Cheesy Grits: Going Down to Edisto Island—Main's Market; Thorne's house

Jane and I first visited Edisto Island in May, 2012. We were on the trail of her great-great-granduncle, John S. Thorne, one of the two "Black Kings of Edisto Island." It was Sam Gadsden who named him so in Nick Lindsay's And I'm Glad: An Oral History of Edisto Island, and the reason Sam had done so was because John Thorne had engineered the purchase of a former plantation, Baynard's "Seaside," and then resold plots (at reasonable prices) to the now-freed slaves who lived on Edisto and had worked this land. Thorne had kept some land for himself and had built a house, a store, and several cotton gins to process the famous Sea Island cotton that was being grown on Edisto.

Sam Gadsden had further remarked that John Thorne's house and store were still standing, so that was where we were going to start.

Edisto Island, SC,  in relation to Charleston
Map from Google Maps.

The turn-off for Edisto Island is about twenty-four miles down the Savannah Highway (Rt. 17) from the Charleston Peninsula. From Savannah Highway, you turn left onto Highway 174 and that's it: Highway 174 is the only road onto Edisto Island. Used to be you had to take a ferry, but a bridge across the Dawhoo connected Edisto Island to the mainland around 1920.

Map of Edisto Island from Google Maps.
The island proper starts at the bridge hard by
the E.F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge.

When you reach the latest version of that bridge, the McKinley Washington Bridge, Highway 174 becomes a Scenic Byway. If you click on the Scenic Byway link, you'll see a gallery of wonderful pictures from around Edisto Island. Highway 174 ends in the town of Edisto Beach, which is a nice little beach town but has barely dipped a toe into Edisto's history, as it only became a year-round place sometime in the 1970s.

We—or at least, I—were intent on getting down to Main's Market, on the corner of Highway 174 and Eddingsville Beach Road, because (a) it was getting to be lunch time, and (b) I had read some glowing reviews of the homestyle Gullah cooking at Main's Market. And of course it was originally, according to Sam Gadsden, Grant's Store and before that John Thorne's store.

Location of Main's Market just before Freedman's Village
State Road 174 and Eddingsville Beach Road.
Map from Google maps, but Google misplaces Main's.

And there it was. I took the photo below when we arrived. We had our lunch there. The inside was, shall we say, modest: a steam table to the left as you go in, formica-topped tables to sit and plastic utensils to eat our food which was served on, as I recall, foam trays. The menu might have been written on a small chalkboard. (Why didn't I take more pictures?) An older African-American woman behind the counter took our orders, prepared our plates, and handled the money. I'll wager anything she was also the cook.

Main's Market Cafe Flower Shop Landscape Irrigation
Nursery Gardening
Home Cooking Gullah Style
(now closed)

Jane went her usual predominantly vegetable route, having tomato pie, squash pie, okra gumbo, and I forgot to write down what her fourth course was. I had roast pork smothered with gravy and onions, candied yams, and greens. The cornbread was feather-light with just a touch of sweet. Good food. (I tried to duplicate the tomato pie when we got back home. It was, um, an adventure.)

After we finished eating, I asked the woman who had served us if she knew anything about the building. She didn't know and named someone who would be in later who might know more. That she didn't know didn't come as a surprise: how many of us know anything about the previous owners of the buildings we live or work in?  For reasons that now escape me, we weren't able to wait until later. (In retrospect, what could have been so important?)

The shape of Main's Market was a bit of a T, with the top-hat facing the street. I wanted very much to wander into the back where the kitchen was to see if I could tell which part of the building was the oldest, thinking that the oldest part would most likely be the original structure for John Thorne's store. But I didn't really feel comfortable asking to do that, and I didn't really know what I would be looking for anyway. So I didn't do it.

Main's Market, alas, is closed now, Mr. Main having lost his lease. There's supposed to be a new cafe/market coming. I hope their cornbread, greens, and tomato pie are good.

Sam Gadsden had also said that John Thorne had built a house near the store. The only likely candidate was directly behind Main's Market, and is pictured below. The picture isn't good: I took it out the windshield of our car. I did that because the house was clearly occupied and I, as a stranger, didn't want to appear rude/impudent by just walking around taking pictures of somebody's house without their permission.

John Thorne's house on Edisto Island
right behind Main's Market

Houses with dormers—this house has three—were a cut above the "average" house: they signified that the owner was someone of "means." And if you look closely at the chimney cap on the main roof, you'll see that it is arched. Not only is the cap arched, but the arches are brick: it's the kind of construction you see in the better houses of Charleston. Here is a detail that I hope brings it out:

Thorne died, according to Sam Gadsden, in this house. There is little else that remains of his personal "kingdom": the cotton gins are gone and so are the barns. The certificate for transport of his remains dates his death as 2 June 1904, and says that the remains were to be buried at Charleston's Friendly Union cemetery, quite probably near his parents, Philip and Elizabeth Weston Thorne. We have not yet found his headstone.