Category Archives: History

Pawleys Island Chapel

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By Lee Brockington

 The enchanting little church featured on the front cover of the April issue of Lowcountry Companion Magazine is perched, quite literally, on the edge of the marsh in the heart of Pawleys Island. The sanctuary opened for services in 1947, but the building itself is much older. It originally served as an old Pentecostal Holiness Church in Georgetown but –– through the efforts of the Georgetown Laymen’s Evangelistic Club –– was dismantled and moved to the Island. Overlooking marsh and creek, the land where the church sits was donated by Dr. and Mrs. J.H. Porter of Andrews, SC.

Because so many area folks owned beach houses and “summered” in Pawleys, the idea of a summer chapel was most appealing. Mr. J.M. Layton of Georgetown was an original member of the Evangelistic Club, and for years he cared for the chapel and opened the doors each Sunday. Other summer residents took an active interest in repairs and in organizing the services. In 1970, the Linwood Altman family assumed these tasks.

Local ministers, laymen, and retired ministers alternate preaching duties, and special music is performed each Sunday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Interdenominational services are at 10 AM and are often standing room only.

Between 1947 and 1969 Sunday School classes for children and young people were also held. From 1970 to 1980, student ministers from Georgetown’s Duncan Memorial United Methodist Church conducted services during the summer. From 1971 to 1985, the newly organized Catholic Church (Precious Blood of Christ) used the chapel each Sunday for Mass. The Catholic church then moved to its larger site now on Waverly Road.

The charming, creekside chapel is often used for weddings and christenings. An average of 25 to thirty such services are held each year.

When the island first discussed incorporation in the early 1980s, it was here the arguments – both pro and con — were heard. The Town of Pawleys Island was incorporated in 1985, and mayor and council members were elected in the chapel, which was used as a polling place. The building miraculously survived Hurricane Hazel (1954) and Hurricane Hugo (1989), although it suffered damage in both storms.

The pulpit was given by Dr. and Mrs. Julian Kelly in memory of guests at their Tip Top Inn, which opened in 1932 and was destroyed by Hugo in 1989. The pulpit Bible was given by Mrs. Stan Brading of Sumter on July 4, 1965. The pulpit chair was given by the family of Wade O. Camlin III. The pulpit table was given in memory of Robert Stanton Hucks, Amelia Fox Stanton, and William Stanton by their family. Except for the Bible, these memorials replaced what was lost in Hurricane Hugo. The pews survived the saltwater surge, as did the portrait of Jesus.

Within seven months of the “Storm of the Century,” Pawleys Island Chapel was restored to use in the service of the Lord. Renovations in 1990 and 2005 allow 200 worshippers to experience a lack of pretense and a sense of kinship in a shared piece of paradise.

Lee G. Brockington is a historian and educator on the Waccamaw Neck. She is Senior Interpreter at Hobcaw Barony. She is editor of Pawleys Island, Stories from the Porch, a collection of oral history interviews, as well as author of Plantation Between the Waters, A Brief History of Hobcaw Barony and Pawleys Island, A Century of History and Photographs. Her newest book, State of The Heart – edited by Aida Rogers with a foreword by Pat Conroy – is scheduled for release in May of 2013.  Lee and her husband, Bill Shehan, were actually married in the Chapel in 1990. Theirs was the first wedding ceremony following Hurricane Hugo!

 Pawleys Island, A Century of History and Photographs provided the source material for this article. The book was compiled and written by Linwood Altman – father of Alan Altman – and Lee G. Brockington. (Joggling Board Press/Evening Post Publications, 2009)

The 278-page hard back pictography begins with an introduction by two of Pawleys famous vacationers; Cokie and Steve Roberts. They detail their love for the sandy, four-mile island and what it has come to mean to them as individuals and as a family.

