Rich history and natural beauty at Sandy Island

Two groups from Florence, Hemingway, Johnsonville and the surrounding areas made trips to Sandy Island recently.

Sandy Island is a unique landmass that supports a diverse assemblage of natural communities. Located near Brookgreen Gardens in Georgetown County and bordered by the Pee Dee and Waccamaw Rivers, this “island in time” is characterized by a topography of dramatic elevation changes, meandering creeks, enormous trees and one of the rarest birds on earth: the red-cockaded woodpecker.
Sandy Island covers more than 9,000 acres and is a complex of wetlands and upland communities. The 1,100 acres of wetlands along the Waccamaw River, on the east side of island, were converted to rice plantations during the 1800s. A few remnant impoundments and water control structures used for rice culture are still intact.

Time has brought little change to Sandy Island. Steep, sandy dunes, forty feet above sea level, represent the County’s highest elevations. The island also supports a large number of rare plant communities, the north end complete with a many long leaf pines.

There is no bridge to Sandy Island, rather four public boat landings. Those from the recent tour were met at the Sandy Island Landing on the mainland by the tour director, Capt. Rommy Pyatt, and transported to the island on a 20-foot pontoon boat. They traveled down a noon-natural creek (canal) that was constructed many years ago by Archer Huntington to afford the natives a more direct route to the mainland.

According to Capt. Pyatt, 2000 years before the Spanish came to the North American coast, natives lived on Sandy Island. When the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, they made Mt. Arena the focal point of the island, since it was the highest point above sea level.

In 1700 French Huguenots came and made the island the “First Debidou”.
Controlled by the tide they were able to grow rice in the bottoms.

During Capt Pyatt’s narration as the group traveled the canal, he said the woodlands where the rice fields were are so boggy they could only be cleared using oxen to pull stumps and carry out the uprooted trees. He noted that the natives who were clearing the woods would sing, the rhythm enabling them to work better. He sang one of the old songs for his passengers as they made their way down the canal.

The canal crosses Brookgreen Gardens’ Creek. The people of Sandy Island call the creek “Happy Waters”.

In the early 1900s, a hurricane wiped out the rice fields, but traces of wild rice left from the cultivation can still be seen as the boat moves along.

One of the points of interest is the old cemetery on Sandy Island that is over 100 years old. The graves were marked by wooden crosses and encased in chicken wire to keep wild animals from destroying the markers. Only a few marked graves remain. Pyatt said as children they cracked hickory nuts, the fruit from the trees that grow there, on the few more durable tombstones.
In 1970 the Islanders acquired an old International Harvester fire truck, which Pyatt called their “new antique”, that is still the pride of the island. They now have a four-wheel vehicle that will go anywhere on the terrain. Volunteer firemen are trained in weekly sessions by the Georgetown County Fire Department. Now that they have county water on the island and an organized fire department with a building to store their equipment, not as many homes are lost by fire.

Prince Washington is the unofficial mayor of the island and the spokesperson for the natives. He encouraged the Huntingtons to build a schoolhouse on the island in 1932 that is now used as a library, community center and conference room for community meetings. They have a nice playground with modern attractions at the site and Internet is available for the children. Natives own 400 acres on the island as private property or deeded real estate. The Department of Natural Resources have strict hunting rules and hunting can only be done using bows and arrows and by pre-registration.
The students, approximately 15 in all, travel to schools on the mainland by a special school boat, “The Prince Washington School Boat”, mornings and afternoons. Islanders are working with Georgetown County officials to secure a ferry to the island.

The island was about to “go under” according to Pyatt when two billionaires sought to purchase 63 square miles of property for timbering rights with a promise to build a bridge to the island that the natives would be able to use as their own. Before it was too late, the folks at Penn Center at St. Helena Island learned of the scenario. They intervened, helping the natives to see what was happening before their very eyes. In the final analysis, the islanders would only be able to use the bridge for funerals or emergencies (with prior notice). These men, according to Pyatt, were going to lose tons of money if they built the bridge that would cost much more than they would make on the timber. Actually, they planned to timber the land and then turn it into a private golf community, he said. The natives were then able to see the handwriting on the wall and did not go along with their plans.

Since then, the State has purchased much of the property to be sure it remains a pristine preserve.

One member of the recent group to tour the island was very interested in the flora and fauna there, which included wild grape vines, cypresses, majestic old moss laden oaks, wild roses that grow in the water at the island’s edge with lovely red rose hips and especially the reindeer moss and rabbit nip.

There are four public boat landings. The public is welcome during daylight hours, but guests are asked to stay away from the eastern quarter of the island where more than a hundred residents, descendants of former slaves, make their home. These descendents were well represented in recently released book, “Coming Through,” which deals with Genevieve Willcox Chandler and her recorded conversations with them about the Confederate War, the Jim Crow period and reconstruction days.

These private tours are available on Saturday and Sunday from April to November. However, Capt Pyatt, a member of the Air Force Reserves, expects to be deployed in the summer of 2010 and will be restrictions. For further information or reservations call 843-408-7187. You my also call 843-937-8807 for trail information and guides or visit nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/sxttes/southcarolina/presxerves.