Many years in the planning, the 22-acre park was built at a cost of $14 million and opened to the public on July 4, 2009. One of its most impressive features is its 1,250-foot fishing and pedestrian pier, the longest such facility in the Lowcountry and one of the longest in the Southeast. The pier is constructed of tabby concrete – oyster shells mixed with concrete – an important, traditional building material throughout the Charleston area.
Fun, Fishing and a Shrine to Fallen Heroes

Partly as a practical matter but also as homage to the past, the pilings that supported what was once the Silas Pearman Bridge were cut down and now form the base of the Memorial Waterfront Park pier. East Cooper residents now travel to Charleston on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, a spectacular span opened in 2005 that rises above the park and provides welcome shade from the sometimes scorching South Carolina sun. The dominant feature of the park is its colorful and innovative children’s area. Well-lighted and featuring numerous security cameras, the playground boasts a host of unusual and safety-oriented attractions for the kids and comfortable seating areas nearby for their parents. The perimeter of the playground is discreetly fenced, with access only to the rest of the park, not to nearby roads or parking areas.

As a tribute to Mount Pleasant’s heritage as a home port for working shrimpers, the playground features a kids’ shrimp boat, part of a complex of bridge-like structures that mimic the Ravenel Bridge overhead. These bridge-like structures are complete with slides, stairs and netting attached to the shrimp boat so kids can climb easily from one to another. Beneath it all is a light blue rubber pad, for safety and to represent the blue waters that surround Mount Pleasant.

At the park, a tidy shop sells snacks, gifts and tackle and rents fishing gear for use on the pier, and there are plenty of restrooms and picnic areas, as well as a visitors’ center. A sweetgrass pavilion educates visitors about the Gullah tradition of sweetgrass basket making and to honor the artisans who continue that tradition today along a designated section of U.S. Route 17.

As the park’s name suggests, its outstanding feature is the memorial itself. Dedicated to the serviceman and women from Mount Pleasant and its precursor, Christ Church Parish, who lost their lives fighting for the cause of freedom, it was created at a cost of nearly $1 million. The memorial includes a reflective pool, brick-lined paths and a sculpture by celebrated artist Raymond Kaskey, whose other architectural sculptures include the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Kaskey’s Mount Pleasant work is a bronze female figure representing contradictory emotions of loss and hope. In her left hand, she holds a tri-folded flag – similar to the one presented to grieving widows and mothers. Her right hand rests upon a World War II helmet, supported by a rifle.

For family fun, fishing, an evening of entertainment or the opportunity simply to relax and reflect, Memorial Waterfront Park is a special attraction in a town that thrives on offering its residents and visitors nothing but the best.

Recently in the local newspaper, the Post & Courier (www.Charleston.net ), there was an article naming Charleston, the Holy City, as a top destination to visit in 2010. The honor was bestowed by Lonely Planet, one of the world’s more popular global tourism guides. This is rather noteworthy because other cities included on the list are Kyoto, Japan, Istanbul, Turkey, and Cork, Ireland…..none of which I’ve been to so I have no basis of comparison, but I will agree….Charleston is tops in my book. In fact, since I’ve moved here, I have had little desire to travel elsewhere. I feel that I have it all here…..sunshine and mild temperatures, beautiful beaches, historic architecture, fantastic restaurants, and plenty of other arts and entertainment. Need I mention….Charleston has very friendly people too!

Charleston area beaches are much different than other beach areas I've visited. We don’t have high rise buildings or hotels littering the beachfront. Our beaches are wide, pristine, and natural. We don’t have many condos, and single family homes are either older tyle beach cottages or one story homes, or large beautiful elevated homes with all the “bells and whistles.” For the golf or tennis lover, Wild Dunes provides some of the best amenities in this gated community on the Isle of Palms. Isle of Palms has some wonderful restaurants and one of my favorites on Isle of Palms is Huck’s which overlooks the beach. Yes, even in November we can sit outside and watch the dogs and children play on the beach. Occasionally, you can see a brave soul in the water….yes, in November!

