Traditions Run Deep in Beaufort, SC

The Plan for Pine Island, St. Helena

Artist Paula Holtzclaw captures the essence of the Lowcountry we know and love.

I have a deep connection to the Sea Islands of Beaufort County, especially St. Helena and Lady’s Island. Having first arrived in the early 1970s with my husband to purchase Pleasant Point Plantation, a golf community, at the far end of Lady’s Island, we quickly got to know and love its people.

The undeniable appeal of this tranquil corner of the South is rooted and driven by water and the land - traditions run deep throughout its 500 years of history. We have an abiding sense of place.

The surrounding neighborhood of Broomfield is historically Gullah and they soon became our friends who hunted and fished on our property as they had for generations.  This Gullah community took care of each other, bartering and trading for what they needed. Many still look to the river to provide an evening’s meal. Most were hardscrabble men and women who forged for their food but once given an opportunity were hard-working and took jobs on the property where they could earn a decent wage.

We had several shrimpers who preferred to pay their golf dues with shrimp - never once did we run out. From our porch at the point overlooking the Intracoastal waterway, we watched the trawlers go out to sea and soon learned them all by name. I was a city girl from Atlanta who fell instantly in love with the South Carolina Lowcountry and the lifestyle.

Relationships forged during this time led to a lifetime of stories and friendships. The women in Broomfield taught me a lot about cooking and often left stone crabs, blue crabs, and shrimp on the porch.

Change happened during our years at Pleasant Point. Without transportation, there were no jobs for the people who lived in this place far from town. We provided work for many who wanted it and watched their lives improve. We had the privilege of learning about them, their culture, and their way of life. They were not fearful of change but welcomed it.

When I started learning about Pine Island on St. Helena Island, and the owner’s plan for its development I became aware of the controversy and attended a County Council meeting to try to understand more about it.

Passions ran high for those who were opposed to development and change. Pine Island is situated on high, sandy bluffs off Dulamo Road and comprises about 500 acres abutting Morgan River, Village Creek, and Edding Creek. It is now poised to honor and elevate the past, the land, and its people and create an asset that benefits St. Helena Island for generations to come.

Dr. Larry Rowland, distinguished professor emeritus of history at the University of South Carolina Beaufort tells us that Beaufort’s history began over 500 years ago. His family inherited Dataw Island, sold it in 1983, and watched it become a vital part of St. Helena Island.  He saw firsthand how change can be good for our community. He knows the owner/developer of Pine Island, Elvio Tropeano, and says: “The owner’s plan is to uncover, preserve, and enhance the remarkable history of this property.” 

Tropeano believes that heritage resources are vital to ethical and sustainable community development, and that is why protecting those resources is at the center of his development planning.

The Vision for Outreach on St. Helena Island

The primary team involved in the Mitchelville Freedom Park on Hilton Head Island completed an extensive archeological and historical site survey, which will serve as the foundation for a long-term stewardship plan for cultural and environmental resources. Community Educational Programs are a vital part of the vision for Pine Island’s outreach into St. Helena Island.

County Council Member York Glover, Sr., a graduate of St. Helena High School and island resident has presented his vision to create a Food Culture Venue to celebrate the incredible contributions enslaved people brought to the economy in the Lowcountry which lasted well over 200 years.  This venue would explore, reveal, and reclaim the shared cultural inheritance of the historical southeastern Lowcountry rice cultivation.

In addition, this could create a place for the preservation of significant African linguistic and cultural practices, including their unique creole language and culture which developed due to their historical isolation on the Sea Islands. A public park honoring African Ancestors could be created in reverence for the past along with the revival of a greater future. 

The Vision for Pine Island

The Pine Island Plan has been carefully designed to maintain the high quality of life in the region, preserve the environment, and create equitable opportunities for all citizens.

     Minimal Impact: this will be a low-density conservation development with minimal impact on the local environment, infrastructure, roadways, and schools. Only about 60 very exclusive homes and 10 docks or less are planned.

     Current Residents: The development will happen within the boundaries of Pine Island property and will not displace or disrupt any area residents.

     Low Traffic Impact: There will be little difference in traffic, as the majority of its residents and members will be seasonal.

Impact on the Shrimping Industry is a Vital Part of the Plan

Shrimping vessels have trawled South Carolina waters from Beaufort to Little River since the 1920s but continue to face growing challenges. Our local shrimpers have been hit hard by a downturn in the demand for domestic shrimp. There’s tough competition from foreign markets spawned by overseas shrimp farms and an uneducated public as to the difference in quality and safety.  Shrimp remains our favorite seafood, yet the rugged livelihood of catching shrimp off our shore is a dying industry. Things like expensive diesel fuel, an acute shortage of workers, and the continuing flood of cheap imported shrimp from countries such as India, Indonesia, and Ecuador affect it. Raising shrimp in a contaminated pond overseas is considerably cheaper than outfitting a shrimp boat.

Consumer Reports warned that the Food and Drug Administration tests less than 1 percent of foreign shipments. Unsafe drugs, antibiotics, and other contaminations are found in overseas shrimp that some fish farms use to ward off disease.

We cannot afford to create further hardship for this industry.

We must all support it to keep this fleet alive. Shrimping is vital to the economy of this area - not to mention the culture and the sight of these boats traveling our local waters with the ever-present flock of seagulls surrounding them, outriggers folded as they head toward home. Does anyone want this to ever go away?

I see at least part of the problem is treating seafood like an interchangeable commodity, rather than an expression of place. If our shrimpers are to survive we need our County Council and local government to care and understand what is happening.

There are 10 shrimp trawlers located in Village Creek across from Pine Island, the primary location for commercial shrimp trawlers in all of Beaufort County.  They must navigate the narrow Village Creek channel to harvest the shrimp we all enjoy. Many families who work out of St. Helena depend on Village Creek for a living. 

Tropeano’s proposed plan protects our shrimpers because it is low-density. 

 Currently, ½ the working boats in Beaufort County are docked in Village Creek.  They have easy access to the ocean from this dock. Should Tropeano’s plan be denied this access for our shrimpers would pose a severe hardship because the number of docks would be greatly increased protruding into the waterway creating a navigational nightmare.

 If the County Council denies his plan, he will be permitted to build as many as 168 homes or more and this includes the possibility of more than 100 new docks. This is not what he wants to do but would be forced to do this if denied.

Some have approached the Council to say Beaufort County should purchase the island and give it to the citizens. The present value of this land is well over  85 million dollars. This is not likely to happen.