Marsh Hen Mill

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Marsh Hen Mill is a company on Edisto Island, in the US state of South Carolina, best known for its traditionally manufactured heirloom grits.

History[edit]

The company is owned by Betsy and Greg Johnsman, who in 2003 took over Betsy's family's farm on Edisto Island, a farm they had owned for three generations, and began growing and selling tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. In 2007, they bought a 1945 gristmill, which had been sitting idle in a barn since the 1960s and which Greg brought back to working condition.[1] They kept the farm's old name "Geechie Boy", which was the nickname of a white farmer on the island, Raymond Tumbleston.[2] That name, however, caused some backlash and accusations of cultural appropriation, particularly after the George Floyd protests in 2020: in the South Carolina Lowcountry, "Geechee" is another name for the Gullah people, who are "descended from enslaved Africans who settled in tight-knit communities along the coast of the Carolinas and into Florida."[3] By September 2020, "after many days of prayer and countless bowls of grits",[4] the owners rebranded as "Marsh Hen Mill", named for the Salt water marsh hen which inhabits the Southern US coast.[5]

Products[edit]

Marsh Hen Mill sells grits milled from heirloom grains[2] (including a pink variety called "Unicorn" made from red corn[6]) to restaurants in Charleston[1] and Atlanta,[7] and ships across the country.[1][8] Their products are used by many notable chefs,[1] including those working in traditional soul food cuisine.[9]

The company sells Carolina Gold,[10] a Lowcountry variety of African rice; at the time of the American Civil War it made up 3.5 million of the 5 million bushels of rice produced in the US, but had not been commercially grown since 1927 until its revival in South Carolina in the 1980s.[11] They also sell heirloom vegetables including cauliflower and sweet onions, besides other locally made products.[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Street, Erin Shaw. "Made in South Carolina: Geechie Boy Grits". Southern Living. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Durbin, Dee-Ann (September 30, 2020). "Grits maker Geechie Boy Mill changes its name amid backlash". ABC News. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Milner, Parker (September 30, 2020). "Geechie Boy Mill rebranding as Marsh Hen Mill". Charleston City Paper. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "Grits maker Geechie Boy Mill changes name amid racial backlash". Associated Press. September 30, 2020. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "About". Marsh Hen Mill. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  6. ^ Lotz, CJ (February–March 2020). "The South's Best Mail-Order Grits". Garden & Gun. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  7. ^ Parker, Jennifer Leigh (October 30, 2021). "What To Do In Midtown Atlanta". Forbes. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  8. ^ Landsel, David (December 2, 2020). "The Best Mail-Order Food Gifts from Every State". Food & Wine. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Sloss, Lauren (September 29, 2021). "This Oakland-Based Supper Series Proves Pan-African Cuisine Is More Than a Trend". Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  10. ^ Roldán-Shaw, Michele. "Wayback Lowcountry: Carolina Gold Rice". Local Life, South Carolina. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  11. ^ Martin Taylor, John (December 28, 1988). "Carolina Gold: A Rare Harvest". New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Marsh Hen Mill". South Carolina Department of Education. Retrieved November 11, 2021.

External links[edit]

32°35′42″N 80°20′50″W / 32.59500°N 80.34722°W / 32.59500; -80.34722

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