On Calhoun Plantation life was like a world into itself. The 1860 South Carolina Slave Schedule listed the number of slaves owned by James William Porcher as 66. Nero, his overseer, could read and write, a number of slaves were sent to Savannah to learn the blacksmith and boat building trades. James Porcher, of Hugenot descent, was a skilled artisan. He built boats, carriages, made clocks, sundials, carved hunting horns, and ground corn by windmill power. His grandchildren held him in deep respect and devotion.