November has been perfect weather to view beach properties with blue skies and bright sun….just the perfect temperature to be visiting Folly Beach, also known as the “local’s beach,” “the surfer’s beach,” or “the funky beach.” Folly Beach has so much color and energy with several great restaurants, tee shirt shops, surf shops, and plenty of real estate offices. One of the best things about Folly Beach is that it’s a short drive to downtown historic Charleston. There is a Holiday Inn and a Holliday Inn, but VERY dissimilar. My client and I viewed beautiful townhomes with Folly River views, gorgeous duplexes just blocks from the beach, a couple of small single family homes that have been renovated, as well as, several condos overlooking the beachfront. It’s wonderful to have so many property choices. It’s all about your desired lifestyle, and that’s something a Realtor can’t decide…..it’s very personal. However, I was able to provide my client all the data necessary to make a decision….expenses and rental income history….but it’s still a hard decision that needs much consideration.

I'm preparing to show property on Seabrook Island and Kiawah....two magnificent gated beach resort areas with beautifully manicured golf courses, top notch tennis facilities, and miles of lovely, quiet beaches. Kiawah has an outstanding hotel/spa called The Sanctuary that has all sorts of dining to suit your taste. Seabrook now boast a newly renovated club house that provides all the best amenities for its owners. Property choices are varied but almost all provide some sort of views: ocean, marsh, creek, golf course, tennis course, or private woods. If you want a luxurious vacation or retirement home, there are many grand choices on the beaches around Charleston.

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.

Many years in the planning, the 22-acre park was built at a cost of $14 million and opened to the public on July 4, 2009. One of its most impressive features is its 1,250-foot fishing and pedestrian pier, the longest such facility in the Lowcountry and one of the longest in the Southeast. The pier is constructed of tabby concrete – oyster shells mixed with concrete – an important, traditional building material throughout the Charleston area.
Fun, Fishing and a Shrine to Fallen Heroes

Partly as a practical matter but also as homage to the past, the pilings that supported what was once the Silas Pearman Bridge were cut down and now form the base of the Memorial Waterfront Park pier. East Cooper residents now travel to Charleston on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, a spectacular span opened in 2005 that rises above the park and provides welcome shade from the sometimes scorching South Carolina sun. The dominant feature of the park is its colorful and innovative children’s area. Well-lighted and featuring numerous security cameras, the playground boasts a host of unusual and safety-oriented attractions for the kids and comfortable seating areas nearby for their parents. The perimeter of the playground is discreetly fenced, with access only to the rest of the park, not to nearby roads or parking areas.

As a tribute to Mount Pleasant’s heritage as a home port for working shrimpers, the playground features a kids’ shrimp boat, part of a complex of bridge-like structures that mimic the Ravenel Bridge overhead. These bridge-like structures are complete with slides, stairs and netting attached to the shrimp boat so kids can climb easily from one to another. Beneath it all is a light blue rubber pad, for safety and to represent the blue waters that surround Mount Pleasant.

At the park, a tidy shop sells snacks, gifts and tackle and rents fishing gear for use on the pier, and there are plenty of restrooms and picnic areas, as well as a visitors’ center. A sweetgrass pavilion educates visitors about the Gullah tradition of sweetgrass basket making and to honor the artisans who continue that tradition today along a designated section of U.S. Route 17.

As the park’s name suggests, its outstanding feature is the memorial itself. Dedicated to the serviceman and women from Mount Pleasant and its precursor, Christ Church Parish, who lost their lives fighting for the cause of freedom, it was created at a cost of nearly $1 million. The memorial includes a reflective pool, brick-lined paths and a sculpture by celebrated artist Raymond Kaskey, whose other architectural sculptures include the National World War II Memorial on the Mall in Washington, D.C. Kaskey’s Mount Pleasant work is a bronze female figure representing contradictory emotions of loss and hope. In her left hand, she holds a tri-folded flag – similar to the one presented to grieving widows and mothers. Her right hand rests upon a World War II helmet, supported by a rifle.

For family fun, fishing, an evening of entertainment or the opportunity simply to relax and reflect, Memorial Waterfront Park is a special attraction in a town that thrives on offering its residents and visitors nothing but the best.

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.