Dorchester County: Summerville, Suburbia Among The Pines
“The progress of Summerville is certainly somewhat remarkable, and the change for the better both rapid and sudden. The last five years have been marked by improvements in every respect, but more especially by an almost magical building up of the waste places and a regeneration of the old. The vast deal that has been accomplished towards wheeling the Rip Van Winkles into line and pushing the place forward in the rank of progressive towns.
Perhaps the surest and most substantial indication of our latter-day development is found in the phenomenal advance in the value of real estate. What not many years ago would have been considered fabulous prices must be paid today for lands that were originally bought for a song. The present march of progress is, however, accompanied with more expensive music. From $800 to $1,500 is now asked for an acre of land which was bought for but a little more than the valuation placed upon it by the Westoe proprietors and other Indian landlords. As an example of the comparative prices of land it may be mentioned that a tract of four acres originally bought for $47 was sold six years ago for $1,700 and cannot now be bought for $3,500. Another parcel of two acres was formerly purchased for a lawyer’s fee of $12 and was sold not long ago for $300. (It may also be stated as a matter of justice in this connection that the local lawyers’ fees have “gone up” in the same proportion.) The last mentioned sale does not, however, show the actual value of property, as the land in question is not situated in an eligible part of the town. As a general thing the value of real estate is now ten times what it was ten or twelve years ago. Compared with that time, this shows an enormous increase in valuation and also the activity of competition for purchase. Strangely enough, the demand is now for lots near the depot, a locality which, in the old days, was shunned with holy terror. Everybody and everything now are gravitating to that center and for apparent reasons. It is on account of the addition of new Summerville to the incorporation.
The business center of the town is regularly laid out in building squares and is fast putting on a municipal appearance. It may not be so well known as it should be that Summerville is divided into two distinct sections, separated by a stream appropriately called Pike Hole Branch. This stream is the natural dividing line of property values in the town. On the “Old Summerville” side, or that most remote from the railroad section, land is not considered to be as valuable as on the more favored “side of the creek.” In the old town an acre may be bought for from five to six hundred dollars. This valuation, however, will not long remain as the indications are that property there will soon reach the figures asked in New Summerville. The “old town,” too, is by all odds the prettier section of the town, and singularity of its “lay-out” being considered more of an attraction than a depreciation. It has all the combined effects of town and country, and considering the almost universal tendency to settle near the depot, is making marked progress in the way of buildings and general improvement.
Many things have contributed to the new departure in Summerville, but none more visibly that the facilities of communication with Charleston and other places offered by the South Carolina Railway Company. There is possibly no place in the State which has so frequent communication with other places as Summerville. All that could be done for the growth and development of a station has been done for the town, and general advantage is being taken of the facilities offered. The Summerville train, like the “Island boat,” is a kind of rolling exchange between Summerville and Charleston. It is one of the town’s oldest institutions, and in its improved shape, speed, and design is in marked contrast to the ‘Accommodation train” in the days of coffee-pot boilers and trips that consumed an hour and a half or more between Charleston and Summerville. The schedule time is now thirty- five minutes, and so frequent are the trips that one may visit Charleston half a dozen times a day. The telegraph facilities, too, are all that could be desired. For a long time this was only a day office, but when the station became an important one in railroad circles, a night operator was stationed here, giving the citizens the benefit of night and day telegraph service.
Besides what has been done in other respects by the railway company toward advancing the interests of the town, Mr. J.H. Averll, train master of the road, has recently thrown open for the use of the citizens as a public park a part of the company’s reservation near the depot. The square has been neatly enclosed and furnishes a very excellent retreat in these red-hot days. According to the law of compensation the business of the company here has been immensely increased. The cargoes of freight consigned here in a week are probably as great as those sent here in six months before the new order of things.
The mercantile trade of the town also has taken rapid strides in the past few years, the volume of trade having been increased ten-fold. Among the prominent business men at present here are: W.L. Lowery, dry goods and groceries; J.J. Borger, general merchandise; F.C. Borner, same; Henry Struhs & Co., general merchandise; H.W. Kriete, groceries; Emanuel Bros., dry goods and groceries; J.W. McLaughlin & Co., dry goods and groceries; Dr. H.C. Guerin, groceries; and W. Sassard, general merchandise. Some of these have the usual rum attachment which is supposed to be an indispensable attraction for the country trade. There are, of course, scores of small shops that drive a thriving business in all sorts of ways and with all sorts of people.
The population of the town is variously estimated at from 2,500 to 3,000 souls. This population is as “variegated” as it could well be, the German element, as usual, controlling the trade, and their fellow citizens paying the price of their protection. There are seven “saloons” in town, which also do a conspicuously fine business. On these it is rumored that an aggressive warfare is soon to be waged. It is said that they are now under the strict surveillance of a vigilance committee on the enforcement of the Sunday law and that the days of Sunday refreshment are well nigh over. This will no doubt be a sad blow to the gilded youth, who will be obliged to seek both revenge and consolation in foreign saloons. A remarkable fact in connection with the time-honored existence of bar-rooms in the town is that there has not been a single crime committed in them, except the equally time-honored crime of getting drunk, for the past thirty-five years. In fact, our gin-mill corporations have escaped the odium that attaches to the guild of less favored places where people shoot and carve each other as a “postprandial” recreation.
