Visit the city once and you’ll discover that it pulls at your heartstrings like no other place in the country.

Is it the delightful year-round climate? The almost-European feel of its downtown city streets? The overwhelming amount of history lurking behind every corner and down every alley? Charleston is truly one of the most cosmopolitan places around, offering sophisticated dining rivaling that of much larger cities and shopping experiences for even the most jaded consumers.

To say that Charleston is steeped in history is much like saying the sun is yellow. Other places have long histories as well, but none is a living museum that grows and changes with the times. Suffice it to say, if you’re a history buff, you will never grow tired of Charleston and the surrounding countryside. And, you will appreciate the Charleston's beautiful gated communities, too.

"Visit the city once and you’ll discover that it pulls at your heartstrings like no other place in the country."

While the city itself has no beaches, it is surrounded by water on three sides–if you’re lost, just continue on and you’ll surely run into a familiar river and get your bearings. The most picturesque spot in Charleston might be The Battery, with its panoramic views of the Ashley and the Cooper, the two rivers that form the peninsula, and the Atlantic Ocean. If you love the sights and sounds of gentle waves lapping against the shore, you can reach some of the best beaches along the Atlantic coast in a matter of minutes. If you revere golf, there is no shortage of challenging courses to conquer. If you enjoy walking, Charleston is full of interesting little parks and side streets filled with art galleries and boutiques.

In spite of all that Charleston offers, it maintains a small-town charm you’ll cherish for years to come. You’ll love morning strolls around Colonial Lake and sunset cocktails at restaurants overlooking the water. You’ll come to appreciate the intricate artwork in the wrought-iron gates and the lovely Charleston single style of architecture, designed to catch the breeze on sultry afternoons.

Most of all, you’ll cherish the many new friends and acquaintances you’ll make when you choose Charleston.

Shem Creek has always been a working creek. It fed the Sewee Indians and ferried the father of our country safely across the harbor. It powered saw mills and rice mills and served up turtles whose meat won acclaim at fine restaurants in the Northeast.

It pumped money into Mount Pleasant’s economy with every net full of shrimp that its trawlers hauled back to the docks. And it worked magic for children, opening its arms to generations of little boys and girls who paddled into the creek holes, imaginations brimming, searching for adventure and buried treasures.

Shem Creek Provides

Shem Creek is still a working creek today, although much of the work has changed. It still feeds people, but today they’re mostly guests at the restaurants alongside the docks. Boats still come and go, but today the watercraft is more recreational than commercial.

Yet despite changing tides and times, Shem Creek still provides a livelihood, a playground and a sense of place. It’s the village’s touchstone — a picture-postcard place that still and always captures the heart and soul of Mount Pleasant.

The Indians are thought to have called it Shemee, possibly for a small tribe that lived on its banks. Shem Creek, whose head is near present-day Bowman Road, was commonly known in the 1700s by the name of the men who owned the land alongside it. It was Sullivan’s Creek (for Capt. Florence O’Sullivan, the patriot for whom Sullivan’s Island is named), Dearsley’s Creek (for George Dearsley, thought to have been one of the first shipbuilders on the creek) and Parris Creek (after Alexander Parris, who also owned land near Beaufort where the Parris Island U.S. Marine facilities are today).

Shipbuilding made Shem Creek a working creek, but it was far from the only activity there. Peter Villepontoux ran a lime kiln on the creek in the 1740s to supply the growing number of brickyards in the Lowcountry. Between 1745 and the start of the Civil War in 1861, more than 50 brickyards had operations on the Wando and Cooper rivers.

"More than two decades after the war ended, the modern seafood and boat building industries on Shem Creek were born..."

Ferry service made Shem Creek a hub of business as well. In 1770, Englishman Andrew Hibben bought a charter to run a ferry from the south side of Shem Creek to Charleston. Hibben’s Ferry was the first to connect Haddrell’s Point (the name given to the Old Village area after colonist George Haddrell) with the city of Charleston; other ferries had run from Hobcaw Creek. Hibben charged 33 cents for passengers, 21 cents for horned cattle, 75 cents for two-wheeled carriages and $1.75 for four-wheeled carriages.

