The Kiawah were a tribe of Cusabo people , an alliance of Indigenous groups in lowland regions of the coastal region of what became Charleston, South Carolina .
30-661: When English colonists arrived and settled on the Ashley River , the Kiawah were friendly. The Kiawah and the Etiwan tribe were the two principal Cusabo tribes close to the Charleston Harbor. While some other South Carolinian lowland tribes were not consistently associated with the Cusabo, the Kiawah were consistently a part of the Cusabo. The first record of Kiawah Cusabo alliance membership
60-804: A letter. His visit to the Port Royal (Charleston Harbor area since a settlement had been constructed there in April of 1670. A Kiawah native called the Casseeka ( cacique or leader) assisted in the travels of Cartaret, who remarked that he was "a very ingenious Indian, and a great linguist." During the Yamasee War (1715–17), the Kiawah fought with the English against the Yamasee , Creek , Cherokee , Catawba , and other nations seeking revenge for abuse by traders. The Kiawah gave
90-513: A present to the Province of South Carolina in 1717. The British colonial government granted land to the south of the Combahee River to a Kiawah chief. The Kiawa were last recorded as living near Beaufort, South Carolina , in the 18th century, and Swanton writes they likely "gradually merged in the surrounding population." By 1682, the date of the earliest regional census, the number of bowmen for
120-639: A town council acting as the chief legislative body and a mayor acting as the executive officer of the municipality. Day-to-day operations and legislation implementation is the Town Administrator's responsibility. The current mayor, since 2024, is Russ Touchberry. The Town Council has six members elected from single-member districts . The Town of Summerville Fire & Rescue comprises 97 full-time firefighters and 19 volunteers. These firemen operate out of 6 stations across town and are subdivided into five engine companies and two ladder companies. Also included in
150-509: Is Doug Wright. Emergency medical services (EMS) for the town is provided primarily by Dorchester County EMS, but in some cases, these services are provided by both Charleston and Berkley County EMS due to small parts of the town being in these counties. While the city of Charleston is the primary medical center for the area , Summerville is home to the Summerville Medical Center and many different MUSC campuses, which serve
180-723: Is in southeastern Dorchester County ; the town extends northeast into Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is bordered to the east by the town of Lincolnville and to the southeast by the city of North Charleston . Summerville's town limits extend south as far as the Ashley River next to Old Fort Dorchester State Historical Park. U.S. Route 78 passes near the center of Summerville, leading southeast 24 miles (39 km) to downtown Charleston and northwest 29 miles (47 km) to Interstate 95 at St. George . Interstate 26 leads through Summerville's northeast corner, with access from Exit 199, leading southeast to Charleston and northwest 90 miles (140 km) to Columbia . According to
210-781: Is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area . Summerville's population at the 2020 census was 50,915. The first settlement in Summerville began following the American Revolutionary War ; it was called Pineland Village in 1785. Development in the area resulted from plantation owners who resided in the Charleston area and came to Summerville to escape seasonal insects and their attendant swamp fever. Summerville became an official town on December 17, 1847. That year,
240-482: The 2010 census , there were 43,392 people residing in 16,181 households in the town. Summerville's population density is 2,404.7 inhabitants per square mile. There were 16,181 households, of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who
270-528: The Carolina Colony by explorer Robert Sandford . In 1675 Cooper was granted 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) of land along the river after a permanent settlement was made at Albemarle Point in 1670. This settlement was the “first permanent European settlement” in South Carolina and today Albemarle Point is known as Charles Towne Landing . The settlement would be moved to its current peninsular location across
300-604: The Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site . The River ranges from 6 to 8 feet in depth. Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County , with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. Summerville is seventh biggest city in the state. The town lies approximately five miles from the Ashley River . It
330-809: The Section of Fine Arts , of the Treasury Department . In 2019 Dorchester County announced that it was redeveloping 500 N. Main Street, the biggest tract of land in Downtown Summerville. The Ashley River Road , Middleton Place , Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site , Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery , and the Summerville Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places . The center of Summerville
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#1732876160279360-755: The United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 22.67 square miles (58.7 km ), of which 22.54 square miles (58.4 km ) is land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km ) (5.24%) is water. As of the 2020 census , there were 50,915 people, 19,374 households, and 13,130 families residing in the town. In 2023, of the 70,270 people in Summerville, about 42,960 of them were in Dorchester County, 5,405 of them were in Berkeley County, and 2,550 of them were in Charleston County. At
390-624: The Children's Jubilee/Kids Fest section. In 1925, these flowers led Summerville's Chamber of Commerce to adopt the slogan "Flower Town in the Pines." Summerville claims the title "The Birthplace of Sweet Tea." A recipe for sweet iced tea published in Texas native Marion Cabell's 1879 cookbook Housekeeping in Old Virginia has been cited as evidence against this claim. Summerville has a Council–manager , with
420-476: The Flowertown Festival, Summerville sees about 200,000 visitors. Admission and parking is free to all who attend. No alcohol or pets are permitted at the festival. About 200 artists from around the country are invited and display their works for purchase. Area restaurants are featured in the festival's "Taste" section, where tickets can be purchased to sample their offerings. Children can enjoy the carnival in
450-656: The Guaymari Kiawah Tribe, identified as being descendants of the Kiawah. Ashley River (South Carolina) The Ashley River is a blackwater and tidal river in South Carolina , rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County . It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville , widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester. The river then flows for approximately 17 mi (27 km) along
