On February 8, 2022, Stuart Heath presented 'Along Came Phosphate! A History of the Phosphate Mining Industry in the Beaufort Area of the Low Country and the lasting effects' to the Society:
The S.C. phosphate mining industry began after the Civil War and dominated the world production in the late 1880’s. Come along on a journey that starts with “stinking stones” and ends with an orange barrier at the Port Royal Landing Marina area that stops any digging beyond a certain depth.
You might ask: WHY? Highlights:
· -- Phosphate mining and processing was one of the major industries from Charleston to Beaufort from 1867 to 1912 when over 12 million tons of phosphate was mined from the rivers and land in the Low Country. At the height of its period of production, phosphate fertilizer was exported all over the world, causing Port Royal to be one of the most active ports on the southeast coast.
· -- The mining of the rock, aka “stinking stones”, was very labor intensive and relied heavily on the Freedmen who remained in the area after the Civil War.
· -- The rock was mined from the river, which was very dangerous, and also strip mined on the land. The damage to the land caused by strip mining is still visible today.
· -- In addition to mining activities, factories were established to crush the rock into powder. Once crushed, the powder was shipped to local fertilizer plants where it was combined in ovens with sulfuric acid and other materials, causing lethal gases and dangerous chemicals to be released into the air and on the ground.
· -- The production of phosphates continued through 1912 but significantly declined at the end of the 1800’s due in part to the devastation caused by the 1893 hurricane.
· -- Much of the land in portions of Port Royal have residual arsenic, lead and other deadly chemicals in both the ground and the marshland where the fertilizer plants once stood. The EPA has remediated some of the land and monitors it continually.
