Chimney Sweep in Johns Island, SC

South Carolina has 35 barrier islands (also called sea islands), more than any other state except Florida. Barrier islands run parallel to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and shield the mainland from the brunt of sea storms. The islands are home to wide sandy beaches, sea grass beds, vegetated uplands, and Lowcountry marshes.

What Is the Largest Island in South Carolina?

At 84 square miles in area, Johns Island is the largest island in South Carolina. Located in Charleston County, it’s the fourth largest island on the East Coast. Situated between the city of Charleston and the barrier island beaches that border the Atlantic Coast, a portion of the island is located within the city limits of Charleston.

Technically an island, yet not bordered by the open sea, the Stono and Kiawah Rivers are what separates Johns Island from its border islands and the mainland.

What Is the History of Johns Island?

Colonialists arrived on Johns Island from English settlements in the Caribbean and named it after Saint John Parish in Barbados. However, Native American tribes, including the Stono, Bohicket, and Kiawah Indians, were already living on the island.

The settlers brought the crop, indigo, from Barbados and cultivated it in the Lowcountry of Johns Island. By the mid-1700s, indigo became the main export for the island. A popular bright blue dye, indigo grown on Johns Island was commonly sold to England. During the height of indigo production, the Stono Rebellion occurred. The settlers relied on slaves to grow and produce their crops. In 1739, a group of slaves on Johns Island rebelled and attempted to escape to Florida, which was under the rule of the Spanish at the time.

However, the uprising was unsuccessful and plantation owners captured the slaves before they could reach freedom. During the Revolutionary War, the British market for indigo was disrupted, and England began to turn to India for its indigo supply. By the 1800s, indigo was no longer listed as a crop for Johns Island.

Johns Island has been the site of several important historical events. Occupied by British troops during the Revolutionary War, Johns Island also endured the Battle of Bloody Bridge during the Civil War. Today, visitors can view the historical site marking the Civil War battle at the Burdens Causeway.

Currently, Johns Island has a population of 21,500 and growing. The nearness of downtown Charleston, the beautiful scenery of the Lowcountry, and the nearby sandy beaches of the barrier islands make Johns Island a popular spot for new development.

What Do People Do at Johns Island?

Today, Johns Island is known for local farmers’ markets, historical parks, and towering oak trees dripping with Spanish moss. Although new developments are cropping up on the island, about 75% of the island remains rural with agricultural and horse farms, large acreage estates, and waterfront communities. Just a few miles south is the resort community of Kiawah Island.

One of the main attractions on Johns Island is the Angel Oak, a live oak tree that is thought to be the largest living oak tree east of the Mississippi River. Estimated to be around 400 years old, it’s the oldest tree in South Carolina. The massive tree is 65 feet tall and 25.5 feet around. Further, it provides shade to a staggering 17,000 square foot area. Surrounding the tree is a small park with a visitor’s center and a gift shop.

Another popular activity on the island is shopping at the Freshfields Village, an open-air shopping center with over 30 shops, numerous restaurants, and a boutique hotel.

The Goatery at Kiawah River is a small artisan goat dairy farm specializing in goat cheese and soaps. The farm offers private tours, classes for children, and goat yoga. The farm also doubles as a goat sanctuary, offering many goats a forever home.

Where Is Johns Island on a Map?

Johns Island is in between Charleston and the barrier islands. It’s surrounded by Kiawah, Seabrook, Wadmalaw, Edisto, James, and Folly Islands. The Stono and Kiawah Rivers separate Johns Island from the mainland and the barrier islands.

What Animals Live on Johns Island?

Johns Island is teeming with wildlife. Although there are many homes, shops, and restaurants on the island, much of the land remains undeveloped, providing habitat for numerous species. On the island, it’s common to see deer, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, otters, wild hogs, and even alligators.

The rivers and marshes on the island are abundant with oysters, trout, black sea bass, bluefish, and bottlenose dolphins. Birds found in the area include many species such as osprey, bald eagles, wild turkeys, and egrets.

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Jennifer is a professional writer living in the Chicago area. She owns two pugs. Or rather, they own her. Jennifer has discovered that her best writing happens against a backdrop of soft pug snores.

