Pocotaligo, South Carolina

Pocotaligois an unincorporated community located in northeasternJasper County,South Carolina,United States, close to the border ofBeaufort County.The community takes its name from the Pocotaligo River, a small tidal creek that separates Jasper and Beaufort counties. Although historically significant, Pocotaligo today primarily serves as a junction point betweenU.S. Highway 17,U.S. Highway 17 AlternateandU.S. Highway 21.These roads lead to Interstate 95 atPoint SouthandYemassee,which have over time eclipsed Pocotaligo in population and importance. Very few people live in the community today.

Pocotaligo, South Carolina
Pocotaligo Pocotaligo
Coordinates:32°38′14″N80°51′48″W
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Jasper
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
ZIP code	29445
Area code(s)	843, 854

History

Colonial

In colonial times, Pocotaligo was one of several villages for the UpperYamaseetribe.As colonial development ofBeaufortand the surroundingLowcountrybegan to expand, tensions escalated between settlers and severalCreektribes. The colonial government sent a party of six to Pocotaligo to ask for Yamasee assistance in negotiating with the Creeks. However, the Yamasee decided on the night after the party's proposal to attack the party, killing four of the six men. That event launched the start of theYamasee War,the most serious challenge to colonial rule in South Carolina's history. Pocotaligo was eventually taken over by settlers, who established a bridge over the creek and allowed the community to be an important stop along the overland route betweenCharlestonandSavannah.

Civil War

Prior to theCivil War,Pocotaligo became an important stop on theCharleston and Savannah Railway,with a depot located about one mile northwest of the settlement. When hostilities began in 1861 and the Federal capture of the Beaufort area in theBattle of Port Royal,control of the railway became an objective in disrupting the Confederate economy. Pocotaligo was the closest depot to Port Royal Island and was a sought-after target for Union troops to disrupt rail service. For a short time in 1862, GeneralRobert E. Leewas assigned to South Carolina to protect the railway, establish defensive units, and prevent Union incursion onto the mainland from theSea Islands.Periodic raids were attempted by Union forces to attack the railway at Pocotaligo, of which, the most serious one was deflected in October 1862. Pocotaligo fell to GeneralWilliam Tecumseh Shermanin early 1865 shortly after his army's capture of Savannah in Christmas 1864.

Post Civil War

Pocotaligo's status as a rail depot declined shortly after thePort Royal Railroadwas finished in 1870 with Yemassee as its established junction depot with the Charleston and Savannah Railway. The creation of U.S. Highway 17 in the 1930s brought some economic vitality back to the community for a few decades, but the opening on Interstate 95 and the creation ofPoint Southas a travelers' commercial center brought further economic decline. Beyond a few historic markers and residences, very little of the community remains today.

Transportation

The western intersection ofU.S. Highway 17withU.S. Highway 21is located in Pocotaligo.Interstate 95is located one mile to the west at Point South.

Notable people

• Jonathan Bryan,landowner who assistedJames Edward Oglethorpein the formation of the colony of Savannah, Georgia
• John Postell Williamson,mayor of Savannah

See also

• Yamasee War
• Battle of Port Royal

External links

• Pocotaligo historic marker