Each chapter represents a decade. When you begin the story of Pawleys’ last century at page one, you glimpse a time when there were no Georgetown bridges, no causeways onto the Island and no Highway 17 (at least not as we know it now). By the end of the first chapter, everything changes.

“I believe this book reflects all the change between Pawleys Island and Georgetown over the past century” said Mr. Linwood Altman of the Civic Association’s latest work. “This coffee table time capsule is the culmination of three years of hard work, photo hunting, editing, delays, more delays, and waiting but it was well worth it.”

Other books published by the Pawleys Island Civic Association include Pawleys Island Stories from the Porch and Pawleys Island, Historically Speaking.

Upcoming Atalaya Festival Makes Ocean Home Magazine!

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Local Realtor, Troi Kaz frequently blogs about her fabulous neighborhood, Debordieu and other local interests.  Her love of our area shines through in her writing.  Ocean Home Magazine obviously loves it, too!

You can read more of Troi’s blogs at http://www.coastalschomes.com/

South Carolina’s Finest to be Displayed at Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival

Some of the finest art in the South Carolina Lowcountry will be on display, and available for purchase, this weekend at the Atalaya Arts and Crafts Festival in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

Just north of Pawleys Island, Atalaya, the ocean front castle, located in Huntington Beach State Park is the former home of the world renowned sculptor….read more at  http://oceanhomemag.com/atalaya/

Plantation Tours Series – Estherville Plantation

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This post is part  of a series I’m doing on the 65th Annual Plantation Tours sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women of Prince George Winyah Parrish.  These posts will be interspersed with our regular eclectic offerings. 

Each year  plantations and town houses (most privately owned) are graciously shared with the public. A different group of homes is on tour each day.  As part of the tour of pre-Revolutionary and antebellum churches, town houses and plantations, visitors are invited to the Winyah Indigo Society Hall for tea each afternoon.

The dates for the 66th Annual Plantation Tours are March 22 and 23, 2013.

Estherville Plantation

I arrived at Estherville Plantation just as rain was threatening. The misty light was wonderful and imparted a fairy tale feel to the gardens.  It was one of the many times I wished I were a painter.  Or at least a better photographer who doesn’t rely on a blackberry to take all her photos.  Some of these may have been taken with my actual camera.  I tend to switch back and forth depending on battery charge.

Estherville has incredible wrap around marsh views.

The combination of azaleas and Spanish moss draped live oaks is breathtaking!

Add marsh view and my heart stops!

Photographs aren’t allowed inside the houses so all photos will be of the gardens.  The interior of the house is amazing with a screened in pool, big game trophies and lots of books. It’s beautiful and lived in and loved.

Here’s what the Plantation Tours brochure says about Estherville Plantation.

“On June 18, 1711, Winyah Barony, containing 12,000 acres, was granted to Landgrave Robert Daniel, who sold it the following day to the second Landgrave Thomas Smith.  Nothing is known of the history of his grant until 1732 when Landgrave Thomas Smith laid out a part of this barony as a second town.  From 1732 until his death in 1738, he tried to sell lots in the town, but was unsuccessful.  Georgetown was already growing, and two towns on Winyah Bay were not needed.  Subsequently, a portion of these lands came into the hands of Archibald Johnstone, who married Esther Allston in 1745.  It is she for whom the place is named.  Their great grandson Francis Withers Johnstone, planted Estherville in 1850, and records show that in that year he had ninety slaves who helped him harvest 300,000 pounds of rice.  Estherville remained in the Johnstone family until 1918.

Historically, Estherville is interesting as the probable site of the first experiment in tidal cultivation of rice.  Tidal fresh water presumably was brought from Minim Creek, a branch of the Santee River, through a large irrigation ditch or canal.  After the success of this experiment, this method of agriculture spread in all directions, vastly increasing the rice production potential of the South Carolina Coast.

The origianl house burned and the present dwelling was constructed on the old foundation in the early 1900′s.  Estherville is owned by Mr. & Mrs. Robert Lucas Lumpkin, Jr. and Captain & Mrs. R. Parker Lumpkin.”

