It was not until the 1800s that the ferries began to run on regular, fixed schedules. Even then, a raised flag (or blanket) served as the Uber app of the time.
A prime asset on the Wando River was the ferry. The Hobcaw Ferry came under the ownership of Captain Clement Lempriere. One of our country’s first naval heroes, who is somewhat overlooked in South Carolina history.
Authors note: This is a reprisal of a column I wrote in the 1990s for the Moultrie News. Given that this is the middle of banana spider season, I thought it worth a reprint.
Given the recent discussions around the maritime forest on Sullivan’s Island it might be beneficial to look back at some history around this ever-changing shoreline. The Lowcountry isn’t exact…
Every month now seems to have some sort of theme and, if you look hard enough, each day has a special association. Thus I was not surprised to find that Sept. 21 is national “Dogs in Politics …
In mid-February 1860, hot air balloonist T.S.C. Lowe left Charleston’s Marion Square and (gasp!) flew all the way across the harbor to Mount Pleasant, a truly remarkable feat for the time. He …
Today, passing Big Goat Island by boat on the Intracoastal Waterway is pretty much a non-event. With its private docks and comfortable homes tucked under groves of palmettos, the island is not…
During the Civil War, the rocks of the grillage placed at the lower end of Sullivan’s Island to halt erosion became a serious danger for shipping, particularly Confederate blockade runners hug…
Like a flying dinosaur straight out of Jurassic Park, the Brown Pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis) has prehistoric antecedents going back 30 million years. One of the largest of our water birds,…
Note: This is from a reprint of a column which originally ran in March 2000.
One was born a slave in 1742 on an East Cooper plantation overlooking Copahee Sound. In 1775, he joined with patriots under Gen. Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion and served throughout the war as a d…
When Richard Rowser Jr. died in 1733, he left his wife, Susanna, his “grate Seader chest” along with “two Iron potts… all his puter and one Fether bed.” His son, also named Richard, received t…
Those who know Mount Pleasant’s early history recall that most of the area in “old” Mount Pleasant was originally owned by Captain Florence O’Sullivan, who arrived with the original colonists …
For most of the last century, Rifle Range Rd. was… well, forgotten. It was the road less traveled, a back way to get to Porcher’s Bluff that meandered through farms, fields, woods and not much…
The golf course and residential community called Charleston National is located in North Mount Pleasant almost exactly 10 miles from the harbor. It fronts the broad marshes of Copahee Sound an…
In much of my writing about early Carolina I quote the writings of two of America’s earliest explorers, surveyor John Lawson and naturalist Mark Catesby. Not only did these intrepid men go bol…
A lead article in the Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017, issue of the Post & Courier discussed the possibility of cruise ships anchoring off Mount Pleasant and ferrying passengers to Patriots Point.…
Suzannah Smith Miles will be at Pitt Street Pharmacy on Saturday, Dec. 3, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. for an early Christmas shopping book signing.
Despite three centuries that have included devastating wars, fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes, peninsular Charleston has changed little in appearance through the years. Our city is…
Today, we think of “Hobcaw” as the beautiful oak-studded subdivision off Mathis Ferry Road, bounded by the Wando River on the west, Molasses Creek and Remley’s Point to the south and the upsca…
‘Maybe I have already done it,” ponders a character in William Faulkner’s book, Light in August. “Maybe it is no longer waiting to be done.”
They were among the best watermen in Charleston’s maritime history, their small boats a familiar and beloved sight as they sailed out each morning and returned each afternoon with their catch.…
Homecoming is a special time for high school students. During the 1994-1995 school year Statia Singleton was named the Wando High school Homecoming Queen, which was announced at the Nov. 4 game.
If we lived in the early 1800s, those of us with means would likely be packing for the annual move to Sullivan’s Island for the summer. By 1802, the lower end of the island by the harbor alrea…
Beach season is upon us and the waters are becoming a “sea” of swimmers, surfers, boogie-boarders, kayakers, parasailers, paddle boarders and folks on sailboats and power boats of every size, …
As a way of introduction for those of you who don’t know me, I have written extensively on the history of the East Cooper area and for some years have been researching Wando River and Cainhoy …
This Saturday, April 27 one of the most heroic life saving rescues on Sullivan’s Island will be remembered in an awards ceremony at the old Coast Guard station on Sullivan’s Island. In August …
(This column is of particular interest since Oakland Plantation, normally not open to the public, will be hosting a 5k run and oyster roast, with master oyster-cooker Jamie Westendorff doing t…
Can you imagine taking the USS Yorktown and plopping it on the front beach of Sullivan’s Island? From my understanding, given the present design this is a good representation of how large the …
Saturday’s Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast was Verdi’s “La Forza Del Destino” (The Force of Destiny). For me, this great grand opera immediately evokes memories of sailing the open sea in o…
(With the recent news reports of the Great White shark named Mary Lee prowling our offshore waters, we thought a revival of this column about some “historic” shark attacks was merited.)
I said farewell to my soul mate this week. Bird Dog, my black Lab, was 14 (that is 98 in dog years) and it was time to say goodbye. I’ve wept many tears and the emptiness of not having Bird by…
Seeing the recent headline about the $1,040 fine that was recently levied to a Sullivan's Island dog owner when her errant Labrador retriever went off for an unescorted trot, I breathed a sigh…
