On North Main Street (U.S. 17A), on the right when traveling north.
This county was designated a court and land conveyance district in 1682, and an election district in 1683. It was named for two brothers, Lord John and Sir William Berkeley, both Lord Proprietors of Carolina. Over the years, functions of this early . . . — — Map (db m22948) HM
On West 1st N Street at North Cedar Street, on the right when traveling west on West 1st N Street.
Alston Graded School Alston Graded School, one of the first African-American schools founded in Dorchester County, stood here from 1910 to 1954. Named for its founder, Dr. J.H. Alston, it included grades 1-11 until 1949 and 1-12 afterwards. . . . — — Map (db m27766) HM
On Bacon's Bridge Road (South Carolina Route 165) south of Renken Road, on the right when traveling south.
(side 1)
An early bridge over the Ashley River near this site, built ca. 1696-1700, was first owned by John Stevens. Stevens sold this tract to Michael Bacon soon afterwards. Bacon’s Bridge became a public bridge in 1722. During the . . . — — Map (db m224503) HM
Near South Main Street (Alternate U.S. 17) at South Hampton Street, on the right when traveling north.
The Town of Summerville and the lives of Coach McKissick and Joan, his wife, are forever linked in history. Coach McKissick served as the Head Coach for the Summerville Green Wave football program for 63 seasons: 1952 — 2015. Joan, his loyal wife, . . . — — Map (db m225000) HM
In 1697, Congregationalist settlers from Dorchester, Massachusetts, founded a town where you now stand. For nearly 100 years, Dorchester prospered as an inland trade center for the region. Trade with Native Americans, the development of rice and . . . — — Map (db m22503) HM
The Ashley River served as an early highway between Dorchester and Charles Towne. It provided planters easy access to the largest market in Carolina for their crops. But as the colony expanded inland, it became an obstacle to overland travel and . . . — — Map (db m22554) HM
Wealth and prestige are often displayed by our homes and property.
This outline represents a Georgian home that once sat on lots 17
and 18. Described in 1786 as "a wooden house on brick
foundation," the house belonged to the Izard family, . . . — — Map (db m22555) HM
On State Park Road, on the right when traveling west.
Quiet and deserted today, this 'village green' once bustled with colonists buying, selling or trading livestock, supplies, and even slaves. Hoping that economics would spur growth, the 1723 Colonial legislature had decreed that weekly markets would . . . — — Map (db m22689) HM
A small brick building once stood here housing the Dorchester Free School. The school offered free education to omly a few poor students. All others paid tuition. Opportunities for white children to learn outside the home or shop was limited. Black . . . — — Map (db m22659) HM
A brick powder magazine enclosed by a tabby wall eight feet high was built here in 1757. During the Revolution, Dorchester was a strategic point. In 1775 the magazine was fortified and the garrison commanded by Capt. Francis Marion. British troops . . . — — Map (db m22831) HM
On South Main Street (Little Main) (Alternate U.S. 17) at West Richardson Avenue, on the right when traveling south on South Main Street (Little Main).
Guerin's Pharmacy, founded in 1871 by Henry C. Guerin, is the oldest operating pharmacy in S.C. Guerin was a Charleston physician who served as Chief Commissary for S.C. during the Civil War. Afterwards he moved to Summerville and bought Schweatman . . . — — Map (db m223804) HM
On Central Avenue just east of West 2nd South Street, on the left when traveling east.
Summerville became a renowned health resort in the late 1800s. Many Jewish merchants, drawn to the bustling settlement, set up shop in Hutchinson Square. Among the first were Philip Wineman, a pharmacist from England, and Saul Alexander, a tailor . . . — — Map (db m224627) HM
South Carolina began with only one settlement, Charles Towne. Soon colonists were pushing into the frontier. As plantations arose, merchants, doctors and craftsmen settled towns like Dorchester to support them. Trade routes - rivers, paths and roads . . . — — Map (db m22604) HM
On West Richardson Avenue at South Main Street, on the left when traveling west on West Richardson Avenue.
Mayor Berlin G. Myers
A Lifetime of Service
To Church, to Country and to Community
Born March 1, 1917 in Knightsville, SC
Lifelong member of Summerville Baptist Church
Founded Berlin G. Myers Lumber Corp. Nov. . . . — — Map (db m242786) HM
On Ashley River Road (State Highway 61), on the right when traveling north.
