A loyal reader sent in this photo of an old brick church somewhere in South Carolina. Where is it? For bonus points, how much did it cost to build? Send your guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.
Our previous Mystery Photo
Our July 8 mystery, “Big old pot,” showed a 30-gallon pot made just before the Civil War by then slave David Drake, also known as “Dave the potter.” It’s in the Atlanta History Center.
Congratulations to a handful of readers who recognized this important Edgefield County artisan and one of his many huge pots: Kristina Wheeler of West Ashley; Marnie Huger of Richmond, Va.; Susu Ravenel of Charleston; and George Graf of Palmyra, Va.
Wheeler said the Charleston Museum holds and exhibits the largest public collection of Drake’s works: “Dave was born into slavery but learned how to create pottery and thanks to his understanding of written language, he signed and dated a lot of his work, sometimes including poetic verses.”
Huger shared that the pot on display was signed July 4, 1859. She added, “He inscribed these words on it: The forth of July is surely come to blow the fife and beat the drum.” Dave Drake was born enslaved about 1800 and lived in Edgeville, S.C.. He was named after his owner, Harvey Drake. He was taught to turn large clay pots and learned to read and write, often inscribing them with poems, revealing his literacy at a time when it was illegal for a slave to read and write. Today, his highly sought after pots are very valuable.”
- Send us a mystery: If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!) Send it along to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.
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