Theodosia Burr Alston, daughter of Aaron Burr, disappeared at sea in early January 1813 at the age of 29. There are many theories about what happened to Theodosia after she left South Carolina on December 30, 1812, aboard the schooner Patriot towards New York. Many believe the vessel sank during a severe storm just off…
The Catastrophic Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo is a legend in South Carolina. On September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo plowed through the Carolinas, leaving nearly 700,000 outages. Hugo remains the last major hurricane to make landfall along the South Carolina coast. It remains the costliest hurricane in U.S. history at the time and one of the costliest disasters overall, with…
The Deadliest Flood in South Carolina’s History
On June 6, 1903, after days of extremely heavy rain, an overnight torrential downpour sent the Pacolet River raging with rushing floodwaters through the mill towns of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Some reports have stated the water level rose to over 22 feet above the river’s flood stage, with the current moving more than 40 miles…
Dr. George Rogers Clark Todd – brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln & Confederate Army surgeon
Dr. George Rogers Clark Todd was the brother-in-law of President Abraham Lincoln, but the two never agreed, with Todd once saying that Lincoln was “one of the greatest scoundrels unhung.” Todd had worked tirelessly around the clock to save lives for several days following the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863, bandaging wounds, administering anesthesia, and…
The Mysterious Dead House
The mysterious Dead House at the Old Navy Base in North Charleston, South Carolina, has stumped historians for years. Today, it’s believed to be off-limits, but many have wondered whether the building was once a mausoleum to store bodies or a powder magazine. Looking at the reinforced style of the building and its materials, English…
Remembering The 2005 Graniteville Train Crash
On January 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern train with forty-two cars attached, traveling at approximately fifty miles per hour, struck a misaligned switch, sending the locomotive into the path of a parked locomotive. derailing both. Three of the tank cars contained chlorine, and one car was breached in the accident, dumping 180,000 pounds of poisonous…
The History of the Angel Oak
The Angel Oak sits on Johns Island at 3688 Angel Oak Road, near Charleston, South Carolina. It dates back over 500 years. It stands less than 70 feet tall and was present in 1717, when a land grant was made. Roughly 500,000 visitors visit the grounds every year. Through the years, this tree has survived…
The History of the Folly Beach Boat
Have you ever wondered where this famous Folly Beach Icon came from? The story of the Folly Beach or Folly Boat dates back to the massive Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which slammed into South Carolina as a Category 4 storm. The storm surge pushed the boat to its final resting place on Folly Road, close…
Beneath the Waters of Lake Murray
Lake Murray was built in the 1920s to provide hydroelectric power to the state of South Carolina. Just beneath the cold, dark, murky waters, much history is forever trapped at the bottom, including lost towns, cemeteries, churches, homes, and even the Wyse’s (Wyse) Ferry Bridge, with the names of the construction workers who built it…
Beneath the Waters of Lake Jocassee
Beneath the Waters of Lake Jocassee Under the waters of Lake Jocassee are the remains of the Attakulla Lodge. It remained intact when the area was flooded to make way for the lake. We have covered the history of Lake Jocassee before, but we have never covered the actual lodge, which can only be reached…