(Front text)
Middleton Place
These famous gardens were laid out about
1741 by Henry Middleton (1717-84), President
of Continental Congress. His son Arthur,
Signer of the Declaration Of Independence,
lived here as did his son Henry . . . — — Map (db m16281) HM
Newington Plantation was established on this site in the 1680s after Daniel Axtell recieved a royal grant of 300 acres. Axtell died shortly after arriving in the colony and his widow Rebecca built a house on the grant by the 1690s. In 1711 Lady . . . — — Map (db m23362) HM
On State Park Road, on the right when traveling south.
Laid out in 1697 as a market town for the Congregationalist colony from Dorchester, Mass., the village contained 116 quarter-acre lots and a town square and commons. An Anglican church was built in 1720, a fair was established in 1723, and a Free . . . — — Map (db m22721) HM
On Dorchester Road (State Highway 642), on the left when traveling east.
(Text front) This church was established in 1696 by settlers from Dorchester, Mass., for which the town of Dorchester was named. This brick sanctuary, built ca. 1700, was occupied and then burned by British troops in 1781. The church was . . . — — Map (db m23256) HM
On State Park Road, on the right when traveling south.
St. George's, an Anglican parish, was erected in 1717. A brick church 50 ft. long and 30 ft. wide with a chancel 15 by 5 feet, begun in August 1719, was enlarged in the 1730's. The tower was built before 1753 and in 1766 held four bells. Burned by . . . — — Map (db m22894) HM
On Salisbury Drive at Linwood Lane, on the right when traveling south on Salisbury Drive.
(side 1)
The Pine Forest Inn opened in 1892. It was owned and managed by F.W. and George Wagener. The 60-acre resort and health spa contained 150 steam-heated sleeping apartments. The dining room could hold 250 people. The Inn had a . . . — — Map (db m224490) HM
On Tea Farm Road at West Johnston Street, on the left when traveling north on Tea Farm Road.
(side 1)
In 1880 the U.S. government leased 200 acres of the former Newington Plantation from Henry Middleton for tea production. In 1888, Dr. Charles Shepard, a professor at the Medical College of S.C., used plants from the federal . . . — — Map (db m224494) HM
The pineland village of Stallsville developed on the high ground above Saw Mill Creek and was named for the Stall family, who owned property and lived here by the early 19th C. Thomas D. Stall married Sarah Mary Rose, daughter of John Rose, who . . . — — Map (db m224501) HM
Near South Main Street (Alternate U.S. 17) near Joyce Lane, on the left when traveling south.
(side 1)
The 2-story brick building SW of here was built in 1924-25 to house Summerville High School (SHS). The school originally included the north hall and central auditorium, with the west and east wings being added later. In . . . — — Map (db m224488) HM
Near South Main Street (Alternate U.S. 17) at South Hampton Street, on the right when traveling north.
Dedicated by the people of this community to the memory of the following who gave their lives for their country in World War Two James Wilbur Bazemore Frederick William Jessen II Martin Marion Lotz Jr. Paul Kenneth Mellichamp Nelson W. . . . — — Map (db m225006) WM
Near Gahagan Road east of Berlin G Myers Parkway (South Carolina Route 165), on the right when traveling west.
On a primitive map of the land where the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company planned to build “New Summerville” in 1830, there appears a structure labeled “Old Dam.” This was the Axtell Dam, constructed about 1700, under the supervision of . . . — — Map (db m243217) HM
On State Park Road, on the right when traveling east.
Angry with the Anglican Church, the Puritan Pilgrams left England in 1620. Their descendants, known as Congregationalists, founded Dorchester in the 1690s, only to endure South Carolina's 1706 declaration of Anglicanism as the colony's official . . . — — Map (db m22764) HM
On West Carolina Avenue near Congress Street, on the right when traveling north.
(Front text) The Old Town Hall, built ca. 1860, is the oldest public building in Summerville. Rev. Robert I. Limehouse (1815-1881), a Methodist minister and the town intendant, or mayor, purchased the site for the town hall that year. A jail . . . — — Map (db m28333) HM
On Central Avenue just east of West 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east.
In 1897 a group of young Summerville women formed a Chautauqua Reading Circle; from this modest beginning the Timrod Library developed. The women donated books from their reading circle to be the nucleus of a membership library chartered April 23, . . . — — Map (db m224637) HM
On Central Avenue at West 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Central Avenue.
(side 1)
In 1897, the Timrod Library was organized by 19 women as a Chautauqua Reading Circle. It was chartered in 1908 as the Timrod Literary and Library Association. In 1915, Timrod’s current home was erected on land donated by the . . . — — Map (db m224484) HM