In 1791, when President George Washington visited the South Carolina Lowcountry as part of his “Southern Tour,” Major Peter Bocquet provided him with a special barge that was refurbished and lengthened at Pritchard’s Shipyard on Hobcaw Creek. A dozen captains — one from each of the 12 American ships anchored in Charleston Harbor at the time ­­— were invited to man the oars for the president’s crossing of the channel. A flotilla accompanied the presidential barge across the harbor, with crowds cheering and bands on several vessels providing music for the celebration.

In 1795, millwright and inventor Jonathan Lucas built a combination rice mill/saw mill on Shem Creek — the first water-driven rice mill in the area. The man and his work live on in the names of the thoroughfares along the creek — Mill Street and Lucas Street. Lucas’s mill was on the site of an earlier mill called Greenwich Mill, built by landowner Jonathan Scott. In the mid-1800s, John Hamlin’s Mount Pleasant Bucket Factory on the south side of the creek, in the area of present-day Live Oak Drive and Bennett Street, supplied not only buckets, but painted and unpainted pine, cypress, assorted lumber, and lathes as well.

War on the Creek

The Civil War touched Shem Creek, just as it did the rest of the Charleston area. In the early 1860s, workers at Jones Shipyard on the creek had built a steamer called The Planter that owner F.M. Jones intended for use by nearby plantations. The vessel was instead put into service as a blockade runner for the Confederacy because of its shallow draft and speed. On May 13, 1862, while the vessel’s white officers were ashore, The Planter’s black quartermaster, Robert Smalls, and the rest of the all-black crew saw their opportunity and seized it. Smalls and his fellow sailors steered the ship out to meet Union vessels at the mouth of the harbor and were later rewarded for their daring.

At the time of the war, there was a grist mill on Shem Creek in the area that is now the Shemwood II subdivision. The mill ground rice and corn grown on local plantations. In February 1865, Mount Pleasant’s intendant (mayor), Henry Slade Tew, wrote a letter to his daughter telling her of the ill fate that befell the mill:

“I heard that orders had been given to burn the mill and contents, and about 1,200 bushels rough rice of which near 200 was my own, and I had also the stores for the poor in it. I regarded this as a wanton act of cruelty, as ours was an isolated community having no local source of supply, and all that was in the mill would not have afforded more than would suffice to feed them a month or two, and the destruction of the mill itself would deprive the people of a means of having any rice beat or corn ground, and must cause great suffering.”

Tew went to mill to try to stop the burning, appealing personally to Capt. C.P. Bolton and his cavalry as they approached bearing torches. “He (Bolton) admitted the cruelty of the act, knew from his long service at this post that the mill was the only source for the inhabitants to prepare their grain for food, but his orders compelled him to destroy it, and fire was accordingly applied, and the devilish act, I must call it, accomplished.”

Terrapins and Trawlers

More than two decades after the war ended, the modern seafood and boat building industries on Shem Creek were born. In 1890, William Hale was operating an oyster factory on the creek, and in 1895, Capt. Robert Holman Magwood bought the Mount Pleasant Boat Building Co., docking his boats there and also operating a turtle crawl. The “Cooter Pen” shipped live diamondback terrapins to the larger cities in the Northeast, where they appeared on the menus of the finest hotels.

By the 1930s, though, shrimping and boat building were the major industries on the creek. The Darby family bought Mount Pleasant Boat Building in 1921 and the business thrived, specializing in engine installation, repairs and equipment sales as well as construction. When the company closed in 1990, the boat building business ceased on the creek.

The shrimping industry continues at Shem Creek, although it faces pressure from cheap foreign imports, development on the creek, and the lack of ready supplies of two critical ingredients for the trawlers — ice and fuel. In the 1930s, Capt. William C. Magwood introduced the first powered trawler on the creek, the Skipper, and the Magwood family today is still a staple of the local seafood business. Also a fixture on the creek is Mount Pleasant Seafood, established in 1945 by W.D. Toler. His son-in-law, Rial Fitch, has owned the business since 1975 and has had a front-row seat for the changes on the creek.

