Silver Bluff (38AK7)

National Register Listing

Street Address:

Address Restricted; (Aiken County)

Alternate Name:

Fort Galphin; Galphin Trading Post; Dreadnought; Galphinton

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NRHP Nomination Form

Record Number:

S10817702008

Description and Narrative:

(Fort Galphin) Silver Bluff or Galphin Trading Post comprises about 175 acres of cultivated fields and small wooded areas on a steep bluff overlooking the Savannah River. Silver Bluff was the site of an Indian trading post established by George Galphin in the early 1740s. Galphin Trading Post serviced the Yuchi and after them the Coweta, a group of the Lower Creek nation. Galphin’s sphere of influence extended south and west and included Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine, Pensacola and Mobile. Traders operating out of such places obtained their wares from him. Galphin, sympathetic to the colonists, was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs for the Southern District in 1775. Pertaining to the Galphin Trading Post, there were a number of structures in the area, which included the trading post, barge docks, way-station for travelers, holding-pens for livestock and numerous cabins for family and slaves. At the time of the Revolution, Fort Galphin was built, consisting of a stockaded brick building. This brick structure, probably the Galphin home, was still standing in the early 1870s. After George Galphin’s death in 1780 at the age of 71, the locality of the trading post was known as Galphinton. The community had vanished by the twentieth century. Listed in the National Register November 1, 1977.

Period of Significance:

1785;before 1400;1400 – 1785

Level of Significance:

National

Area of Significance:

Archeology: Historic - Non-Aboriginal;Archeology: Prehistoric;Commerce;Exploration/Settlement;Military

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

November 1 1977

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