After the tour through the house we came out to beautiful sunshine!

Butterflies also enjoyed the azaleas and sunshine!

And for the finale, a rainbow!

 

Sweet Grass Baskets – Weaving Another Story

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We have a guest writer, today.  Bob Ciminel has shared one of his memories of the lowcountry with us.  This story is from a few years ago, so you probably won’t find Bea at one of the many basket stands that decorate our roadways, but you may find her daughter!  Thank you Bob for sharing your story!

 

The South Carolina Low Country is home to an art form that is quite unique in the United States.  I’m referring to the woven sweet grass baskets made by people living along U.S. Highway 17, the “Ocean Highway,” north of Charleston.  Many of the basket weavers are descendants of slaves who brought their weaving skills from Africa.  The slaves made large woven baskets to hold their babies while they worked in the fields.

 

One weaver of whom we are quite familiar is Bea Coxum.  Bea lives in Mount Pleasant, across the Cooper River from Charleston.  I spent five years in Charleston and never bought a sweet grass basket.  My priorities were different then; centering on Scotch and women, in that order.  I remember seeing the basket stands along the highway, but the thought of buying one never crossed my mind.  Driving home after an all-nighter in Charleston required all the attention I could muster to keep the car centered on the two lane bridge between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island.  Once, I dozed off momentarily and almost wound up as crab bait.  No, sweet grass baskets were not on my A-list in 1967.

 

My wife and I visit Bea’s basket stand every year during our vacations to Pawleys Island.  Every day except Sunday, you can usually find Bea sitting at the Original Pawleys Island Hammock Shops where she spends the better part of the day in the heat and humidity selling her beautiful baskets.

Bea creates her baskets (build and assemble just don’t seem to fit) from sweet grass, pine needles, and palmetto fronds.  You can spot one of her baskets by the pattern and tightness of the weave.  Sometimes Bea travels as far south as Savannah to gather her materials.  This was the case last year when the Carolina Low Country was plagued by drought and wildfires. Unable to replenish her raw materials, Bea was really limited in what she could weave over the winter.  Bea was also ill, which further affected her productivity.  That probably explains why she had so few items on display when we stopped by to see her this year.

 

Bea doesn’t sign her work.  People familiar with the art form immediately recognize one of Bea’s baskets.  So I was surprised when I saw one or two baskets at her stand that didn’t look like Bea’s handiwork.  We asked her about the differences in the baskets.  She said she is teaching her daughter how to weave.  It is a long apprenticeship.  Try to picture Van Gogh teaching someone how to paint the world as he saw it, or Ansel Adams explaining to an understudy how to capture the beauty and grandeur of the American West on black and white film.

 

Sweet grass basket-making is a dying art.  The younger generation doesn’t want to spend their mornings in the woods collecting materials, or their afternoons sitting in the sun selling baskets, or their humid evenings weaving items that may sell for less than $50 after the tourists whine about how expensive they are for things made of grass.  The younger generation can make more money working in an air-conditioned McDonald’s or Burger King.

Plantation Tours Series – Rice Hope Plantation

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This information is copied from a flyer given out at Plantation Tours and appears to be taken from Rice Hope’s website, http://ricehopeplantation.com/index.htm.  I am not the original author but the history is so interesting, I feel it needs to be shared.

circa 1836

Some of the most interesting and influential men in the history of South Carolina have been owners of Rice Hope Plantation.  colonial statesmen, inventors and businessmen have all felt an affinity for the pristine land that composes this serenely beautiful section of the Santee Delta.

The land composing Rice Hope was originally owned by Thomas Lynch who had emigrated from Ireland to South Carolina with his parents in the 1670′s, thus making the Lynches one of the founding first families of south Carolina.

Thomas Lynch, II.