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JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — It started as an island paradise, but residents at a Johns Island apartment complex say their home now resembles the woods.

The residents of Sea Island Apartments, which houses about 48 people off Maybank Highway, are speaking out against what they describe as "deplorable" conditions.

Read more: One80 Place launches eviction prevention line to support Charleston renters

"We have seen grass grow almost knee and chest high," said Farley, a disabled military veteran who has been living in the complex for six years. "You see fallen trees in the area, people not receiving maintenance, and overloaded trash bin."

In addition to the overgrown vegetation, the residents are concerned about random visits from wildlife. They say it seems management has slacked off and there's been little to no communication.

"You're forced to pay rent on time, but still, your issues are going unaddressed," Farley said. "We'll reach out to management and they haven't meet with us. Every time, they change management or owners. Nobody has contact to it."

It started as an island paradise, but residents at a Johns Island apartment complex say their home now resembles the woods. (WCIV)

There is also only one trashcan in the entire community and a small number of parking spaces.

"You have disabled people having to walk all the way down to one trash bin," Farley said. "There are not enough handicap parking spots. (Management) told us we'd have to park on the side of the road if there are no parking spaces."

"It's time we be up to date, as we were before," said Charlotte Turner, who has been living in the complex for 10 years. "Management needs to show a serious concern about resident complaints, at least be willing to meet or communicate."

Read more: Mayor Tecklenburg to host ribbon cutting for six new affordable housing properties in Charleston

A councilman was reached for comment on this area, but he was unable to conduct an interview due to prior commitments. A representative from the Charleston Development Group was also reached for comment.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Trident Medical Center is looking to build a new hospital on Johns Island.

A certificate of need was submitted by Trident Medical to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) in a step toward constructing a 50-bed acute care facility between Maybank Highway and Cane Slash Road.

It would be directly across from the Live Oak Square development.

“We are excited to continue making medical care more accessible to residents in our historically underserved communities,” said Trident Health President and CEO Christina Oh. “Currently on Johns Island and neighboring communities, it can take residents 30 to 45 minutes to drive to their nearest hospital, and often longer in heavy traffic and inclement weather. Our goal is to increase access to timely, high quality, and affordable health care services.”

Trident leaders estimate the cost of building the new hospital at about $277 million. They said that in the first three years, the Johns Island Hospital would create nearly 300 jobs, contribute to $10 million in non-income taxes to support the community and pay $70 million in salaries, wages, and benefits.

“Johns Island Hospital will mean many residents in the area won’t have to leave the island for work. This will be a great benefit to them and their families,” said Oh regarding job creation.

In addition, the new Johns Island Hospital would be located seven miles from James Island Emergency, which is Trident’s new freestanding ER on Folly Road, which is slated to open in the next few weeks.

The hospital would include 50 beds with space to expand to 150 beds. It would have 40 medical/surgical/stepdown beds, 10 ICU beds, 20 ER rooms, four operating rooms, two endoscopy rooms, and other resources.

Leaders say the third floor will also be designed for future expansion to include a labor and delivery unit and nursery.

“From our first discussions about building a hospital on Johns Island, we have been committed to creating a thoughtful plan that preserves the natural beauty of Johns Island. We will honor the strong Gullah Geechee cultures of the community; we will partner with the areas’ community and businesses; and will promote the important and unique contributions of Johns Island’s agricultural community,” said Oh.

Trident Health operates hospitals in North Charleston, Summerville, and Moncks Corner with three area freestanding emergency departments, and Live Oak Mental Health and Wellness. Its fourth freestanding emergency department is forthcoming.

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Clemson University’s Historic Preservation program is launching the Johns Island Preservation Field School. The summer field school program funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Vernacular Architecture Forum focuses on researching and documenting late 19th and early 20th century public buildings and their role within the African American community on Johns Island, SC.

Alongside Clemson’s Historic Preservation program, the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture at the College of Charleston, the Progressive Club and the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission (GGCHCC) are hosting this three-week program—the field school runs from May 22 to June 9.

“The field school brings together African American studies, public history, history, historic preservation and other thinking and skills, all surrounding important and story-laden historic places and the people associated with these built environments,” explained Amalia Leifeste, associate professor of historic preservation at Clemson University.

