Between the Waters F A L L 2 0 1 6 V O L U M E X V I I , I S S U E I

Launch of BetweenTheWaters.org By Senior Interpreter Lee Gordon Brockington

B O A R D O F

T R U S T E E S

Benjamin T. Zeigler

Chairman

Hugh C. Lane, Jr.

Vice Chairman

Benedict P. Rosen

Treasurer

Albert Baruch Mercer, MD

Secretary

Roland Alston

W. Leighton Lord

Dale Rosengarten, PhD

C. Dorn Smith, III, MD

Interactive Website 1

Executive Director

Notes

2

Naturalist Mark

Catesby

3

Year End Giving 3

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

B etween

the Wa-

ters is a

new website

launched to provide a

multi-media experi-

ence through the varie-

ty of online assets of

video, text, and inter-

actives, while address-

ing the mystery and

mystique of Hobcaw

Barony. South Carolina Educational Televi-

sion and the SCETV Endowment, working in a

public/private partnership with the Belle W.

Baruch Foundation, received a grant from the

Humanities Council of SC and nearly

$300,000 from the National Endowment for

the Humanities (NEH), which was the largest

digital grant awarded in 2014.

Visitors to www.betweenthewaters.org can

connect to the history of Hobcaw and its mate-

rial culture through non-linear navigation,

encouraging inquiry, analysis and deductive

reasoning. Visitors to the website also receive

the skills and incentive to explore and reflect

on the many facets of the story of the land and

how it shaped Native American occupation,

African American slavery and post slavery life,

archaeology, agriculture, architecture, food-

ways, gender issues, and ownership by

wealthy Northerners Bernard and Belle Ba-

ruch.

SCETV Project Director Betsy Newman, is an

Emmy-award winning filmmaker and produc-

er of the documentary The Baruchs of Hob-

caw. She is a 2016 recipient of the SC Gover-

nor’s Award for the Humanities and has been

praised by the NEH for “developing a state-of-

the-art electronic re-

source that highlights

the humanities, Hob-

caw Barony in particu-

lar and, by extension,

the Lowcountry and the

American South.”

A community of diverse

university scholars and

archivists in the hu-

manities lent their ex-

pertise on content and reviewed themes and

materials for this project. Scholars include:

Dr. Blanche Wiesen Cook, professor of history

at CUNY; Dr. Leonard Dinnerstein, professor

of history emeritus, University of Arizona; Dr.

Leland Ferguson, distinguished professor

emeritus, University of SC; Dr. Valinda Little-

field, director of African-American Studies,

University of SC; Dr. Dale Rosengarten, cura-

tor of special collections, College of Charles-

ton; Harlan Greene, senior archivist, College

of Charleston; Dr. Robert Hall, professor of

history, Northeastern University; Dr. Dawn

Spring, professor of history, University of Cin-

cinnati; and the late Dr. Charles Joyner, pro-

fessor of history, Coastal Carolina University.

South Carolina educators assisted in creating

curriculum for K-12 students, teachers and

parents for the SCETV free web portal,

knowitall.org, a site dedicated to interactive

websites, simulations, image collections and

virtual field trips. Also, a Facebook page was

developed, SCETV’s Between The Waters Pro-

ject, and is frequently visited and liked. Vide-

os, home movie clips and photographs have

raised the profile of Hobcaw Barony among

friends on Facebook.

(continued on page 2)

Lee Brockington, Patrick Hayes, Kelly Hogan,

Betsy Newman.

Between the Waters

Blog:

makinghistorybtw.com

P A G E 2

B E T W E E N T H E W A T E R S

(continued from page 1)

Making History Together is a collaborative

research blog created by a SCETV Humanities

Scholar as a part of the NEH supported initia-

tive. The blog, www.makinghistorybtw.com,

features interviews with Foundation Executive

Director George Chastain, Foundation Senior

Interpreter Lee Brockington, North Inlet-

Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Re-

serve Manager Wendy Allen, Waccamaw Indi-

an Chief Buster Hatcher, Hampton Plantation

archaeology technician Vennie Deas Moore;

and chef/culinary historian Michael Twitty.

Between the Waters provides an in-depth

look at various aspects of the Barony, reinforc-

ing a traditional visitor’s tour experience, re-

vealing information to researchers, but also

creating equal and virtual access to the prop-

erty. As a research facility, Hobcaw limits the

number of visitors on guided tours and pro-

grams, but via www.betweenthewaters.org

access is provided to a worldwide audience.

The new interactive website confirms the Belle

W. Baruch trustees’ vision statement “to be a

premier learning site for coastal ecology and

history” and furthers the mission “to conserve

Hobcaw Barony’s unique natural and cultural

resources.”

Executive Director Notes

George Chastain

O ctober has proven to be a challenging month in recent years. The nearly 30 inches

of rain that fell on the reserve during the historic floods of October 2015 impacted

our operations for months. Programs and events were cancelled, research projects

and roads were damaged, and natural resource management activities were post-

poned. After months of recovery, things began to slowly return to normal by the summer.

Then October of 2016 brought us a more familiar challenge. Hurricane Matthew hugged the

South Carolina coast passing over Winyah Bay and Hobcaw Barony in the early afternoon

hours of October 8th. Although only a category one storm, wind speeds in excess of 100 mph

were recorded near the entrance to Winyah Bay. The most damaging winds reached Hobcaw

Barony in the late afternoon as the storm pulled towards North Carolina. Northwest winds on

the back side of the storm caused far worse damage on the reserve than did the winds, rain,

and storm surge earlier in the day.