Thomas Lynch Senior owned over ten thousand acres, which he acquired in various parcels.  The track that composes the present day Rice Hope was probably acquired from the brother of Thomas Lynch’s second wife, Sabina Vanderhorst.  Thomas purchased 390 acres from William Vanderhorst in 1756.

Thomas Senior’s land was passed down to his only son, Thomas Lynch II and ultimately to his grandson Thomas Lynch III. Thomas II and III are the famous father and son genealogical unit who were South Carolina’s delegates to the Continental Congress in Philadelpia and as such they were designated signers of The Declaration of Independance.  Only Thomas Lynch III actually signed, because his father had a stroke and died before he was able to append his signature.

Thomas Lynch, III. Signer of The Declaration of Independence

By various marriages,, divisions and absorption with neighboring plantations, Rice Hope then became the property of Francis Kinloch, who had inherited almost nineteen thousand acres from his father James Kinlock.  During his student years, studying abroad, Francis had become a close friend of Henry Laurens.  Because he was descended from minor Scottish nobility, Kinlock served as a member of the British House of Commons, as a representative from berkeley and Craven Counties.  Kinloch was an astute businessman and became a highly successful rice and indigo planter.

Chimney. all that remains of a steam powered rice mill (not at Rice Hope Plantation)

Like the Lynch family, Kinloch never used Rice Hope as his primary residence, but Kinloch’s probate inventory indicates that there was a small sparsely furnished building on the site at the time of his death in 26.  this “house” appears to have been more of a working plantation office, yet Huger family tradition maintains that Lafayette was entertained at Rice Hope inn 1777 as he traveled from the Huger home back to Charleston.

Francis Kinloch, II

Kinloch’s estate passed to two of his younger sons, Francis Junior and Cleland Kinloch.  Rice Hope was then sold to an English merchant named George Lockey and his working partner Edward Crook in South Carolina.  Lockey died in England, leaving a legacy to George Crook’s heirs, one of whom was his daughter, Mary Crook who had married Johnathan Lucas, a millwright from Cumberland, England.  Shortly after the American Revolution, Johnathan Lucas purchased part of Rice Hope Plantation for 26,000 pounds sterling.

Johnathan Lucas apparently never lived at rice Hope, but used the plantation as a laboratory for his experiments to improve rice milling.  Lucas utilized water mills driven by the tides and his son, Johnathan Lucas Junior designed and improved his father’s work using steam driven machinery that greatly accelerated the complicated process of hulling rice.  due to the Lucas’ inventions, South Carolina Became the center of america’s rice milling industry.  Two millstones are incorporated in the walkways at Rice Hope as reminders of the plantation’s heyday in rice production.

Rice Hope was transferred to Johnathan Lucas Junior’s son, Somons Lucas, who continued to run the rice plantation successfully, yet seemed to share little of his father’s or grandfather’s engineering interests.  Because of the care he lavished on the property,Simons Lucas is believed to have built the existing house circa 1836, after a fire destroyed the original building on the property.  Simons planted willow trees, roses, camellias, and added the beautiful ornamental pond.  It is known that he also maintained a greenhouse on the property.

Simons Lucas great-granddaughter married Frederick Wentworth Ford and

Ford acquired rice Hope and ran it as a successful rice producing plantation until 1908 when a rare flood tide destroyed most of the rice fields along the Santee Delta.  After unsuccessfully trying to restore the rice fields, Ford sold Rice Hope to New York banker William Beach in 1926 as a hunting preserve.

Beach acquired partners and eventually reassembled much of of the land that had been part of the original parcel composing rice Hope.  Beach significantly remodeled both entrances to the plantation house built by Simons Lucas.  The “new front” of Rice Hope reflected the transition between arriving at the plantation via road, by motorcar, versus the traditional approach via the river, by boat.  Beach also added electricity and embellished the house architecturally, using Federal-styled woodwork and mantles salvaged from houses in peninsular Charleston that had been demolished during The Depression.