“The biggest change I’ve seen is the growth and upcropping of the restaurants,” Fitch says. “Originally there was just the Lorelei, then the Trawler, and then the others started coming — RB’s, The Barge. Down at the other end there’s Shem Creek Bar and Grill, and next to them — I can’t even remember all the others.

“Right behind that is the change from having all-commmercial and all-working boats to so many recreational and pleasure boats,” he says. “There used to be from 100 to 120 shrimp trawlers that frequented the creek at different times and unloaded between Simmons Seafood, Mount Pleasant Seafood, the Magwoods and all the different docks. Now there are probably 20 to 25. There are still a lot of people who go out on the creek to make a living, but it’s not as much a commercial creek as it was.”

Fitch grew up in downtown Charleston. “My earliest recollection of Shem Creek is coming across on the way to the Isle of Palms to see my aunt who lived over there, and every time you went across you could smell the seafood. I don’t remember seeing all the boats or anything else, but I remember you could smell the seafood.”

Like many longtime residents, Fitch recalls the shrimp house or “heading house” on the creek, where shrimp were processed before being sold. “It closed before Hugo, I’d say in the early ’80s, but in the late ’70s it was still real vibrant,” says Fitch. “There was what they called the Big White Truck, and it used to ride around and pick up the headers and bring them to the shrimp house, and then at 12, 1, 2 o’clock in the morning, they’d load everybody back up and take them home and do it all again the next day. That was seven days a week during the shrimp season.”

There were jobs there by the hundreds, but the pay was poor. “The headers got just pennies a pound — I think it was 10 cents a pound when they closed,” he says. “You’d head 100 pounds of shrimp and end up with $10.”

In 2002, the Town of Mount Pleasant appointed a special Shem Creek Management Committee to “determine a vision and outline issues of importance to the future of Shem Creek.” After several months spent gathering opinions and information from business owners, residents, environmental experts and others with an interest in the creek, the group issued its report. The conclusion? Simply this: “Overwhelmingly, the consensus was that the character of the creek remain as it is — natural, water-dependent, charming — a ‘working’ creek.”

Which is what Shem Creek always has been — and, one way or another, always should be.

Covering more than 110 acres and overlooking the Wando River, Hibben shares community amenities, including an Olympic-sized pool, tennis courts, playgrounds and a state-of-the-art clubhouse, with the neighboring subdivisions in Belle Hall Plantation. Hibben, which eventually will include 300 homes, offers a wide variety of wooded home sites. Future phases of the subdivision will feature more than 40 marsh- or creek-view lots.

While traditional neighborhood developments are urban in theory, public opinion surveys have indicated that prospective homeowners want more green space. All home sites at Hibben are at least 10 feet wider and 10 feet deeper than lots at other traditionally designed neighborhoods.

Conceptualized as a traditional neighborhood design, Hibben's real focus is its authenticity, balanced with affordability. Floor plans, in a variety of period styles, capture the true feeling of small-town Southern charm. While traditional neighborhood design is conducive and appealing to an eclectic, diverse grouping of people, in practice it is very expensive to develop. Most traditional neighborhood developments demand authenticity in every respect, driving up not only construction expenses but also long-term home maintenance costs.

Hibben, on the other hand, has chosen a true traditional neighborhood design but with modern construction materials to reduce costs. For example, instead of exterior wood siding, which is costly to install and maintain, Hibben uses cement fiber siding such as Hardiplank, which offers the distinctive look of wood combined with low maintenance and durability. These economics-based measures allow Hibben to adhere to architectural guidelines governing style while still providing the affordability that draws a wide variety of homeowners.

Since Hibben appeals to newlyweds, executives, young families with children and empty-nesters looking to downsize, homes vary in size from 1,400 square feet to 4,000 square feet. And with new home construction costs ranging from $150 to $165 a square foot, Hibben offers an affordability that is hard to find in Mt. Pleasant.

Simonini Builders, The Lantana Company, Driftwood Construction, Palladio Homes, Heyward Builders, Robert Benjamin Homes, Custom Homes of Carolina and Airlie Homes are some of the outstanding preferred builders available to help prospective homeowners with all their construction decisions.

