  

• Current status – Private, gated community

Timeline

• 1682 – Earliest known date of existence
  

  Caleb Westbrook established a trading post on the island (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1698 – Charles Odingsell purchased the property (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1702 – Odingsell transferred the property to Joseph Boone (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1730 – Boone sold the land to Colonel Thomas Wigg (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1759 – Wigg died leaving the property to his wife Ann Barnwell Reeve Wigg (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1770 – Ann passed away leaving the property to her eldest son Lewis Reeve. Lewis would grow indigo on the land (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1780s – Reeve sold the island to his cousin, William Sams, grandson of Beaufort's founder, Colonel John "Tuscarora Jack" Barnwell. Sams would develop Dataw into a successful plantation by growing sea island cotton (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1786 – Sams built a tabby house. The ruins can still be seen today (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1798 – William Sams died and his sons, Berners Barnwell Sams and Lewis Reeve Sams, became owners of the island (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1800s-1850s – Berners Sams occupied the original plantation house and the south side of the island. His brother, Lewis, built a new home on the north end of the island, along the Morgan River. Both died in the 1850s (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1861 – The Sams families would remain on Dataw after the brothers' deaths but fled due to the advancing Union Army in 1861 (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1863 – The island was confiscated for overdue taxes (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

  Over the next several years, the Federal government would sell small pieces of the island to individuals including freed blacks (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island).
  

• 1876 – An accidental fire destroyed the buildings built by the Sams family (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1928 – Kate Gleason of Rochester, NY purchased Dataw along with other large land holdings around Beaufort (History of Dataw Island).
  

  She would have a causeway built from St. Helena Island to Polawana Island to Dataw Island to allow access by car (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 61).
  

• 1933 – Kate Gleason died leaving Dataw to her secretary and friend, Elizabeth Sanders. Elizabeth married Richard H. Rowland in 1936 and they called Dataw home for a short time (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1946-1982 – Dataw remained in the Rowland family but instead of living on the island they leased it for farming and hunting (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 1983 – On January 14, the Rowland family sold the island to Alcoa South Carolina, manufacture of aluminum products (History of Dataw Island).
  

• 2007 – Dataw Island became a private, gated residential community developed by Dataw Island Properties (History of Dataw Island).
  

Land

• Number of acres – 1,170 in 1755 (Historical Chronology of Dataw Island)
  

• Primary crop – Indigo and Sea Island cotton in the 1700s, then tomatoes in the 1900s (History of Dataw Island)
  

• A Sams family cemetery remains on the island (History of Dataw Island)
  

Owners

• Chronological list – Caleb Westbrook (1682-?), Charles Odingsell (1698-1702), Joseph Boone (1702-1730), Colonel Thomas Wigg (1730-1759), Ann Barnwell Reeve Wigg (1759-1770), Lewis Reeve (1770-1780s), William Sams (1780s-1798), Berners Barnwell Sams and Lewis Reeve Sams (1798-1850s), Kate Gleason (1928-1933), Elizabeth Sanders Rowland and family (1933-1983), Alcoa South Carolina (1983-2007), Dataw Island Properties (2007-present)
  

Slaves

• Number of slaves – 300 (Northern Money Southern Land, p. 65)
  

Buildings

• Various outbuildings were built in the surrounding area in addition to the houses, the most substantial being of tabby. Among these were a church, overseer's house, slave cabins, kitchen with eight-foot fireplace, smokehouse with unique tabby roof, dairy, fowl house, and large pigeon house.
  

Web Resources

• History of Dataw Island: Click here

• Historical Chronology of Dataw Island: Click here - complied by the Dataw Historic Foundation
  

Print Resources

• Initial references: 67

• Northern Money Southern Land, The Lowcountry Plantations Sketches of Chlotilde R. Martin edited by Robert B. Cuthbert and Stephen G. Hoffius, Publisher, The University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C.

Contact Information

• Dataw Island
  100 Dataw Club Road
  Dataw Island, SC 29920
  

  Telephone: 843-838-8261
  Website: Click here
  

More about Beaufort County

• Learn more about historic Beaufort County, including the lovely town of Beaufort SC as well as Hilton Head. We have helpful guides to Beaufort SC history and Beaufort SC libraries and museums – plus Beaufort SC restaurants, Beaufort SC bed & breakfasts, Beaufort SC hotels, and Beaufort SC real estate.