Like many South Carolina planters, the
Vanderhorsts shifted their production to
cotton shortly after the introduction of the
cotton gin. At that time, the slave presence on
the island increased considerably from around
40 to over 110. The cotton seems to have been
plentiful at that time, with an overseer writing
that, “The cotton Blows [opens] so fast that I
cannot get time to do anything Elce [sic].”
POLITICS, THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR
AND KIAWAH
At the time of their inheritance of Kiawah,
24-year-old Arnoldus Vanderhorst 11 was
politically active. He would go on to be involved
in some of the most important aspects of South
Carolina’s governance in the pre- and post-
Revolutionary War period. After participating
in the Royal Assembly, the Committee of 99
(the de facto governmental body of South
Carolina during the pre-Revolutionary period)
and the 1st and 2nd Provincial Congresses
in 1775, he also joined the South Carolina
1st Regiment during the Revolutionary War,
eventually rising to colonel under General
Francis Marion.
This political and military activity put the
Vanderhorst interests at risk and, when
the British occupied Charleston and the
surrounding area in 1780, “Lord Cornwallis
ordered the seizure of estates owned by patriots
and those who took part in the Continental
Congress. British troops subsequently
occupied and burned Vanderhorst Mansion
on Kiawah Island.” The Chicora Foundation
quotes Vanderhorst’s losses to the British as:
“1 Dwelling House on Kiawah burnt by the
British with out buildings and fences £2000,”
or about $447,000 today.
It’s likely that Arnoldus 11 began to rebuild his
home on Kiawah in 1801, completing it in 1802.
The second structure still stands today just
off of Governors Drive and is on the National
Register of Historic Places. The home remains
under private ownership.
Following the war, Arnoldus served in the
State Senate and ran for governor of South
Carolina in 1794. With a history of political
influence and powerful connections to the
dynasties of the Pinckney and Rutledge
families, Arnoldus was elected governor
but served only one term. “As governor, he
supported the establishment of public schools,
improvements to the condition of state jails,
and criminal code reforms.”
During this time, he seems to have turned
much of his attention to his properties in
Charleston, where he owned a number of
homes, tenements, and a wharf. Arnoldus 11
died in 1815 and passed the Kiawah property
to his sons, John and Elias.
The Vanderhorst family maintained ownership
of the island for close to two centuries, finally
selling the island to C.C. Royal in 1951. In
future issues, we’ll explore some other notable
members of the Vanderhorst family.
Sources: The Library of Congress, City of Charleston archives, Charleston County Public Library Time
Machine podcast - “Indigo in the Fabric of Early South Carolina,” SCIWAY - “A Short History of Kiawah Island
and Quash Stevens” and The History and Archaeology of Kiawah Island, Charleston County, South Carolina
by The Chicora Foundation.
KIAWAH ISLAND DIGEST | 9