Although the hurricane dealt us a blow (pun intended), we were fortunate Matthew brought

little rain and minimal storm surge to the reserve. Beach dunes were flattened as sand mi-

grated to the rear of the beach, following the migration pattern that barrier islands have fol-

lowed for eons as they migrate with storms and oceans currents.

Healthy native trees growing in the forest suffered little damage; while nonnative trees grow-

ing in open areas suffered tremendously from Matthew’s winds. This was particularly true for

large crowned laurel oaks planted in the yards around the Hobcaw and Bellefield houses on

the reserve. These century old laurel oaks suffered extensive damage with over a dozen laurel

oaks lost to Hurricane Matthew’s winds at just these two sites. Conversely, not a single native

live oak suffered significant damage at either site.

Hurricane Matthew once again reminded those willing to observe that natural systems have evolved with storms and disturbance. While the healthy forest, marshes, and coastline domi-nated by native species at Hobcaw Barony certainly showed signs of damage, the impacts were far greater where nonnative species and manmade infrastructure disrupted the landscape. When we take time to understand and accept the rules of nature, we can make wise decisions that benefit both man and the environment. Rules of nature we can learn through continuous observation at Hobcaw Barony.

A large laurel oak blocks

Hobcaw Road as seen from

my vantage point in the

seat of the Foundation’s

bulldozer on Sunday Octo-

ber 8, 2016 following the

Hurricane Matthew.

V O L U M E X V I I , I S S U E I P A G E 3

Support HOBCAW BARONY

A s Belle Baruch established Bellefield House in the 1930s, her interest in conservation

informed its building and decoration. She purchased and proudly displayed two works by renowned English naturalist Mark Catesby (1682-1749) in the hall of the Green Room at her home. Catesby traveled to South Carolina in 1722, a few years after the English/Native American

trading post was established at Hobcaw Barony. In a four year sojourn, Catesby ranged all over South Carolina, Georgia and the Bahamas sketching and collecting specimens of native plants and animals, traveling under the auspices of London’s Royal Society, chaired at the time by Sir Isaac Newton. The sketches Catesby created during that trip provided the core of his masterpiece: The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. His mission had been to assemble an inclusive collection of America’s natural history. He was successful; his publication remained the foremost collection of scientific illustrations for nearly a century. Indeed, his drawings set the standard for naturalists to follow, including John James Audubon.

Like Belle two hundred years later, Catesby was concerned about the demise of North American birds due to habitat loss. Additionally, he was one of the first naturalists to conclude that some birds migrate. In the 18th century, conventional wisdom held that many “summer” birds spent the winter in the bottom of ponds or the trunks of dead trees. On April 4, 2017, join Hobcaw Barony staff and friends for a lecture on Mark Catesby by Patrick McMillan, himself a naturalist of some renown. Patrick - the co-creator, writer, and Emmy-Award winning host of Expeditions with Patrick McMillan - is the Glenn and Heather Hilliard Professor of Environmental Sustainability at Clemson University, as well as the director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden, the Bob Campbell Geology Museum and the Clemson Experimental Forest. Secure a spot at this or other offerings coming up at Hobcaw Barony, under the Visit tab at hobcawbarony.org. Reminder: donors to the Annual Fund are entitled to a discount on their registration fees.

Program Preview: Spring 2017

Mark Catesby, Naturalist, by Patrick McMillan

A utumn weather has arrived at Hobcaw Barony, bringing falling leaves, sweaters, boots, and hikes all around the property. These fall pleasures will soon give way to oyster roasts, trail rides, and decorating Bellefield and Hob-caw House with our native smilax, magnolia and camellias.

While offering thanks for surviving Hurricane Matthew and preparing for the season of gift giving, please consider a gift to Hobcaw Barony.

Your donation to the Annual Fund will not only have a powerful impact on repairing the docks and causeways that were victims of Matthew’s strength, it will also immediately support educational programs and field studies conducted by our own Lee Brockington and Richard Camlin. Furthermore, Annual Fund monies sustain the essential research being conducted here by the University of South Carolina, Clemson University, and other institutions.

As you see, the work of the Annual Fund is ongoing and important. You can make a donation directly online at www.hobcawbarony.org/support-hobcaw. Moreover, you can double or even triple your gift to Hobcaw Barony if the company you work for matches their employees’ charitable giving. Check with your human resources office for more information.

Non-Profit

U.S. Postage Paid

Georgetown, SC

29440

Permit #303

22 Hobcaw Road

Georgetown, SC 29440

Address Service Requested

SHOP HOBCAW CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EVENT

December 4 –10

Come to the Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center to see

our vast array of items. During our event

December 4—10, we will be offering an

additional 5% discount to our donors.

Gift Shop hours:

Monday—Saturday, 9 am—5 pm.

***If you are a current donor, please remember to use your discount!***

The Belle W. Baruch Foundation

Mission Statement To conserve Hobcaw Barony’s unique natural and cultural resources

for research and education.

TO:

Discovery Center

9am to 5pm Monday through

Saturday

www.hobcawbarony.org

Take advantage of our social media sites to know the latest

Hobcaw happenings.

Belle W. Baruch Foundation at Hobcaw

@HobcawBarony

hobcawbarony_baruchfoundation