Wild Dunes has quite a colorful history. The famed 18th hole of the Wild Dunes Links golf course played a big role in the Revolutionary War when Lord Cornwallis' command of 2000 landed there with the plan to cross Breach Inlet to Sullivan's Island to attack Fort Moultrie from the rear. The English were met and held at bay by a force composed of 600 North and South Carolina regulars; a company of militia; and a company of Catawba Indians. Not a single soldier crossed over to Sullivan's Island that day. It was America's first major victory in the South.

"Just 10 minutes from Mount Pleasant, 20 minutes from downtown Charleston and 30 minutes from the Charleston International Airport."

A century later, when war divided North and South, efforts to pierce the northern blockade of southern ports resulted in the ramming of the Confederate submarine Hunley by a Federal warship in the the waters off the Isle of Palms. The northern ship, the USS Housatonic, sank immediately while the Hunley went down later due to severe damage caused by explosions resulting from the collision. The event was the world's first successful submarine battle. The remains of the Hunley remain at rest off of the coast. The anchor belonging to the Housatonic is exhibited at the entrance of Wild Dunes' Reception Center.

The development of Wild Dunes began in 1972 when Finch properties purchased the site from J.C. Long. It was completely undeveloped and remained in its original, natural state. Except for a few campers, explorers, and beach combers, the land was unused, having never been cleared or farmed.

Wild Dunes Golf ResortFinch Properties sold the land to the Sea Pines Company of Hilton Head Island, a developer of planned communities. They were responsible for the planning, zoning, and development of the site, and named it the Isle of Palms Beach and Racquet Club.

Sea Pines sold the resort in November 1975, when Wilbur Smith and Associates became a 50 percent investor with Finch Properties in the project. They opened their first offices in the Isle of Palms Motel which stood across from the present site of Red and White grocery store.

As the resort prospered and grew, the decision to introduce golf into the master plan was given the go-ahead and thus, the Wild Dunes Links Course was created. Designed by Tom Fazio, one of the world's premier golf course architects who takes pride in protecting environmental landmarks, the Wild Dunes Links Course opened in 1980 and became a world-ranked course by Golf Magazine within 18 months. The prestigious and highly successful Links Course almost immediately became a cornerstone for the resort and residential community.

By 1981, the Wild Dunes Links Course had received such high acclaim and publicity that Finch Properties combined the name of the course with the name of the resort, thus becoming Wild Dunes Resort.

The year 1983 marked the purchase of the resort and its world-class amenities by Wild Dunes Associates. Wild Dunes reached a pinnacle in 1988 when Golf Magazine awarded Wild Dunes "The Gold Medal" which placed "Charleston's island resort" among the top-12 golf resorts in America. Additionally, the United States Tennis Association selected Wild Dunes as the site of the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships which received exposure on national television.

On September 21, 1989, the island was visited by a force of nature named Hugo, one of the most destructive hurricanes ever to strike the United States. The eye passed directly over Isle of Palms and Wild Dunes. Just as the South has enjoyed a long history of coming back stronger than ever after disasters such as wars, earthquakes and major fires, Wild Dunes quickly recovered from Hurricane Hugo. In February, 1990, Destination Wild Dunes was formed as an affiliate of Destination Hotels and Resorts, Inc., the property management division of Lowe Enterprises, Inc., to purchase the on-site rental management and conference business at Wild Dunes.

In 1993, Destination Wild Dunes purchased the Links Course and its Clubhouse, consolidating the resort under one ownership. The opening of the Isle of Palms Connector in August 1993 added to the property established at Wild Dunes. The Grand Pavilion complex, in the midst of construction at the time of Hugo, is long complete with its Victorian-style boardwalk surrounded by the rainbow row-inspired Boardwalk Homes. Designed so that each four-bedroom home may be divided into three self-contained "hotel-style" rooms with a one-bedroom suite, these unique homes were the beginning of the "final phase" of development for Wild Dunes Resort.

The latest chapter to this fascinating history of Wild Dunes is the Boardwalk Inn. Opened in January, 1998, and designed with a four-star, four diamond ranking in mind, The Boardwalk Inn adds to the already outstanding amenities and facilities of Wild Dunes Resort.

