DELINEATION OF HISTORICAL 'NEW INLET', DEBIDUE ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

摘要

New Inlet was an historical inlet in Georgetown County, South Carolina (Figure 1) that closed prior to 1820 (Robert Mills, 1825). New Inlet delineated the property boundary between two contiguous plantations, Alderly Plantation to the south and Rose Hill Plantation to the north, along the "relict" barrier spit at Debidue Island. Although the inlet had closed by 1820, R.Q. Pickney, a land surveyor and engineer appointed by the governor of South Carolina was able to identify the former location of the inlet in 1844 (Porcher, 1976). Strict attention was not paid to accurate mapping of this delineation because oceanfront property was not of economic importance to the plantation owners in the early 19th century. During the past two centuries, this "relict" barrier spit has evolved through inlet migration and closure, and the property boundary has become harder to identify. At the same time, the value of oceanfront property has soared, leading to debates about coastal land ownership. Presently there is a need to determine the historical (pre-1820) location of New Inlet to resolve a property line question between the owners of the former Rose Hill and Alderly Plantations.