SC Collection

And I'm Glad: An Oral History of Edisto Island explores the island's history through the eyes and in the voices of two Edisto farmers, Sam Gadsden and Bubberson Brown, who grew up, labored, raised families, and made their lives on the island.

Kiawah Island, located on the picturesque South Carolina coast in the heart of the Lowcountry, has a well-deserved reputation as a world-renowned destination. With its pristine beaches, award-winning golf courses and spectacular resort, Kiawah beckons to thousands of visitors from across the globe each year.

In this engaging volume, local historian Douglas Bostick reveals the unacknowledged history of the second community in South Carolina, settled in 1671.

James Island remains one of the few places in the United States where descendants of slaves can easily trace their roots to one of the seventeen slave plantations.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces at Fort Johnson fired upon Federal-occupied Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, etching James Island's name in American history as the starting place of the War Between the States.

The coast of South Carolina is fringed by a series of low islands covered with glistening white sands, forming little hills that shift with the varying winds. Dewees is one such windswept retreat--and author James Cochrane lovingly traces its history in Dewees: The Island and Its People.

John's Island (also spelled "Johns Island") is the largest Sea Island and the second largest island on the East Coast. The legendary Angel Oak, a restored 18th-century mansion, and an African American praise house are a few of the historic treasures found beyond the island's wide salt marsh vistas.

Named for its abundance of sabal palms, this seven-mile barrier island off the South Carolina coast is a classic beach community. In 1899, Dr. Joseph S. Lawrence dubbed the island the Isle of Palms to attract more tourists.

The history of Daniel Island lies just beneath the surface. Revealed in half-buried artifacts and forgotten manuscripts, it is uncovered piece by piece in the stories and legacies of agriculture and industry, recreation and development.

Folly Beach was not named for its carefree inhabitants' lifestyles, but it is a fitting moniker nonetheless.

Ask anyone from Charleston or the surrounding areas, "What do you remember about Folly Beach?" and you will get a remarkable array of answers. For some, Folly Beach is a memory of youthful days of freedom; for others it is where the avant-garde, bohemian types lived. Having hosted plague victims, playwrights and maybe a pirate or two, Folly has had a checkered past.

The Island is a very singular one. It consists of little else than the sea sand and is about three miles long. Its breadth at no point exceeds a quarter of a mile." Edgar Allan Poe's terse description, from his story The Gold Bug, is essentially as true today as when it was written. Others, before and after Poe, have been captivated by "the Island." For a long time, Sullivan's Island was the only Charleston-area beach resort, and its importance in the nation's history gave it a special significance. From the Battle of Fort Sullivan (now Fort Moultrie) came the inspiration for the state flag and for the arms of the Great Seal of State. The unique architectural heritage of Sullivan's Island evolved out of this historical background. A visiting New York architect in the 1970s said, "This Island has the greatest assortment of styles and periods of architecture ever put together in one small area." However, an 1872 observer more accurately called the style of architecture "multifarious."

Wadmalaw Island has remained a timeless representation of a bygone era. A once thriving plantation economy, Wadmalaw boasted of cotton, indigo, and rice plantations that also housed the town of Rockville: a quaint, seaside retreat for the local planters. Lowcountry architecture was seen throughout the island in the designs of the plantations and summer vacation homes. Time and events did not leave the island unscathed, and Wadmalaw fell victim to war and financial hardship as did the rest of the South. Wadmalaw weathered the harsh conditions and was able to continue its sleepy way of life into the 20th century. Rockville also became home to the well-known Rockville Regatta that brings thousands of visitors to the island. Despite surrounding growth that has threatened it, Wadmalaw has continued to maintain its unique noncommercial air and retains the agricultural focus on which it was founded.