Just 10 minutes from Mount Pleasant, 20 minutes from downtown Charleston and 30 minutes from the Charleston International Airport, access to Wild Dunes is quick and easy as yet another chapter unfolds its rich and colorful history.

RiverTowne was designed by perhaps the greatest golf legend of all — Arnold Palmer. Next year, another golf icon, Annika Sorenstam, will host her own tournament at RiverTowne. Produced by Ginn Sports Entertainment and with a purse of $2.6 million, the tourney will be one of the richest women’s events on record.

RiverTowne has compiled an impressive resume since opening for play in 2002, earning an Honorable Mention among Golf Digest’s Best New Courses. In 2004, it was the South Carolina Golf Course Owners Association’s Course of the Year.

Situated off Highway 41, RiverTowne offers carts equipped with GPS systems, providing them with precise distances from their ball to the hole and other landmarks. From the championship tees, RiverTowne plays at a hefty 7,188 yards, but there are four other sets of tees and the course can be as short as 5,089 yards.

First-time visitors to RiverTowne might get the wrong impression about the course on the opening hole, a short par 4 that can be even shorter for those who successfully challenge the dogleg to the right. After that, though, the course earns its reputation, bringing the Wando River and Horlbeck Creek into play on 13 of 18 holes.

Like its designer, RiverTowne’s finishing holes are legendary. Number 15, the longest par 4 on the course, is a daunting 490 yards from the back tees, with a large bunker in the dogleg. Those who intentionally avoid the trap at the right front of the green are penalized by a slope away from the hole to the left.

Number 16, a 533-yard par 5, lures players with the possibility of an eagle putt but punishes them with an array of traps and marshes and a fairway that grows increasingly narrow as it nears the hole.

The 17th, a 177-yard par 3, is exposed to the winds off the marshes lining Horlbeck Creek and the Wando River, placing a premium on choosing the right club and striking the ball with authority.

RiverTowne’s 18th, touted as one of the toughest holes in the Lowcountry, is a windy 480-yard par 4. Players must hit a long second shot to an elevated green guarded by the marsh on the left and sand on the right.

Today, with Mount Pleasant spreading inexorably to the north and Highway 17 carrying more traffic than ever, their dream has become reality. Nearly 6,000 people now call Park West home, and its population eventually will approach 10,000. Park West currently consists of 28 distinct, thriving neighborhoods, and construction is underway on its 29th, Park Island, an exclusive, secluded community with an approved master dock corridor plan in place, separated from the rest of the “town” by a 1,440-foot-long bridge.

According to Bill Bobo, co-founder and co-principal of Columbia-based LandTech, the developer of Park West, the key to its success is its focus on families and choices.

“We set out to design a community that was all about choices and family lifestyle,” he says. “First we donated 100 acres of land to the Charleston County School District for an on-site educational campus and 59 acres to the town of Mount Pleasant for a multipurpose recreational park. Just to let everyone know that we were serious about the future of Park West, we jump-started the development by building a majestic entranceway, complete with six reflective ponds, cascading fountains and flora worthy of a royal garden. It’s been a tremendous success story ever since.”

Bobo explains that he and his partner, Pat Tomlin, were working in Charleston in the mid-1990s when Georgia Pacific decided to leave the real estate development business. When the 1,700-acre parcel that is now Park West was made available in 1996, “We hopped on it.” They started developing Park West in 1997, and the first houses rose in 1998 in Churchill Park, Park West’s initial neighborhood.

Nine years later, Park West residents live in neighborhoods of single-family homes, town homes, patio homes and condominiums in a wide variety of sizes, styles and price ranges, from around $260,000 to more than $3 million.

In many cases, LandTech sold entire neighborhoods to builders, which, in turn, marketed homes to potential buyers. However, the company ensured the family-oriented nature of Park West by donating land to the town of Mount Pleasant for a recreational complex that now offers swimming as well as softball, baseball, football and soccer fields and to the Charleston County School District, for the construction of Laurel Hill Primary School, Charles Pinckney Elementary and Thomas C. Cario Middle School. Although it’s not in Park West, Wando High School, which opened in 2004, is located next door, and a road connecting Park West to the Wando campus is now under construction.