In the mid-nineteen fifties, Rice Hope was acquired by Williams Furniture Corporation of Sumter, South Carolina, then sold to a group of investors who re-sold the plantation to the present owners in 1982.

Rice Hope has come full circle and is currently composed of 392 acres, planted to attract waterfowl and provide a wildlife habitat for a wide variety of animals. This gem of the South Carolina Lowcountry is now carefully protected by a group of six businessmen for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.  The property is owned by Billy Ingram, Lee Jones,, John Nichols, Mark Stucky, Ged Tiller and Craig Wardlaw.  Bruce Gallup, Plantation Manager.

Broaching the Subject

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Thanks to Cindy Kinder, Directory of The Kaminski House Museum for this blog post!

Several years ago, an astonishing find was uncovered at the Kaminski House Museum. This find is still talked about today; in fact it is one of the favorite stories told by the docents at the Museum. This astonishing find was just a simple, but elegant broach.

In 1996, the Museum received a grant from the Institute of Museum Services to hire a Registrar, a temporary position. A registrar’s job is to catalog the artifacts in a museum. This means numbering and writing a description of an artifact for inventory purposes. In 1997, Michelle Parks, the registrar at the Museum was cataloging the artifacts in Julia Kaminski’s Bedroom, specifically the dressing table located in that room. In order to catalog this dressing table correctly, Michelle had to take the skirting off of the table and when she did, pinned to the underside of the skirting was a dusty brooch. Michelle dusted it off, examined it and concluded that is had to be just a piece of costume jewelry that Mrs. Kaminski had hidden behind the skirting.

This brooch was in the Museum for about a week. The staff at the time enjoyed wearing it, and wondered where it came from. Finally, Michelle brought it down to the jewelers to have it cleaned. While she was at the store, she called up the then Director of the Museum, Ralph Calhoun, and told him that they might have a problem with the brooch. As it turned out, this brooch was made up of 13 old mine cut diamonds, each being a different karat weight totaling 13 karats with the biggest diamond being 2.55 karats. To top it off, the diamonds were set in 14-karat white gold. The problem was, what would the Museum do with such a beautiful and one of a kind piece?

The Kaminski House Museum kept the brooch; it had no choice. When Julia Kaminski died in 1972, she left her house, the contents and the grounds to the City of Georgetown to be a Museum in honor of her late husband, Harold and his mother, Rose. Her will is very specific about how her gift to the City was to be used and who the governing body should be. It also states that if the City of Georgetown wanted to sell any piece from the collection, the proceeds from the sale would go to the Seeing Eye Dog Foundation. This means that the Kaminski House Museum had to think about how to secure the brooch since it could not sell it.

Julia and Harold

Today, “the pin”, as it is called, is in a secure place and only comes out for very special occasions. When it does come out in public it is well guarded by Georgetown’s finest.

This brooch brought up another question. Where did it come from? When the brooch was first found there were all sorts of stories about how Julia Kaminski attained the brooch. All of the stories, although juicy, were not true. The brooch, like most of the antiques in the Museum, came from Julia’s mother-in-law, Rose Kaminski.

When this story is told during the tours of the Kaminski House Museum, the next question that is usually asked is how did the Kaminskis acquire their money to afford such jewelry and antiques? The answer to this question is simple: the American way, through hard work.

It all started with Harold Kaminski’s father, Heiman Kaminski. Heiman Kaminski was born in Posen, Prussia, which is now Poland, in 1839. He emigrated from Prussia in 1854 to Charleston where he worked in a mercantile house. During the Civil War, Heiman served in the Confederate Army. After the War ended Heiman came to Georgetown and started working in a local hardware store. In 1867, Heiman started the H. Kaminski and Company Hardware Store. This store was very successful and expanded into dry goods. He later was able to expand his holdings into about five other businesses, including a shipping company.

