This article is about canines the species Canis lupus familiaris, domestic dog and specifically about that breed now known as the Boykin spaniel. The story of this little brown dog has been linked to humans since its unexplained appearance outside a church in Spartanburg, South Carolina. From that point onward, people have recognized the little brown spaniel’s exceptional field ability, its problem-solving personality, and its affection for people.
A Boykin spaniel is unmistakable, if a person knows what to lookbfor. It is a little dog with a spaniel’s floppy ears and a liver-brown coat, often with sun-bleached reddish fringes. The coat may vary from kinky to straight, and eye color may range from dark brown to copper to bright yellow. Docked tails are a breed standard. Even more distinctive is this spaniel’s master-winning personality. Adapting so well to the needs of different family members, the Boykin spaniel becomes everybody’s favorite pet. In large part the history of this breed is a history of the human owners and breeders who, since the dog’s appearance among them, have realized they have been graced with something special in their lives a hunting dog that the warmth of the home fires will not spoil, a hard-charging retriever that curls up on the couch, and a trick artist that seems to teach itself.
“Boykin Spaniel ” is the surname of one of South Carolina’s oldest and most widespread families. It is also the name of a small settlement on a mill pond between Camden and Sumter in the state’s Midlands region. And “Boykin” is the name given to an increasing number of aristocratic, but spirited, little brown dogs that are gaining fame and growing in numbers across America, far beyond the breed’s original realm, where it has been “knighted” as the official dog of the state of South Carolina.
Throughout history water has played a central role in the stories of humankind and the animal kingdom in general. The great Wateree River, which flows through the Midlands of South Carolina, created a primeval environment lush with fish, game, and forests a lure to hunters and a haven for the hunted. In the early 1900s sportsmen such as the extended Boykin spaniel family and their friends in the Camden area sought constantly to improve their access to the waterway, their hunting methods, and their hunting success. Dogs gave hunting parties a needed edge in hunting ducks and geese in this watery environment. These conditions set the stage for discovery of the Boykin spaniel’s progenitor and spurred development of the breed.
Hunting parties with Boykin spaniel dog grew out of Camden society as naturally as the cypress and tupelo trees had emerged from the surrounding swamps. Since colonial times the hunt has been an institution in South Carolina. Camden, the oldest interior city of the Carolina colony and to many the most gracious was and remains the heart of Carolina hunt country. The hunt was a noble way for some young gentlemen to supplement the family’s fare; for others it was just pure sport.
Like all South Carolina, the Camden area experienced an economic catastrophe after the end of the Civil War, which continued until the coming of well-heeled Yankees as seasonal tourists. Eager for mild winters in a place where they could spend their newly earned industrial dollars, northerners came in increasing numbers from the 1870s through the 1940s. This winter migration ushered in an era of great Camden hotels, where whole families stayed for weeks at a time. While the women shopped and took care of the children, the husbands engaged in commercially arranged hunts along the Wateree. The local planter class included families with names such as Boykin, Cantey, and Chesnut, who established a mannerly ambience that charmed the northern vacationers, making them want to establish their winter homes in Camden. The Buckleys of New York were among this group of northern families who wintered in the Camden area.
In the early 1900s wagons and wooden boats not the four-by-fours sportsmen use today afforded hunters access to rugged river landings along the game-rich corridor of the Wateree River, a slow-moving stream with high banks that wends its way through the rich farmlands of Kershaw County and beyond. Boat travel limited what hunters could carry. Carrying the typical heavyweight retriever primarily a Chesapeake then was awkward in a craft loaded with men, guns, provisions, and other gear, particularly if that dog had to jump into the water and reboard the boat with a downed duck. Hunters along the Wateree at that time sought an able dog that would not “rock the boat” and could handle all the work in the water as well as flushing turkeys and retrieving and tracking a variety of game on land. L. W. “Whit” Boykin spaniel , his kinsmen, and his friends were involved in that search for a dog that would be perfect for hunting on the Wateree.
The much-circulated story of where the first Boykin spaniel came from is simple. In the early 1900s a little stray dog a spaniel of some type was found along East Main Street in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina, by Mr. A. L. White during a brief Sunday walk between his home and church. He took the dog home as a pet, and it apparently displayed some aptitude that he considered useful in hunting. Mr. White decided to send the dog by train to his good friend Whit Boykin, who lived near Camden. Boykin had long sought a smaller retriever to carry in a boat for duck hunting. As Boykin applied his training know-how, the little stray soon developed into a superb waterfowl retriever and turkey dog. This dog is said to have been a male and the forerunner of all Boykin spaniels in existence today.
Until Mike Creel began his research in 1974 for an article that appeared in the September–October 1975 issue of South Carolina Wildlife magazine, authentication of the Boykin spaniel foundation story and details about it were lacking. Creel sought to fill this void by uncovering every written record available. He studied the lives of the two men involved, interviewing their relatives, friends, and contemporaries. He was also able to locate and assemble related photographs from the period. In the process the story developed verifiable substance as a few people were able to remember the first dog’s name and to establish the relationship between White and Boykin.
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