Though Park West is zoned for more, fewer than 4,000 will actually be built. Rather than selling as many lots as possible, Park West’s developers chose to build parks, sidewalks and six miles of biking and jogging trails. In many areas of the community, they decided to let Mother Nature have her way–the community includes 550 acres of saltwater marsh and fresh-water wetlands that will forever remain untouched by man or machine.

In addition to the bounty of nature, Park West residents enjoy the convenience of having a wide array of retail businesses and professionals nearby, including a large Publix grocery store, restaurants, boutiques, doctors, dentists, attorneys, veterinarians, a bank, a fitness center and a child-care facility. The amenity center features a community clubhouse, swim and tennis club, volleyball court, summer kitchen and playground.

Park West’s small-town atmosphere will be enhanced when work is completed on Cambridge Square, a nostalgic combination of town homes, condominiums, lofts, parks, playgrounds, specialty shops, restaurants, office space and a state-of-the-art parking deck on a 35-acre tract near the center of the community.

Meanwhile, not far from the center of Park West but five miles from bustling Highway 17, tranquil Park Island has taken shape. Work initially was delayed by a court case concerning the permit to construct the bridge that connects the island to the rest of the community, but work on the 14-month project was completed in May 2007. A grand opening was held at the end of May.

“Had it not been for the regulatory process that, in this case included a lengthy legal process, we might have started work on Park Island when the mainland was about 75 percent complete, but our vision always included Park Island as the capstone of our master plan,” according to Bobo. “Looking back, it is fitting that Park Island be essentially the finishing touch to the Park West landscape. It is Park West’s only gated, private community and certainly the only community surrounded by water and saltwater marsh, where each home will enjoy access to either the Wando River or Toomer Creek.”

Regardless of where you are in Park West, you’re within walking or biking distance of shopping and a variety of other necessary services. If you choose to drive, you’ll reach your destination without passing a traffic light or a stop sign; traffic is controlled completely and efficiently with roundabouts. “When you can get 75 percent or more of the things a family needs, such as schools, shopping, daycare and the dentist, without ever having to get out on Highway 17, why in the world would you want to live anywhere but Park West?” Bobo asks.

Located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Charleston County, Dunes West fronts the Wando River, Wagner Creek and Toomer Creek and features views of tidal creeks, the golf course, lagoons, deep water, marsh or woods. The property has almost 12 miles of waterfront.

A masterfully planned community, Dunes West features a wide variety of amenities coupled with an incomparable lifestyle to give its residents the finest in Low Country living. Just 15 minutes from the beach at the Isle of Palms, 20 minutes from the Charleston historic district and 10 minutes from I-526, homeowners are never too far from the action but light years away from the hustle and bustle of fast-paced life after they drive through the gates of Dunes West.

John Wieland purchased Dunes West in late 2002, making a special place to live even better. Now, with the introduction of Harborside, the newest phase of Dunes West, he plans a spectacular new array of recreational amenities, deep-water home sites, a boat launch and storage, acres of lush new coastal neighborhoods and a wide variety of new home styles. For those looking for the perfect home, just name your preference. A stylish town home? A one-of-a-kind estate home on the Wando River with deep-water dock? Or perhaps the charm of gracious traditional homes shaded by century-old trees? Whatever your dream home, it is available in the newest neighborhoods of Harborside.

"All homes in Dunes West are given careful architectural review in order to continue Dunes West's tradition of gracious and handsome home designs that give our neighborhoods that distinctive look," says Dunes West General Manager Kevin Popson. There is a home in Dunes West to match every lifestyle."

Residents of Dunes West are treated to the very best in amenities, including the Dunes West Golf Club, a championship 18-hole course designed by Arthur Hill, complete with pro shop, driving range and Southern style clubhouse located on the former Lexington Plantation site. The clubhouse offers dining and member events and is also available for private gatherings.