As an antithesis and antidote to this subject there are six churches in Summerville, which are not so numerously attended as the other places of public resort, notwithstanding the fact that the congregations of most of them are very large. Of these the colored Baptist congregation is the most numerous, the Methodist congregation next, the Episcopal third, and the Catholic the smallest in numbers. The Presbyterian Church, for a long while without a resident minister, has secured the services of the Rev. Mr. Taylor, and services are regularly held in that church at present. The Catholic congregation have no resident priest, mass being celebrated monthly by the Rev. P.L. Wilson, who is in charge of the mission. The Rev. L.F. Guerry has charge of the Episcopal Church and the Rev. J.M. Pike of the Methodist Church. The Rev. Anthony Allston, colored, is in charge of the Baptist Church.
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on July 19, 1883 – “The following gentleman have given $1,000. each to the endowment fund of Wofford College: George W. Williams, Esq. of Charleston, the Honorable Simpson Bobo of Spartanburg, Dr. H. Baer of Charleston, and Mr. T.W. Stanland of Summerville.”
In the way of amusements the town is fully provided. The Musical and Dramatic Association is composed of a corps of excellent musical and dramatic amateurs, who have earned a well-deserved reputation, at least from the Summerville public. There is also a musical combination known as the Berkeley Minstrels, which is just the kind of combination for the people who like that kind of entertainment. The great increase in population has made necessary the building of a proper hall for dramatic and concert purposes, and a company has undertaken to provide such a building in the near future. The site for the proposed building has already been obtained, and the work of erection will be commenced as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.
Summerville has no reason, however, to be proud of its public buildings. The town hall is the smallest building of the kind in the State, considering the size and population of the place, and the “market” is not much larger than an ordinary log cabin. The present town council is composed of Intendant J.W. Perry, Wardens George Gibbs, F.M. Emanuel, Dr. A.B. Muckenfuss, L.C. Stoll, and T.W. Stanland. Very little had been left undone by the previous council in the nature of street improvements, and the energies of the present council have been directed to the keeping of the old works in repair. Two new streets have been opened by the present board which are generally considered of questionable utility. The destruction of the large number of trees necessary for the construction of the streets is also commented upon unfavorably, whatever use there may have been for the new streets being more than counterbalanced by the injudicious and wholesale slaughter of our pine-tree protectors. The town is now, nevertheless, absolutely healthy in every respect. The drainage is not as thorough as it might be, but there is very little to be desired to make it as complete as requirements demand. The gradual clearing away of the undergrowth will, however, in a few years make necessary the construction of many more drains than now exist as a set off to the danger incurred by baring the swamp lands to the action of the sun. If this is not done Summerville will soon degenerate in point of healthfulness to the reputation for which its progress to a great degree is due.
A great deal, good, bad, and indifferent, has of late years been written about Summerville and its surroundings for the Northern press. While a great deal of such criticism has been adverse, it has not been denied that the climate here is a specific remedy for the varied forms of lung and bronchial diseases. In this respect the town enjoys an extensive reputation, which might be immeasurably increased by a moderate amount of judicious advertising and providing for the accommodation of Northern travelers.
A “hotel for Summerville” has been a theme and a dream of our citizens for any given number of years, but the project is as near completion today as the famous castles in Spain. The want of such a hotel is a serious drawback to the place and is being felt more and more every year* Taking into consideration the absence of an enterprise with that style and character of accommodation required by the average Northern and Western tourist, it is surprising how many of that class of travelers remain here during the winter. There has been, however, no increase in the number for many years, but there can be no doubt that under other circumstances the town would receive much of the public patronage that is given to less attractive resorts. There are boarding houses without number in the town, most of which are constantly filled. There is also the Paradise Hotel, in one of the most charming locations imaginable, which is well kept and is fairly patronized, but what is required is a building a la New Brighton, at least that is what the hotel enthusiasts have to say on that most important subject. With a good hotel Summerville would soon loom up as a dangerous rival to the Island, on which it is now casting a jealous and rapacious eye.
The topography of the town is as agreeable as could be desired. The latest discovery in that line is that the town is built or rather is being built on seven hills, like a certain famous eternal city. This augurs well, but the nomenclature of the hills is sadly marred in the modem version. In place of the Aventine, the Pincian, the Esquiline, &c., we have such horrid hills as Buzzard’s Roost, Monkey’s Mount, Red Hill, Hickory Hill, and other common places that would not be tolerated in a third-rate classical dictionary. All these hillsides are nevertheless dotted with fine private buildings, and notably so Hickory Hill. This is the latest hill that has been colonized and is considered the most beautiful location in town. Among the many fine residences there are those of Messrs. W.A. Gammell, Wm. C. Chisolm, W.K. Pelzer, H.A.M. Smith, T.B. Huger, W.S. Hastie, Jr., and others in course of erection. The names of the dwellers on Monkey’s Mount and Buzzard’s Roost are not herein chronicled for good and obvious reasons.
The social life of the average Summervillian, male or female, is not a very complex or ostentatious affair. In summer it is gay and fashionable, and in winter people are happy in the knowledge that the next season will be gayer and livelier than the last. This has been the rule without exception for a number of consecutive years and will most likely be the order of business for the future.
As to the prospects of the place, they were never brighter or with more show and assurance of realization than now. The notable influx of population during the last half decade will in the nature of things be proportionally increased during the next. Taking into consideration that in 1880 the population was only 1,300 and that the most reliable information now places it near 3,000, it may safely be predicted that at the end of Cleveland’s term of office it will be at least 5,000. There is nothing just now either probable or contingent to forestall the consummation of this modest prediction, and it is to be hoped that its verification will redound to the credit of a prophet in his own country.”
News and Courier, July 20, 1884.
Information from: Names in South Carolina by C.H. Neuffer, Published by the S.C. Dept. of English, USC
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