Ladys Island is a predominantly residential Sea Island located in Beaufort County,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. Small portions of the island are within the City of

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

, while the majority of the island remains unincorporated. The South Carolina Highway 802, also known locally as Sams Point Road, serves as the principal highway for Ladys Island and provides the only access to Coosaw Island.

History

The Coosaw band of Native Americans lived in the high ground of Coosaw Point on Ladys Island. Decorative pottery shards and oyster shells are part of the history of where they prepared the oysters gathered from the Coosaw river. Ladys Island was named in 1698, in honor of Lady Elizabeth Axtell Blake, wife of Joseph Blake, governor of

colonial South Carolina Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the thirteen American colonies. The monar ...

. She and her mother, Lady Rebecca Axtell, owned Newington Plantation in present-day

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. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Su ...

. The island is sometimes called Combachee, Combee, or Comber Island for the

ACE Basin The Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Basin (abbreviated as ACE Basin, spoken as ''ace basin'') is one of the largest undeveloped estuaries along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Located primarily in Colleton, Charleston, and Beaufort count ...

river that flows along its border. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, Union forces occupied the islands under the direction of General T. W. Sherman. All of the plantations gave way to military occupation. the major post on Lady's Idland was "Coosaw" or "Sams' fort on the northeaster point of the Island. At this time there were about 30 plantations on the Ladys' Island. The island was predominantly rural and agricultural in character for much of its history. In 1927, the first bridge connected downtown Beaufort with Ladys Island. As development of Beaufort and surrounding areas began in the last half of the 20th century, the island began to develop former plantation and timber tracts into residential subdivisions. A second bridge connected Ladys Island with

Port Royal Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...

in the 1980s. The Laurel Hill Plantation, once owned by

Girard B. Henderson Girard B. Henderson (February 25, 1905 – November 16, 1983) was an American business man and philanthropist. He was a director of Avon Products and the founder of the Alexander Dawson Schools. The author Donald Porter described him ...

, was on Sam’s Point Road on Lady’s Island. It consisted of approximately 368 acres of land.

Truck Farming A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to so ...

for the production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops was done on the plantation. The land had a small grass air field (once called Laurel Hill Plantation Airport), residences, and an assortment of non-historic buildings and mobile homes. Laurel Hill Plantation was sold in 1997 to Homestake Realty Company and is now called Coosaw Point.

Economy

The island is home to four public schools (two elementary, one middle, and one

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

), Beaufort Academy, a K-12 private school, and Saint Peter's Catholic School, a K3-6 private Catholic school. Commercial development clustered at the intersection of S.C. Highway 802 and

U.S. Highway 21 U.S. Route 21 or U.S. Highway 21 (US 21) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway in the Southeastern United States that travels . The southern terminus is in Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, south of the ...

serves Ladys Island, Beaufort, and the surrounding Sea Islands of northern Beaufort County. The island is also the location of the Beaufort County Airport. Faith Communities located on the island include First Scots Presbyterian Church of Beaufort, St. John's Lutheran Church, Sea Island Presbyterian Church, St. Peter's Catholic Church, Meadowbrook Baptist Church, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Beaufort, Israelite Baptist Church, Grace Chapel AME Church, Ladys Island Baptist Church, Water's Edge New United Methodist Church, and Tidal Creek Fellowship.

Ecosystems

Lady's Isalnd has three

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s: the maritime ecosystem of upland forest area, the

estuarine An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

ecosystem of deep water didal habitats, and the

palustrine Palustrine wetlands include any inland wetland that contains ocean-derived salts in concentrations of less than 0.5 parts per thousand, and is non-tidal. The word ''palustrine'' comes from the Latin word ''palus'' or marsh. Wetlands within this ca ...

ecosystem of fresh water wetlands.

Notable people

* Lady Elizabeth Axtell Blake, Ladys Island was named in honor of her * Joseph Blake, governor of

, American business executive and philanthropist; lived on Ladys Island

References

External links

Ladys Island, Beaufort SC
ladys Island SC form the air.
FaceBook page
Ladys Island, SC {{authority control Towns in Beaufort County, South Carolina Islands of Beaufort County, South Carolina Islands of South Carolina Hilton Head Island–Beaufort micropolitan area South Carolina Sea Islands