Charleston Rice Beads

Rice came to the United States in 1694. A ship sailed from the island of Madagascar, bound for England, and was blown off course by a storm. It was forced to land at the colony of Charleston, South Carolina for repairs. The people there were kind to the captain and his men. The captain expressed his gratitude before he set sail by giving the governor a handful of rough rice grains. The grains were used by the colonists for seed. From this small amount of seed, the people of the colony grew enough rice to supply South Carolina and other neighboring colonies. The quality of the Carolina rice was high, and the export trade with England soon developed.
Bernice Gould started the Charleston Rice bead line in the 1970’s to help combine our history and culture with elegant fashion.