CHARLES TOWNE LANDING PALISADE WALL EXHIBIT

Coastal Rock Productions was hired to replicate the palisade wall exhibit at Charles Towne Landing located in Charleston, S.C. Jody Smith Owner/Artist of Coastal Rock Productions was approached by the park to preserve this historic site that was uncovered in 1969.

Charles Towne Landing was the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Carolina province. This area had approximately 148 colonist, including men, women, and children that landed at Albemarle Point on the first Wednesday in April of 1670.

To Enter the Charles Towne settlement in 1670 you traveled by boat to the front door of the settlement. The area of Albemarle Point is where the ADVENTURE is moored. The landside defense that the settlement had was the Palisade Wall. This wall was a wooden fence of sharpened logs with a ditch to the front to prevent access by hostile Native Americans who were allied to the Spanish.
The taller the better, so they dug a ditch, pilling the dirt along one edge of the wall. By constructing a palisade upon that headed up foundation, they would have forced attackers to fight from a lower disadvantaged position.
The settlement relocated, the palisade wall crumbled. Debris collected in the ditch, decomposing to form a dirt darker than the surrounding soil. Almost 300 years later, archaeologists found the long line of distinctive soil and recognized it as proof of the wall location. The palisade has now been partially reconstructed beside the stained dirt.

Newly Replicated Site

Coastal Rock Productions was excited about the challenge of replicating such a site using the medium of concrete. This will allow the park to show the historic value of this area without the consistent maintenance that is necessary to preserve the sites soils textures and colorations that are constantly effected by weather and time. Jody Smith prepared for the colorations needed for this replication by taking samples of the existing soils and matching them with a mixture of powder colorants that replicated the existing soil perfectly. Once achieving the blend, it was time to install the solid concrete substrate. The concrete was laid and textured to match the site when it first discovered. Looking over the many reference photos of that time and doing some research really helped in the efforts of preserving the area.

Concrete Coloration and Texture

Coastal Rock Productions is based out of Summerville, SC and does all kinds of work throughout the lowcountry from this sort of replication to full landscape installs and designs. The last time Smith worked at the park he replicated the lower pond area of the otter exhibit.

“I love working at this park and look forward to helping again in the future, you can’t beat the views here” says Smith.

For more details on Coastal Rock Productions many services Click Here.

Great Historic Views