And coming soon is the private Dunes West Athletic Club, owned and operated by John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, Inc. The club offers a leisure and lap pool, eight asphalt and two clay tennis courts, miles of sidewalks for walking and a full fitness program. The Tennis Center, managed by Tennis Pro Jack Miller, offers private lessons, group clinics, league play and children's programs.

Club membership also includes fitness programs by Lifequest, which offers yoga, aerobics, water aerobics and dance, with more classes planned for the future. Meg Keally, Dunes West Athletic Club activities director, makes sure the fun never stops with planned events such as pizza night, summer camps, junior tennis functions and many more fun-filled activities.

Children attend Mount Pleasant's newest school facilities, Pinckney Elementary and Cario Middle School, which are within biking or walking distance. The new Wando High School will open next year. Several private schools are also in the area. The airport and great shopping at Town Centre are nearby and major hospitals and outpatient health services are only minutes away.

John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods is nationally acclaimed for excellence in home building and is the leading developer of upscale neighborhoods across the Southeast. A dedication to delivering the best for over three decades has earned John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods over 400 awards, including National Builder of the Year, Developer of the Decade, National Housing Quality Award Winner and most recently Charleston's Best Builder. The company has developed over 300 neighborhoods and has been the builder of choice for more than 20,000 home buyers.

By the time construction began, only a few ruins remained of the old plantation, but, if you look carefully, you can still see traces of the past. An eight-acre lake marks the area where the material for bricks was dug out.

The entrance to Brickyard Plantation is impressive and an indication that this is a well-designed, well laid-out development. Extensive landscaping only adds to the appeal.

Although there are approximately 850 homes on the property, the neighborhood design belies that density. Home prices range primarily from the mid-$300s to more than $2 million. Carson points out that the average home cost is around $550,000.

Residents enjoy amenities such as the elegant clubhouse, tennis courts and pool but best of all is the boat launch and floating dock on Horlbeck Creek. And that little bit of history that lingers along the creek bank.

Is it a collection of four – soon to be five – separate but connected neighborhoods surrounded by one of the fastest-growing cities in South Carolina, or is it a peaceful retreat, insulated from booming Mount Pleasant and far from the fuss and flutter of the Charleston peninsula?

Should it be judged by its award-winning amenity center, which features an impressive clubhouse that looks like it might have come off the set of “Gone With The Wind,” or by its miles of walking, jogging, biking and hiking trails meandering peacefully through the forest and marsh that were here long before Southern planters built their magnificent mansions?

When people think of Hamlin Plantation, do they see a wide range of single-family homes and town homes, creations of nationally-renowned and local custom builders, or do they hear the soothing sounds of nature serenading homeowners lucky enough to have settled in among the birds, reptiles and mammals who also consider Hamlin Plantation to be their home?

All these descriptions are accurate but not quite precise, according to Jane Miller, a Carolina One Real Estate agent who has lived in Hamlin Plantation since May 2006. In her view, the subdivision’s most important drawing card is the people who live there, the way they get along with each other and the way they help those who need their assistance.

“Hamlin Plantation is small compared to some of the really large neighborhoods, so it’s easy to make friends and get involved in the community,” she says. “It’s really nice to see familiar faces, like the people walking their dogs and the guy or gal who runs every morning.”

She adds, however, that Hamlin Plantation is more than a place to visit with friends and neighbors, attend a wide range of social events, enjoy the natural surroundings and simply have fun. Hamlin Plantation, it seems, has a heart.

As an example, Miller cites the case of a popular resident who lost his life in a tragic traffic accident (removewhile traveling through North Carolina.) He is remembered by a plaque and patio in a peaceful spot near one of the neighborhood’s many bridges, all built with donations from his neighbors.

Non-residents in need also benefit from the unbridled generosity of Hamlin Plantation’s homeowners. During the most recent holiday season, the community adopted nine families, providing them with clothes, toys and furniture. They regularly participate in the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program, and they recently collected, packed and shipped gift boxes containing items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, sunscreen, CDs, writing paper, socks and razor blades to soldiers serving in Afghanistan. A recent re-gift party and auction raised funds for the Windwood Farm home for Children, which provides therapeutic intervention programs, and the Florence Crittenton Program, which provides shelter and support for single mothers.