The program includes workshops by historic preservation faculty, history faculty, archivist, scholars and local community educators, teaching participants about life in the Johns Island community during the Reconstruction, Jim Crow and Civil Rights periods. Through hands-on training in historic preservation documentation and research methods, including archival research, measured drawing, photography, laser scanning, photogrammetry and GIS, participants will learn how to document the physical fabric and cultural narratives associated with the historic buildings and landscapes on Johns Island.

“This is the kind of work that can bring new people into the field of historic preservation and assists in continuing to evolve the field to include buildings and people not always centered in historic conversations,” Leifeste said.

Johns Island residents will also be encouraged to apply to the second year of the field school (Summer of 2024), and they will be given priority along with applicants demonstrating historic or cultural ties to Johns Island or the broader Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. Residents will also be invited to participate in one-day workshops with topics including reading buildings with Jobie Hill. Community members will be compensated for their time in attending these workshops.

Public Preservation Events

Johns Island Preservation Field School also offers three public events during its three-week tenure on the island. The public is invited to panel discussions, student presentations and a preservation advocacy discussion. Following are the events that are open to the public:

There are several powerful reasons why Seabrook Island Town Council should reject a proposed annexation that would pave the way for a new boat dock, private clubhouse, boathouse, pool house and 10 rental cottages near the town’s northern limits.

The additional boat and car traffic would create more congestion on Betsy Kerrison Parkway in particular and Johns Island in general, as well as more pollution to the otherwise pristine Bohicket Creek. But the biggest reason Town Council should reject the 18-acre annexation is the dangerous precedent it would set, a precedent that would erode the rural character of southern Johns Island.

Decades ago, local governments, led by the city of Charleston and Charleston County, agreed on an urban growth boundary across Johns Island and other areas. The big idea was to ensure their zoning and other policies were synchronized to allow suburban development to continue to spread, but only up to a point, beyond which the existing rural nature would be preserved. The boundary has generally worked well, but as with so much other conservation work, it needs to be embraced and reaffirmed by each new generation.

Seabrook Island’s potential move would mark one of the first and most dramatic annexations by a municipality into the rural portion of the island; if it succeeds, it almost assuredly wouldn’t be the last, and it could hasten the unraveling of the boundary line — and increase development pressures on the shrinking amount of land on the rural side of the boundary.

Robby Maynor of the Coastal Conservation League agrees that annexing and rezoning this property on the rural side of the urban growth boundary would set a disastrous precedent on the county’s Sea Islands and could lead to annexation battles such as those that are playing out along the most rural stretches of the upper Ashley River, whose rural historic district remains in jeopardy from encroaching homes, stores and the traffic they bring. Approving the marina project would be “like kicking an anthill and hoping you don’t get bit,” he says.

The case that the property’s owner and other supporters have made for the annexation is that it would give Seabrook Island future control of the site and limit future development there, according to reporter Warren Wise. But the proposal appears to us as designed to facilitate development, not to curb it. Annexing the site, which is next to Bohicket Marina, would allow it to tie into the town’s sewer system.

Unfortunately, Seabrook Island’s Planning Commission has recommended annexing the site and rezoning it for a mixed-used development. We urge Town Council members to reject that move when they consider the matter Aug. 22.

As Mr. Wise noted, the project is a scaled-down version of a 30-year-old Andell Harbor project that state environmental regulators rightly and mercifully rejected. While this is smaller, with only about 4 acres of development near the creek and the rest set aside for open space, it still would represent an unwelcome and disturbing encroachment into the rural area between the barrier islands of Kiawah and Seabrook and the suburban growth from the city of Charleston.

Last year, we urged elected officials, neighborhood leaders and planners with Charleston County and the two beach towns to come up with a mutually agreed-upon overlay for their shared area at the southern tip of Johns Island. That overlay should guide future development toward the kinds of uses — and the sizes and scale — residents of all three jurisdictions would most like to see, and help address growing real estate pressures in a way residents prefer. We repeat the call for regional cooperation, and Seabrook Island’s rejection of this annexation would be an important first step.

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