Sandy Island, SC
I had a wonderful morning on a “private” tour, over to a place I’d always wanted to visit. I picked an overcast day, and the earlier tour, and got lucky – it was just me. Captain Rommy was kind enough to take me over to the island, and show me around anyway.
Tours de Sandy Island
“We believe there is no better place to experience history, culture, and beauty than our historic Sandy Island.”
Captain Rommy was awesome. Through his narrative, I got to know him, his people, and his home. The love and honor and respect was evident in his storytelling. I was so enraptured, and trying to absorb all of the history I could. I only took a single photo the entire tour, the featured photo of the schoolhouse. I was too busy listening to the story of Prince Washington, The Mayor, and Archer Huntington, and how the schoolhouse came to be – and the future plans for the place.
National Register Listing for Sandy Island School with photos
I was able to visit Pyatt’s General Store, the only store (and only public restroom!) on the island. Capatin Rommy’s family runs the shop, with everything from soda to postcards, books, arts and crafts, clothing, and a collection of artifacts found on the island. I learned about repurposing ballast bricks, and was able to see examples later on. I purchased a couple of books in my particular interest categories – history, of course, and food. The book by Thomas Pyatt is a fascinating read, and the recopies – I cannot wait to try a couple of them out!
After the tour, I wanted to learn more. Below are some resources that I have found in my search for additional information. To book a tour, which I highly, highly recommend, the direct link is here: Guided Boat/Island Tour. GO!
Saving Sandy Island is a documentary about the struggle to save an exceptional South Carolina island and its Gullah community from development. Home to endangered species and rare long leaf pine forests, Sandy Island is the largest undeveloped freshwater island on the east coast. The program tells the story of the unique coalition of conservationists, state agencies, businessmen and community residents that came together to save this extraordinary place and preserve a historic culture.
The Story of Sandy Island – About the people who saved The Nature Conservancy’s largest preserve in South Carolina
Joyner Institute for Gullah and African Diaspora Studies at Coastal Carolina University