In the late 1800’s the country was in the mist of a major recession, especially in the south. Along with this recession, Georgetown County was suffering the beginning of the loss of the rice culture that had made this county extremely wealthy. It is believed that Heiman Kaminski would extend credit to these one-time wealthy rice planters excepting furniture for payment of the supplies they needed. This is how the Kaminskis amassed such a fine collection of priceless antiques and incredible wealth.

The only way to see these antiques and to hear many more stories about the Kaminskis, is to take a tour. The Kaminski House Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM the guided tours are $10.00 per person. Call for tour times. The Kaminski House Museum is located at 1003 Front Street in historic Georgetown. For more information call toll free 843-546-7706.

 

Slavery and Rice on the Santee

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Historians agree South Carolina’s rice economy was the product of Anglo-American
entrepreneurship coupled with African-American know-how and labor. Simply put, the coastal
rice economy could not have survived without the knowledge of rice culture that African slaves
brought with them from rice-growing regions of coastal West Africa.
In his book, Black Majority, historian Peter Wood marvels: “Literally hundreds of black
immigrants were more familiar with the planting, hoeing, processing, and cooking of rice than
were the European settlers who purchased them.”
Almost as quickly as tidal rice became profitable, planters recognized the agricultural skill in
West African slaves. They showed great preference in buying these slaves. As one Charleston
slave merchant, Henry Laurens, remarked “Slaves from the River Gambia are preferr’d to all
others.”
Rice slavery on the South Carolina coast was truly a remarkable institution. Slaves brought their
own skills for rice cultivations that, as Peter Woods notes, differed very little from their methods
in Africa. “When New World slaves planted rice in the spring by pressing a hole with the heel
and covering the seeds with the foot, the motion used was demonstrably similar to that employed
in West Africa. In summer, when Carolina blacks moved through the rice fields in a row, hoeing
in unison to work songs, the pattern of cultivation was not one imposed by European owners but
rather one retained from West African forebears.
Peter Wood further notes that even the wide sweet grass baskets used in the fall to separate the
grain from the chaff were “a purely African design.” The design has changed little while
generations of African Americans have passed down the craft.


Even more unique to rice slavery was the “task system.” Rice slaves negotiated with their
overseer through a “driver” slave. Once the driver and overseer agreed on a reasonable amount
of work for a given week, the slaves set out on the task. After completing the work, any
remaining time belonged to the slaves. During this period, they were free to work their own
gardens, fish, and some even hunted wild game – though hunting was very rare. In contrast,
cotton plantations employed the “gang system” with no concept of free time.
The pens adjacent to the slave cabins indicate slaves kept their own livestock. Fossil evidence
from swine found around the slave cabins further suggests that Hopsewee’s slave population
supplemented their diet by raising their own animals.


Rice slavery was unique in two particular ways: the African influence and the task system. The
task system and slave’s own skills encouraged a degree of responsibility among slaves in
managing rice cultivation. This air of autonomy is further reflected in expressions of West
African culture. For example, the high roof with cypress shakes closely follows the high thatched
African style. The pattern follows the African tradition and serves a practical function by
reducing heat in the summer months.Slave’s responsibility for rice production is further expressed by those with important positions.
Head driver slaves negotiated the slaves’ weekly work and served as a foreman on work crews.
Other slaves were given the important responsibility of “trunkmaster.” Trunkmasters oversaw the
in and out tidal flow of water in the marshy rice fields. Proper control of water flow during the
growing season was essential to successful crops. Improper trunkminding could lead to salt water
in the fields, which would ruin the crop.


