Naval Stores are products like, tar, pitch, rosin and turpentine, and were once
used in the construction and maintenance of the sailing ships. These products
all have something in common and that is that they are all derrived from species
of pine trees that grow abundantly in Horry County.
In the early 1800's naval stores became important to the ship building trades as
our over-seas commerce as well as our coastal defense depended upon a strong
naval fleet.
Throughout the county, turpentine stills received the raw sap gathered from the
pine trees and distilled it into spirits of turpentine. Rosin was a by-product
of the distillation process and was sold by barrel-weight in various grades to
suppliers.
A variety of unique tools are associated with the turpentine industry: hacks,
scrapers, paddles and blunt- nosed axes.
Pine Tar has been produced in this area since the 1700's and has been used by
mariners as a preservative for wood and rigging for at least six centuries in
northern Europe. For more information on Naval Stores in Horry County from the
Horry County Historical Society,
click here.
For general information about the history and uses of pine Tar,
click here.
