Daniel Island, South Carolina is a island located in the city of

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, United States. Named after its former inhabitant, the colonial governor of the Carolinas,

Robert Daniell Robert Daniell (born 1646) was a British soldier who was governor of the Province of South Carolina from 1716 to 1717. Daniell was born on 20 April 1646 and lived in Llanddewi Brefi, Cardiganshire, Wales. He was the ten times great grandson of K ...

, the island is located in Berkeley County and situated between the

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

and

Wando River The Wando River is a tidewater river in the coastal area of South Carolina. It begins in the town of Awendaw, Charleston County, and has its mouth at the Cooper River shortly before it flows into Charleston Harbor. The Wando's drainage area ...

s. As of July 2012 it is being developed as a master-

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

complete with residential neighborhoods, parks, trails, recreational amenities and a downtown that is home to shops, restaurants, schools, churches and offices for businesses.

History

Firstly inhabited by the

Ittiwan people The Ittiwan people, also spelled Etiwan, were a Native American tribe, who lived near present-day Goose Creek. Sometimes they were referred to as Summerville Indians. They were located approximately 30 miles northeast of Charleston, South Carolin ...

, a native tribe also commonly referred to as the Etiwan; inhabitation of land transferred to

, former governor of South Carolina. Then, in 1947, the land was purchased by the

Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation was established by Harry Guggenheim to support research on violence, aggression, and dominance. The foundation writes: "He was convinced that solid, thoughtful, scholarly and scientific research, experimentati ...

and used primarily for farming, cattle ranching, and as a private hunting retreat, the island remained undeveloped until the early 1990s when the newly constructed I-526 expressway was completed. At that time, the Guggenheim Foundation sponsored the development of a master plan that would guide the island’s development as a natural extension of this affluent suburb of Charleston. Development of the first residential properties began in 1996, and in 1997 the island was purchased by the Daniel's Island Company, a developer of master-planned communities. Hundreds of acres of parks have since been created.

City planning and facilities

One professional sports facility - the

Family Circle Tennis Center Credit One Stadium is a tennis stadium located within the Family Circle Tennis Center tennis complex on Daniel Island in Charleston, South Carolina. Built in 2001, the Family Circle Tennis Center has 17 courts, including the 10,200-seat main sta ...

– is located on the island, along with a private country club, the Daniel Island Club, with golf courses by

Tom Fazio Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

and

Rees Jones Rees Jones (born September 16, 1941) is an American golf course architect. Life and career Born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer R ...

. The club hosted the Nationwide Tour Championship, the final event of the

Nationwide Tour The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the U.S.-based PGA Tour, and features professional golfers who have either not yet reached the PGA Tour, or who have done so but then failed to win enough FedEx Cup points to stay at that level. ...

from 2009-2011. There are also three churches and three schools on the island. The community and its developers have been nationally recognized for responsible planning and "

smart growth Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl. It also advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood ...

" practices with numerous awards and accolades. It was a 2007 recipient of an "Award for Excellence" from the

Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI advocates progressive development, conducting research, and education in topics such as s ...

. Daniel Island is home to eight main parks, with each neighborhood on the island having its own park. The eight parks are Barfield Park, Center Park, Cochran Park, Codner's Ferry Park, Daniel Island Park, Etiwan Park, Pierce Park and Smythe Park. Daniel Island also has a downtown area where many businesses, restaurants, doctors' offices, shops and condominiums are located.

Education

There are three schools located on Daniel Island: the DI Academy (pre-K), Daniel Island School (K–8) and

Bishop England High School Bishop England High School is a diocesan Roman Catholic four-year high school in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It was located on Calhoun Street in downtown Charleston until it moved to a newly constructed 40-acre campus located on Dan ...

(9–12), a private

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

high school that has an estimated student body of 700 students. The Daniel Island School, a part of the

Berkeley County School District The Berkeley County School District is a school district within Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. It is based in Moncks Corner and serves all of Berkeley County including the portion of the City of Charleston on Daniel Island and t ...

, was constructed in 2006. The building, with a capacity of 1,200 students serves Daniel Island and Thomas Island. In 2016 the school was overcrowded, with over 1,400 students, but it was relieved in 2016 by the opening of Philip Simmons Elementary and Middle School, which began to serve the Cainhoy Peninsula, previously served by Daniel Island School. Residents in Daniel Island are zoned to

Hanahan High School Hanahan High School is a public high school located in Hanahan, South Carolina, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Berkeley County School District. The principal is Tom Gallus. History Hanahan High School was ope ...

in Hanahan. In 2017, Daniel Island was rezoned to

Philip Simmons High School Philip Simmons High School is a high school in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It is part of the Berkeley County School District, and is named after Philip Simmons. Opened in 2017, it serves Daniel Island Daniel Island, South Carol ...

. The community was previously zoned to Hanahan Elementary School and Hanahan Middle School. Daniel Island has a

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundamen ...

, a branch of the Berkeley County Library System.

Sports

Daniel Island was home to the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...

. They played in the MUSC Health Stadium located on Daniel Island Drive. The Volvo Car Open, a professional tennis tournament, is played at the

. The tournament is also known as the

Charleston Open The Credit One Charleston Open, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open and the Family Circle Cup, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in ...

References

External links