Freedman’s Bureau contracts between former slaves and masters in the post-Civil War period
kept many of the same arrangements as they had during slavery. Furthermore, these
arrangements provide an idea about slave life and labor expectations on a Santee Rice plantation.
Contracts, for example, included arrangements for handing out farming implements. As during
slavery, planters kept a close watch on their farming tools. Slaves sometimes purposefully lost or
destroyed tools as a means of “passive” resistance.
For more on these topics see:
Coclanis, Peter A. “Rice,” in The South Carolina Encyclopedia. Ed. Walter Edgar. Columbia: University of South
Carolina Press, 2006.
Littlefield, Daniel C. Rice and Slaves: Ethnicity and the Slave Trade in Colonial South Carolina. Urbana and
Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1981.
Wood, Peter. Black Majority: Negroes in Colonial South Carolina from 1670 through the Stono Rebellion. New
York: Knopf, 1974.
Thanks to David Dangerfield, Southern Studies Graduate Student, College of Charleston

And thanks to www.Hopsewee.com!

Make Plans Now to Attend the Winyah Bay Heritage Festival

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Some years ago in Georgetown, there was a festival in January celebrating Winyah Bay.  My family attended the first two and had a wonderful time. We missed a few years due to weather but now it’s back and at a much more reasonable time of year!

Now in it’s fifth year on March 2, 3, and 4,  the festival is a celebration of the rich heritage of Winyah Bay and the surrounding area. It honors the traditions rooted here, in the rice fields, uplands and marshes.

This year, the festival will take place at the Bobby Alford Recreation Center located in Georgetown.  The many activities hark back to the time when hunting and fishing were a necessity, rather than pastimes of avid sportsmen and a way to develop conservationists of tomorrow.

The Palmetto Dock Dogs will be on site this year demonstrating how dogs jump and retrieve.   Fishing guides will be on hand to talk about some of the best fishing spots, share tactics and teach techniques for the perfect throw with a cast net.   The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources brings their fishing simulator and shooting range which are huge hits with children.

Children's decoy painting at a previous Winyah Bay Heritage Festival

Additional activities for the young and young at heart include the Birds of Prey, decoy painting and the youth duck calling clinic, a new event last year.  New this year, and suited for all ages, will be a demonstration called “Snakes in Your Own Back Yard.”

Numerous exhibitors bring many items for sale.  If you are looking for the perfect call, decoy or painting, you’re in luck.  Please support the exhibitors as they, too, are an integral part of the festival.

“View of Chicora Wood Plantation”, oil by Joseph Cave

The featured artist for this year’s Winyah Bay Heritage Festival is local artist Joseph Cave. The painting titled “ View of Chicora Wood Plantation” was unveiled in November at a special reception held at the historic Stewart Parker house in Georgetown and will be auctioned at the sponsors party on March 2. It is currently on display at the Georgetown County Museum at 632 Prince Street, Georgetown SC.

All proceeds from ticket sales and sponsors benefit the Georgetown County Historical Society, which in turn supports the Georgetown County Museum, a 501 (c) (3) entity.  In addition to festival activities, many museums and tours in the area are available to further your knowledge of this special place.  Your visit will make you want to live here, and you’ll certainly understand why pluff mud sticks to our boots and to our roots.

Information contained in this article is in part from http://www.winyahbayfestival.org/index.htm.  Please visit the site for much more extensive information!

 

New Year’s Day – Southern Style

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Frank and Raejean Beattie hosted their annual New Year’s Day gathering at their home, Hopsewee Plantation.  The weather was wonderful and there is no better setting to enjoy the first day of the New Year.  The Beattie’s provided the country ham, collard greens, and hoppin’ john to make sure we have a lucky and profitable year and guests provided their favorite sides and desserts.  There is no doubt that Southerner’s enjoy their food!  For those not in the know, it’s a Lowcountry tradition to eat hoppin’ john for luck and collard greens for money on New Year’s Day.  All the food was excellent and guests should be a fortunate and wealthy group this year!

A scavenger hunt provided the opportunity to get to know other guests, with objectives such as, “find someone who has flown in a jet fighter,”  “someone who plays the cello,” and “someone who can touch their tongue to their nose”.  It was quite the conversation starter and a good time was had by all!

After eating, strolling the grounds provided wonderful photo opportunities.

