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The former inland rice fields at Palmetto Commerce Parkway were once part of two early 18th century plantations: Windsor Hill Plantation and Woodlands Plantation. Archaeologists used a global positioning system (GPS) device to record the locations of the canals, embankments, and ditches that made up the old rice fields. The recorded canals and embankments are highlighted on this 2009 aerial photograph. Rice production was established in the Charleston area around 1695. From that time until approximately 1790, rice planters and enslaved Africans grew rice in inland fields that did not rely on the tides for flood waters. Instead of using tidal action, enslaved Africans dammed creeks to create water reservoirs. These reserves of water were fed by springs or replenished by rainwater. An elaborate system of dams, canals, and floodgates moved water to and from the rice fields.