480-702: The Kiawah tribe was said to have been reduced to 40, with the total population of all Cusabo tribes being 664. The 1715 census stated that the total Cusabo population, excluding the Etiwan, was 535, with 95 men and 200 children. Severe population depletion is said to be attributed to smallpox and other diseases in combination with attacks by the Spaniards and Indian allies of the French. Kiawah Island, South Carolina , bears their name today. A former nonprofit organization in Tennessee,
510-497: The Kiawah. Attempted settlements were made in the area by the French in 1562 and the Spaniards beginning in 1566. After being driven out in 1576, the Spanish returned and burned most, if not all, of the Cusabo villages of the Cusabo and the Guale. In 1598 the Kiawah and Escamacu raided Guale. English settler Robert Sanford wrote in his 1666 recollections that a Kiawah tribe member known by
540-621: The National Register of Historic Places with 22 mi (35 km) being designated a State Scenic River, extending from Sland's Bridge (US Highway 17-A) near Summerville to the Mark Clark expressway (I-526) bridge in Charleston. Within this segment, a visitor can experience a blackwater swamp, the tides of the Atlantic, and much of the history of South Carolina. Some of the sites include Drayton Hall , Middleton Place , Magnolia Plantation , and
570-590: The Summerville Family YMCA in hosting the annual Flowertown Festival to support health and wellness programs at the YMCA. It is South Carolina's largest arts and crafts festival. It is held during the last weekend of March or the first weekend of April in the Summerville Azalea Park. It often coincides with the annual Cooper River Bridge Run held in Charleston the same weekend. During the three days of
600-551: The department, is the Fire Marshall Office which comprises a Chief Fire Marshall and two assistants. The Department operates on a 24/48 schedule and maintains a Class 1 ISO rating.Chief Brent Melcher currently leads the Department. The Town of Summerville Police Department consists of 120 sworn officers and 29 civilian staff members, with 2.33 full-time law enforcement officers per 1,000 residents. The current Chief of Police
630-851: The historical banks of the City of North Charleston before reaching peninsular Charleston. The much wider Ashley joins the Cooper River off the Battery in Charleston to form Charleston Harbor before discharging into the Atlantic Ocean . As of 2012 the land around the Ashley River (or in Ashley Barony, as the original land grant was called) is mostly undeveloped. The river was named for Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and chief Lord Proprietor of
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#1732876160279660-483: The many pine trees that release turpentine derivatives into the air. This notation is credited with aiding Summerville's commercial and residential development. The former Summerville post office built in 1938 contains a mural, Train Time – Summerville , painted by Bernadine Custer in 1939. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the U.S. through the Section of Painting and Sculpture , later called
690-645: The river ten years later and is well known as Charleston. The land closest to the river was developed by plantation owners throughout the eighteenth century. During the Revolutionary War the British occupied the plantations from 1780 to 1782. The major crops grown along the Ashley River included rice, indigo, and cotton. After the Civil War much of the region began to be used predominantly for hunting and tourism. The Ashley River area contains 26 separate sites listed in
720-451: The title of Cassique welcomed him earnestly to the Kiawah "assuring [him] a broad deep entrance, and promising a large welcome and plentiful entertainment and trade." Supposedly it was the Cassique's pride for his country that encouraged the English to solidify the creation of their settlement. Another English settler, Nicolas Carteret, recorded his travels from Bermuda to the Ashley River in
750-541: The town passed a law against cutting down trees, the nation's first such law, and a $ 25 fine was issued to anyone who did so without permission. The town's official seal reads " Sacra Pinus Esto (The Pine is Sacred)". The 1886 Charleston earthquake affected Summerville, which resulted in a fire that reduced many of the buildings in the town square to ruins. During this earthquake, the Old White Meeting House Ruins and Cemetery , located near Summerville,
780-488: The town. This table shows the service statistics collected by the Summerville Police Department. In 2023 the Summerville Police Department received 94,446 calls for service resulting in 2,030 arrests. Public education in the portions of Summerville in Dorchester County is administered by Dorchester School District Two , which operates Summerville High School . Summerville's Memorial Stadium , which has
810-427: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55. In the town, 27.0% of the population was under the age of 18, and 10.5% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.7 years. The median income for a household in the town was $ 54,677. About 11.2% of the population was below the poverty line . The median value of an owner-occupied home was $ 182,000. Starting in 1972, Summerville has supported
840-399: Was able to translate the language of the Kiawah. Few words in Cusabo survive and the language is unattested . Ethnographer John Reed Swanton suggested the Cusabo language may have been a Muskogean language . American linguist Blair Rudes proposed that Arawakan interpretations of the name ending -bo corresponds to the naming of locations associated with the Cusabo tribes including
870-547: Was also destroyed. Today, Summerville is located within the Middleton Place-Summerville Seismic Zone, which is the most active seismic zone in South Carolina. In 1899, the International Congress of Physicians (or "Tuberculosis Congress" ) listed Summerville as one of the world's two best areas for treatment of and recovery from lung and throat disorders, due to its dry and sandy location and
900-414: Was in a 1707 agreement, in which the Kiawah were mentioned. The Kiawah lived on or near the Ashley River from 1598 to 1682 and then on Kiawah Island from 1682 to 1695. Though the location of this is now unknown, the Kiawah were granted a land request for a reservation south of the Combahee River . In 1605 and 1609 a Spanish colonizer employed an Indigenous person of Santa Elena who spoke Spanish and
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