Isle of Palms, how it came to be important to Charleston

The history of Isle of Palms is far deeper than its modern reputation as a beautiful beach destination near Charleston, South Carolina. This barrier island has moved through many identities over time: Indigenous homeland, colonial landholding, military landmark, seaside resort, residential community, and modern coastal town. Its story reflects the larger history of the South Carolina Lowcountry, where natural beauty, transportation, war, tourism, development, and preservation have all shaped the land and the people connected to it.

Long before English settlers renamed the island, the area was part of the homeland and coastal world of the Sewee people. The Sewee lived along the Santee River and nearby sea islands, using the waterways, marshes, forests, and beaches for fishing, hunting, gathering, travel, and trade. Once the English settlers arrived on the island, trade increased dramatically. So much so that one historical record recounts how a group of Sewee men attempted a canoe voyage to England to trade directly, only to be lost at sea. This early chapter reminds us that Isle of Palms did not begin as a resort. It began as part of an Indigenous coastal landscape

In early English records, the island was known as Hunting Island. A 1696 map identified the Isle of Palms and Dewees area jointly as the Hunting Islands, and local records name Thomas Holton of Barbados as the first English title-holder. By the 1700’s, the island was more commonly called Long Island, likely because it was one of the longer barrier islands between Charleston and Bulls Bay. Families such as the Scotts and Swintons owned large portions of the island for generations, and their names survive today in places like Scott Creek and Swinton Creek.

During the plantation era, Long Island was connected to the agricultural, maritime, and labor systems of the Lowcountry. Sources suggest the island was tied to rice or indigo activity, and later oystering work. Like many barrier islands near Charleston, it was not isolated from the region’s economic volatility or from the harsh realities of slavery, war, or mass-illness.

The island also played a role in military history. During the American Revolution, British forces under Sir Henry Clinton camped on Long Island in June 1776 while attempting to attack Sullivan’s Island. At Breach Inlet, American troops led by Colonel William Thomson stopped British soldiers from crossing. Many British troops struggled against the dangerous current, and the failed crossing helped protect the American position during the campaign that ended with the Patriot victory at Fort Sullivan, later known as Fort Moultrie.

During the Civil War, the waters around Breach Inlet again became historically significant. In February 1864, the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley departed from the Breach Inlet area before sinking the USS Housatonic, becoming the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in combat. These events connect Isle of Palms to both the struggle for freedom and the military innovation of the Civil War era.

The modern identity of Isle of Palms began in the late nineteenth century, when Dr. Joseph S. Lawrence helped transform Long Island into a seaside resort. Around 1898 and 1899, his development company renamed the island Isle of Palms and promoted it as an attractive escape from Charleston’s summer heat. Visitors could travel by ferry to Mount Pleasant and then by electric trolley through Sullivan’s Island and across inlet bridges to the beach. This transportation network made the island accessible to day-trippers, vacationers, and families looking for ocean air and entertainment. However, it is important to note that beaches at Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, and Folly Beach were off-limits to Black residents until the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964.

The early resort era of the 1920s brought hotels, pavilions, amusement rides, music, dancing, oyster roasts, fish fries, and oceanfront recreation. The Seashore Hotel became one of the island’s first major resort buildings, while the Front Beach pavilion served as the center of social life. Ferris wheels, carousels, dance halls, and later Playland Pavilion helped make Isle of Palms one of the Charleston area’s favorite beach destinations. The island’s cheerful resort culture grew from the idea that the beach could offer both relaxation and excitement.

Automobile access changed the island again. The Cooper River Bridge opened in 1929, improving travel between Charleston and Mount Pleasant. The Ben Sawyer Bridge later replaced older trolley-era routes, and car travel became the new standard. In the mid-twentieth century, developer J. C. Long and the Beach Company reshaped Isle of Palms by building roads, modest homes, beach facilities, and the fishing pier. By the 1950s many homes on the island were being marketed to World War II veterans, helping shift the island from a seasonal resort into a more permanent residential community.

By 1950 Isle of Palms also had an Airport, called the Harold F. Wilson Memorial Airport. Located on the northern/interior side of Isle of Palms, near the Intracoastal Waterway, north of the intersection of Waterway Boulevard and 31st Avenue. The runway was constructed from crushed oyster shells and turf. While the airfield was used mainly for small aircraft, a World War II-era B-25 once landed on the airfield in the 1970s. The airfield declined in use through the 1970s, and was closed in 1984.

In 1953, Isle of Palms incorporated as a municipality, with Walter “Buck” Chapman becoming its first mayor. That same year, the fishing pier became a major landmark and gathering place. Later, the development of the Beach and Racquet Club, renamed Wild Dunes in 1984, brought a new resort identity to the northeastern end of the island. Wild Dunes remains one of the most recognizable modern developments in the community.

The island has also faced the power of nature and the pressure of coastal growth. Hurricane Hugo devastated the area in September 1989, damaging or destroying homes and landmarks. In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court case Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, involving the use of undeveloped lots on Isle of Palms, became a major national case about property rights and coastal regulation. The opening of the Isle of Palms Connector in 1993 further changed commuting, tourism, evacuation, and development patterns.

Today, Isle of Palms is a place where recreation and history meet. Its beaches attract visitors, but its past tells a richer story of Indigenous life, colonial ownership, wartime events, resort dreams, residential growth, storms, and legal change. To understand Isle of Palms fully is to see more than a vacation destination. It is to recognize a barrier island shaped by people, water, memory, and time.