The view of the North Santee River is always beautiful.

Conversation is always better under moss draped oaks.

Hopsewee has some of the most gorgeous camellias in the lowcountry.

Thank You to the best hosts in the lowcountry for the BEST New Year’s Day!

 Hopsewee was built 40 years before the Revolutionary War and is a national historic landmark that has been preserved rather than restored.  If are interested in the history of the house, tours, or weddings on the plantation, visit hopsewee.com .  The Tea Room at Hopsewee receives rave reviews from visitors from all over the nation.  I and my family love to visit it!   Check their website for current hours.

Trental

New Year’s Eve – Lowcountry Style

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One of the more popular ways to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the lowcountry is with family, good friends, and great food and drink.  If you’re lucky, you may get an invitation like the one above!  Mark and Tara Hakinson hosted a great party at King’s Crest in Murrells Inlet.

 The tables are ready for the oysters and fantastic appetizers are placed all around the house.

There’s chicken bog simmering on the stove for those who can’t wait for the oysters and the house smells wonderful.

The view from the dock is a great place to reflect on the passing of the old year and look forward to the new.

It’s really a pleasure to celebrate in a house with such history.  Here’s a brief history of King’s Crest.

“Prior to1906, Archie Woodward purchased this property for $150 and built the house around 1909. In 1920, J.W. King of Raleigh, NC and his wife, Capitola Holiday King of Galivants Ferry, bought it as a summer home at an auction for $1,985. “King’s Krest”refers to the family surname and the high point on which the home sits.

The King’s three children shared time at their parents’ summer home through the late 1930s. In 1941, one son, Dr. William King, and his wife, Mary Catherine Carter King, (Mama Kate) took title to “King’s Krest.” Together with their children and grandchildren they spent many summers at the family home well into the 1960s. Today, it is the 50 members of the fourth, fifth and sixth King family generations who enjoy “King’s Krest.” For generations, the kids have swung on the wisteria vines, jumped off the dock’s railing, bounced on Oliver’s joggling board, begged for hush puppies at the Oliver’s Lodge back door, ran in the creek with Roosevelt “Rooster” Pickett and Bubba Love, hung out at the old government dock, visited Eason’s store and enjoyed the July 4th family reunions.

“King’s Krest” is filled with generations of family memories, including old water skis, fishnets and pencil sketches. Many of the black and white photos hail from Chip Smith, local photographer who lives in the tree house apartment over the garage, circa 1930, once home for the King’s servants. The tree is estimated to be 150 to 200 years old.

In the dining room is Mama Kate’s writing desk, which used to face south in the family room towards the sitting porch. The bell on the fireplace was used by Viola, the family cook, to summon the Kings for breakfast. Viola, who daily walked from her home in Brookgreen Gardens to work for the Kings, remained with the family into the early 1980s.

Though there is an eating porch off the kitchen, the dining room table, two green chairs and buffet date back to the first generation King matriarch. The table is set with Mama Kate’s everyday china from the 1940s.

The upstairs sleeping porch was screened in after WWII and filled with army cots to accommodate Dr. King’s own growing army of grandchildren, who slept here until the 1970s, when A/C arrived. Recently the upstairs and downstairs porches were remodeled.

The Inlet side of “King’s Krest” has always been the front of the house given an old road that ran between the creek and the houses. Notice the rope swing that has been hanging from the old oak tree since WWII. The boys nailed steps to the tree, making climbing easier. Over the past 60 years, the tree has grown over one of those steps.

Christmas mornings for Dr. King’s grandchildren at “King’s Krest” means a visit to Belin’s church service followed by a romp in the Inlet to gather seafood. King’s Krest Christmases set the tone for a warm, cozy, creek side holiday, adorned with natural magnolia, cedar and cypress greenery and shells.”

King’s Crest is available for weekly rentals throughout the year by visiting this site. http://www.vrbo.com/23214