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1943 Map of Ocean Bay

Name: 1943 Topographic Map of Ocean Bay
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1989
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1989

About this map

Francis Marion National Forest dominates this low-lying landscape along the border of Berkeley and Charleston counties. In the years following World War II, this region remained a complex network of wetlands and managed timberlands, defined by the expansive Wambaw Swamp and the namesake Ocean Bay. The presence of several Old Railroad Grades cutting through the swamps indicates the area's history of logging, where timber was once extracted from deep within the wetlands of Turkey Creek and Halfway Creek.

Small pockets of community life are clustered near the southeastern corner, including the settlement of Awendaw and the Ocean Grove Ch. Infrastructure such as the Withey Wood Canal and the Bell Canal suggest an intensive effort to manage the local hydrology. Notable local landmarks for genealogists and local historians include the Halfway Creek Sch and numerous named branches like Bennett Branch and Huitt Branch, which provided focal points for rural South Carolina life during this era.