{"id":601,"date":"2015-09-09T10:15:44","date_gmt":"2015-09-09T14:15:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magnoliagc.com?page_id=601"},"modified":"2015-12-14T09:51:36","modified_gmt":"2015-12-14T14:51:36","slug":"historical-trees","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/historical-trees\/","title":{"rendered":"Butcher Oak"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"New<\/a>The Butcher Oak: A Johns Island Tree with Stories to Tell<\/b><\/p>\n

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The famous Angel Oak is not the only Johns Island tree with historic significance. \u00a0 The Butcher Oak is located on a traffic island at the intersection of Main, River and Chisholm Roads – a major thoroughfare for Johns Island throughout our history. \u00a0 In the Stono Rebellion of 1739 enslaved peoples used this one of their gathering places. \u00a0 During the Revolutionary War the British established supply depots here as they progressed towards Charleston from Savannah and Seabrook Island.<\/p>\n

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In more recent times the Butcher Oak area became a major transportation hub for Johns Island. \u00a0 Until the 20th<\/sup> century water was the most efficient mode of transportation – particularly on coastal islands. \u00a0 There were several boat landings on the north side of Johns Island. \u00a0 The earliest crossing in the 1700s was Stono Ferry which linked Johns Island to the mainland near Hollywood. \u00a0 In the 1820s Gueran’s Ferry was established crossing the Stono River near the current Limehouse Bridge. \u00a0 By 1863 Gueran’s Ferry was known as the Johns Island Ferry. Townsend’s Landing was another hub further east towards Fenwick Plantation. \u00a0 The public roads on Johns Island until the mid 19th<\/sup> century were along the rivers surrounding the island: River Road, Bohicket Road and Chisholm Road. \u00a0 Other roads including what is now Main Road were plantation roads\u009d for the use of plantation owners. \u00a0 Boat landings were located to facilitate the transportation of crops and supplies. \u00a0 Over time the Johns Island Ferry site came to be the central point of transit on the north side of the island.<\/p>\n

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With boat traffic crossing the Stono, the landing was a key site for people on Johns Island to gather and a natural location for a general store, post office and polling place. \u00a0 The original store near the site was Hutchinson’s Store. \u00a0 After the Civil War as the population expanded, the country stores became even more important. \u00a0 In 1902 John Limehouse established John F. Limehouse General Merchandise. \u00a0 His pork sausage was highly regarded by island residents and businessmen traveled from Charleston to enjoy his sausage. \u00a0 He raised pigs on rented<\/p>\n

land at Fenwick Hall. \u00a0 And the large oak tree near the site of the store became known as the Butcher Oak in recognition of John Limehouse’s skills.<\/p>\n

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In the 1910s the Stono Ferry operator went bankrupt and Limehouse kept the ferry running at a loss until a narrow wooden bridge was built to replace it in 1921. In 1958 a swing bridge was constructed and named in honor of John F. Limehouse. \u00a0 The removal of this bridge was mandated by the Coast Guard in 1994. \u00a0 By this time traffic on the Intercoastal Waterway had increased to the point where the old swing bridge was deemed an obstruction to vessel traffic. \u00a0 The new John F. Limehouse Memorial Bridge was completed in 2003. \u00a0 The debris from the demolished swing bridge was donated to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources artificial reef program. It was transported to construct the Kiawah Reef site about 23 miles away.<\/p>\n

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John F. Limehouse II continued to run his father’s store after his retirement. \u00a0 By the mid 20th<\/sup> century the store also sold ice cream which provided many residents with an extra reward when they traveled to the store for their weekly shopping. \u00a0 The store was still in operation in the mid 1960s.<\/p>\n

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The Butcher Oak was in danger in the 1980s when planned widening of the intersection of Main, River and Chisholm called for its removal. \u00a0 Although Charleston County’s tree ordinance provides protection for such grand trees, public utilities and agencies are exempt. \u00a0 Fortunately clearer heads prevailed and a second lane for right turns from Chisholm onto Main Road was cut through, providing an island for the tree.<\/p>\n

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As Magnolia Garden Club members who have worked on tidying up this island can attest, this is still a major crossroads for Johns Island. \u00a0 There is considerable traffic moving through this area: large trucks, cars and trailered boats. \u00a0 And the great Butcher Oak still stands in witness to all this change.<\/p>\n

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Sources: A Place Called St John’s<\/span> by Laylon Wayne Jordan and Elizabeth H. Stringfellow, 1998. \u00a0 Images of America: John’s Island<\/span> by Connie Walpole Haynie, 2007. \u00a0 James Island and Johns Island Historical Survey<\/span> . \u00a0 Preservation Consultants for SC Dept of Archives and History, Charleston County and the City of Charleston, 1989.<\/p>\n

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Compiled by Magnolia Garden Club of Johns Island Arbor Day (December 5) 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Butcher Oak: A Johns Island Tree with Stories to Tell   The famous Angel Oak is not the only Johns Island tree with historic significance. \u00a0 The Butcher Oak is located on a traffic island at the intersection of […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/601"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":701,"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/601\/revisions\/701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magnoliagc.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}