Brief History

Hurricane Michael may have taken away some of the landmarks, but these images reveal the history of Florida's Mexico Beach, once known as the "Unforgettable Coast".

As French interests in the Americas dwindled, records indicate very little activity around Mexico Beach until rumors of buried riches and sunken ships brought treasure hunters to the coast. In the early 1900s, businessman Felix du Pont purchased the land known today as Mexico Beach. Resin to make turpentine was harvested from the native pine trees, and fishermen could not resist the migratory fish passing through the area's waters. By the 1930s, US Highway 98 was completed, and visitors could finally reach the sugar-soft sand beaches of the "Unforgettable Coast." By 1941, Tyndall Field was constructed and became a training site for Air Force pilots. In 1946, a group of farsighted businessmen, led by Gordan Parker, W.T. McGowan, and J.W. Wainwright, purchased 1,850 acres along the beach for $65,000. Parker's son Charlie moved to the area in 1949 with his wife, Inky, and their family. He soon took over development responsibilities for the Mexico Beach Corporation and laid the groundwork for the beach town known and loved today. Charlie went on to become the city's first mayor and a lifelong advocate of the family-friendly community.

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.

Folly Beach today is a locale for upscale homes and condominiums. In spite of this shift from a blue-collar retreat to a chic destination, Folly has remained Charleston's wild cousin and hosts more bars and churches per square mile than most American cities five times its size.

Folly native Gretchen Stringer-Robinson takes the reader through the war years, the innocence of the fifties, the recession of the seventies, Hurricane Hugo and the times in between. Join Gretchen as she introduces the characters and revisits the places that have made Folly Beach a unique haven on the Carolina coast.

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

Whether investigating prehistoric clues about Native American life before European settlement, detailing the history of agriculture and the reign of King Cotton, following armies from multiple wars or chronicling the triumph of equality on the greens of Charleston's Municipal Golf Course, Bostick tells the story of James Island as only a native son can. Join Bostick as he brings this small jewel of an island out of Charleston's shadow and into the light of its own rich, historic assets.

Just within South Carolina's shoreline and tucked next to Georgetown County is Williamsburg County. While Williamsburg is one of the larger counties of South Carolina and has long been inhabited by genteel Southern families, it is also one of the lesser known areas of the Palmetto State. A History of the Homes and People of Williamsburgh District relates the untold stories of the county by following the community through generations of families and their houses. Gordon B. Jenkinson ("Bubber" to his friends and family) begins with the first settlers, offering a picture of their lives and the changes that took place in family, home and community as the county grew. The journey through Williamsburg's history begins with Thorntree, the oldest known residence in the area, and James Witherspoon, the settler who called it home. Also crucial to the Williamsburg story is David Ervin, who sacrificed his arm in the Civil War, and William "Blackie" Blackwell, who gave his life. Share the forgotten heartaches of the families of fallen soldiers, drop by the home of the neighborhood odd couple or visit Salters Plantation House, the only plantation still standing in Williamsburg today. A singular perspective on life in Williamsburg emerges as Jenkinson describes the architecture of the county's most historical homes and the lives of those who lived in them. It becomes clear that both the homes and their inhabitants are a source of historical meaning and identity Jenkinson's book preserves this history for future generations.

Easley has a rare combination of a quaint Main Street and a thriving industrial presence. The city was a series of small farms and open land until residents convinced officials to make the area a stop along the Atlanta and Richmond Air-Line Railroad after the Civil War. Access to the railroad and the popularity of cotton spurred an era of rapid growth and expansion, culminating in the dominance of the textile industry throughout most of the twentieth century. While cotton drove textiles in the area, advances in agriculture and manufacturing brought dozens of companies, placing Easley at the center of the state's biggest industrial area. Author Chad Stewart details the history of a city that moved from sleepy train stop to vibrant South Carolina city.

Columbia sits on hills overlooking the Congaree, Saluda and Broad Rivers. The name evokes sanctuary and the American spirit. Its central location in the state makes it the meeting place of the Upstate and the Lowcountry. The all-American city sprang from wilderness, frame buildings and unpaved streets and valiantly responded to the challenges of change. The city was created by the legislature to be the capital and reflects the "ambitions and fortunes" of South Carolina. Columbia is a diverse city that serves as an educational incubator, a magnet for immigrants, a military center and a place to celebrate the arts. Follow author Alexia Jones Helsley as she weaves together the strands of Columbia's long and eventful past.

Clinton as we know it today is the result of the dreams and hard work of generations of its residents. Starting with early settlers such as the Adairs, the Youngs and the Copelands, the community was spurred on by the dreams of William Plumer Jacobs and the entrepreneurial spirit of Mercer Silas Bailey and his descendants. The town has been through many changes, starting out as a rural crossroads and eventually developing into both a cultural and industrial center. Clinton continues to change, but the devotion and energy of its citizens ensure that it will remain a vital city for generations to come. Join local resident Nancy Griffith as she follows Clinton's ever-changing story and honors those who nurtured it.

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. Page through Dewees's intriguing history as the island withstands the peril of British invasion during the American Revolution and revels in its modern-day incarnation as a nature preserve. Without automobiles, without a golf course, without inns, restaurants or malls, without a bridge, Dewees Island is like a drop of amber, capturing the treasures of the past and the wonders of nature for all to view.