Miller is quick to point out that the people of Hamlin Plantation are the most important reason – but not the only reason – to live there. An Ohio native, she moved south partly to enjoy the outdoor life.

“Being surrounded by green makes me happy,” she comments. “My backyard is wetlands, and I love the sounds of birds and pelicans and egrets, and turtles plopping into the water. Our first night here, we heard a symphony of tree frogs, which really shocked me. But I’ve grown accustomed to that sound.”

Fran Taggert agrees that swapping the sometimes frenetic life of downtown Charleston for the serenity of Hamlin Plantation was the right move for her and her husband Jim. She admits, though, that she left the peninsula, her home for 14 years, “kicking and screaming.”

“Jim was really ready to leave downtown, where we had to deal with the traffic and tourists in our backyard,” she comments. “We decided that if we found something I was willing to move for, we would move. We looked at a lot of things until we found this great neighborhood. We love it because it’s so quiet. We don’t miss downtown.”

Fran, who can see Hamlin Sound from her back porch, adds that even though she and Jim still have a condominium downtown, they hadn’t spent the night there in more than six weeks.

Potential homeowners who seek the serenity of the best nature has to offer but a location within easy driving distance of the beach, downtown Charleston, an international airport and world-class shopping have four options at Hamlin Plantation, with a fifth on the way.

The Sound offers primarily custom-built homes, most of them larger than 3,000 square feet built on premium lots by The SINTRA Corporation, and various other fine home builders. You can see Hamlin Sound, the Isle of Palms and Goat Island from some of the lots, and a couple have deep-water access.

Waverly is an intimate neighborhood of homes in the 2,200 to 2,800-square-foot range and upscale town homes that features a wide array of green space and water. Also built by award-winning John Wieland Homes, Madison offers a selection of single-family homes and town homes. The Village, a neighborhood of curving streets and naturally landscaped yards, offers three-, four- and five-bedroom homes built by The SINTRA Corporation.

One Hamlin Place, a small community of luxury town houses with highly detailed architecture and elevators  is currently under construction by Wieland.

Regardless of which neighborhood they choose, Hamlin Plantation residents enjoy a wide selection of recreational activities, including a large clubhouse; a fitness facility; a large pool with a water slide; numerous trails; and beach volleyball, tennis basketball courts.

Miller points out that many residents enjoy the Hamlin Plantation life so much that when they outgrow their home, they buy a larger one in another Hamlin Plantation neighborhood.

“I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” she says. “I would certainly buy another house here.”

For more information about Hamlin Plantation, contact Jane Miller at (843) 323-6903.

Charleston National in Mount Pleasant, SC combines the quality and amenities of a private club with the accessibility and reasonable greens fees of a public course.

It didn’t start out that way. Charleston National was conceived as an exclusive private club along the same lines as Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament. Jones was brought in to create the finest course on the Southeast coast, one that would take advantage of its proximity to the Intracoastal Waterway and an array of lagoons, marshes and pine and oak forests.

But nature, in the form of Hurricane Hugo, intervened just after the grand opening in 1989. Thousands of old trees were lost and the course closed for more than a year for redesign and renovation.

Fortunately for local and visiting golfers, this superb course reopened as a semiprivate club, providing the public with the opportunity to play what its original architect called “one of the elite venues in golf” at a moderate price.

Charleston National is consistently ranked by major golf publications as the number one non-resort course in the Charleston area. It offers players the visual pleasures of its marshes and lagoons and the challenges of ever-shifting winds. Those cool ocean breezes can create vastly different playing conditions between morning and afternoon rounds.

The club itself offers all the services of a private facility, from clubhouse to pro shop, restaurant and bar.

What do golfers say about Charleston National? A visit to some of the most popular golf Web sites uncovers comments such as: “Beautiful course ... has much character and is a steal.” “Interesting layout.” “This course is unbelievable. Phenomenal greens, excellent customer service and experienced professional staff.”

And finally: “The restaurant was fast at the turn and delicious at the end of the round. And the Bloody Marys were awesome.”