Last Man Standing moves on
The Porchers, once a mighty nation, are no more in Berkeley County
By Warner M.Montgomery warner@thecolumbiastar.com

Soon this sign at Henry and Francis's home on Lake Moultrie will be removed, and the Porcher Pooshee Plantation will be no more.

Legend has it that when a negro wagoner was asked by his traveling passenger as they passed Peru Plantation in Pineville before the Civil War, "Who lives here?" he answered, "The Porchers, sir."

The traveler got the same answer at Ophir, Chapel Hill, Pooshee, Mexico, Moorefield, and other plantations. Finally, he remarked, "Well, there certainly must be plenty of Porchers in this country."

"Yas, suh," answered the driver, "Them Porchers am a mighty nation."

The mighty nation began with Dr. Isaac Porcher who fled France with other Huguenot refugees arriving in Charleston in 1685. Dr. Porcher and 80 other French- speaking families soon moved up the Santee River and established rice and indigo farms around Jamestown.

Descendants of Dr. Porcher established plantations all along the south bluff of the Santee River in what is now Berkeley County. They fought in the American Revolution, helped establish Pineville, sent their children to England and New England for their education, turned to cotton production, supported construction of the Santee Canal, and suffered through the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Henry Porcher is the last man standing on Porcher land in Berkeley County.

Over the past 150 years, the Porchers have spread to the far ends of the known world. Now, sadly, for the first time in 320 years, the Mighty Nation is no more. The last descendant of Dr. Isaac Porcher is moving out of Berkeley County. Henry Porcher has sold his home, the last remains of the old Pooshee Plantation, on Lake Moultrie.

Henry's grandparents, Percival and Martha Porcher, lived at Northampton Plantation near Pinopolis. His parents, Richard and Miriam Porcher, lived in Pinopolis where they raised Henry, Richard, and Martha and watched the waters of Lake Moultrie cover their homeland.

Henry Porcher received his education at Carlisle Military Academy. He married Francis Martin in 1973 at the Episcopal Church in St. Stephen, once the home church for the Mighty Nation of Porchers. They established a home in Columbia. His siblings, Richard and Martha, eventually moved to Charleston.

Most of the old Pooshee Plantation, Porcher property, was taken by Santee- Cooper and covered by Lake Moultrie in 1940. Only two lots on Butter Road in Bonneau Beach remained. One lot was given to the St. John's Hunt Club in 1945, and Henry Porcher maintained ownership of the lot next to the club. He and Francis built a small cottage on the lot and spent almost every weekend there.

After 40 years of driving trucks in Columbia, Henry retired. Recently, he and Francis decided to sell their beloved Pooshee. It was a difficult decision knowing that with the sale, the last plot of ground once planted by his ancestors, would leave the family, and he would be the last member of the Mighty Nation to stand proud on Porcher land.

Time changes all, and memories of generations past will soon be forgotten. For better or worse, Henry will be known by the Mighty Nation as the Last Man Standing in Berkeley County.