Around the Low Country

5th Annual Island Heritage Celebration Takes James Island History to Schools

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC - April 27, 2010 - The 5th Annual Island Heritage Celebration on May 6-7 will present a history lesson to James Island middle school students through a photo exhibit, “James Island, A Place, A People, A History.”


The exhibit, a collection of ten photographs of some of the island’s most historic sites, will be presented at James Island and Fort Johnson middle schools and accompanied by an overview of the history of the island, the site of some of the most important chapters in the state’s history.

This event is one of the first in Charleston County to offer a collaboration between the community and the school system to teach local history.

Carol Leyh, a sixth-grade reading teacher at James Island Middle, said, “The Island Heritage Celebration and photo exhibit fits perfectly with the sixth-grade reading curriculum and standards. This is an exciting way to end the school year as students learn new information about the Lowcountry. This year the students are working with our art teacher Tim Brown and me on Lowcountry projects that will be on display. This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and community to learn and share with one another.”

The authors of books about the island’s history will join the exhibit for a gallery discussion with students and their teachers. The panel of writers and their books are: Margie W. Cleary, Searching for Lights, Doug Bostick, James Island a Brief History; Eugene Frazier, Stories from Slave Descendants; and Geordie Buxton, Images of America - James Island a History.

Five years ago, Eleanor Kinlaw-Ross and an energetic group of people launched the Island Heritage Festival. News of the event was splashed across the pages of national magazines, newspapers and on television and radio, luring people to the island from as far away as California, Chicago and New York to join the celebration.

“For the past four years we celebrated many chapters of James Island history with our annual event. From the opening ceremony on the front steps of the mansion at McLeod Plantation, to the Porgy House on Folly Beach, and many other historic sites, we have told the history and celebrated the legacy of beautiful James Island,” Kinlaw-Ross said. “Now on the eve of the fifth annual celebration much has changed, yet one thing remains the same, the celebration of the history.”

Herb Frazier, a member of the Island Heritage Celebration board of directors, said, “Younger James Islanders were not participating in this celebration of the island’s history so we made changes. First, we moved the event from June to May when the schools would be open so we could take the celebration to the schools.”

Last year the event’s name was changed from Island Heritage Festival to Island Heritage Celebration to offer a more concentrated focus on presenting history rather than offering festivities. “We are absolutely excited about the new development in our mission to educate people about James Island, especially our young people,” Kinlaw-Ross said.

“As we look forward to the next five years, our goal is to expand our collaboration with all of the schools and continue the development of the James Island History Trail,” she said. The History Trail was first marked in 2006 with the installation of the historic marker commemorating the Civil War Battle of Sol Legare Island, followed by another historic marker at W. Gresham Meggett School in 2009. The goal of the History Trail is to interpret the history of some of James Island’s most historic sites and create a “talking book” of history for future generations.