Hey ya’ll, longtime member here (20+years) but mostly reading, not much posting.
Anyway, I’ve been interested in doing some fossil hunting in the Charleston area again. I’ve heard Morris Island is a good spot, but I was curious if it’s open to the public year around? I wasn’t able to find much info regarding that question. I know digging is illegal so that limits me to strictly walking and looking for things that have washed up. I heard Crab Bank is a good area too, but I know there are strict regs on the time of year it’s open.
Do ya’ll have any advice that may be helpful? Thank ya’ll in advance as always!
I’ve never heard of Morris Island having restrictions like that. You should be able to go there anytime. I don’t know anything about crab bank, but the end of Folly Beach had lots of troops around during the Civil War. To this day, you can find artifacts there, most notably remnants of livestock. We used to fish down there as kids are often stumbled upon cow bones. I would imagine there’s plenty of stuff to find down there, but i haven’t looked really. Probably better to check out when there’s some sort of erosion event.
Drum Island under the bridge is a hot spot for sharks teeth, especially a few days after a fresh dredge. Although there are no trespassing signs all over it, I frequently see people exploring that island.
Beyond that, any development where they are breaking ground or digging a new water runoff pond are good places to look, all the way up to Summerville. Get permission of course, a lot of them don’t care if you go walking and looking for fossils. The day after a fresh rain can provide some surprises to be found.
I’ve never heard of any restrictions on Morris Island, either? And, I’m not so sure as to any fossils you might find there?
But, there is a wealth of Civil War artifacts to be found. Mainly, by digging in the Pluff Mud, with, either your feet, or hands, trying to feel for anything hard.
My Mother, and Step Dad, have found rifle parts, as well as several Minie Balls, by digging around on Morris Island.
The rifle parts might have been complete rifles, at some point? But, I’m sure the saltwater environment had reduced them to, mostly, a receiver, and remnants of a barrel, by the time they were found.
Anyway, good luck on your adventure, keep us posted, and, welcome back to the site!!
Well, the fossil hunt didn’t work out, but we did go to my cousin’s plantation in Cordsville (originally the Hagan platation founded in 1707, then Huger and now Limerick) with the metal detector. We found quite a bit, but the best find was an old axe head buried about 8in. I have no idea the age of it, but I figured I’d share some pics with ya’ll. No disguishing marks that I can see, but the two pics near the grass are prior to hitting it with a wire wheel. I’ll have to get a length and width and weight later on this week.
