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Visit the Historic Town of Summerville South Carolina |
The town’s architectural history is evident in over 700 local buildings now on the National Register of Historic Places. Summerville’s cottages, local inns, churches, homes and public buildings showcase architectural influences ranging from Greek Revival (columns and parapets) to Victorian (gingerbread, gables and high roofs) to Gothic Revival (pointed arches and soaring features such as those found in medieval cathedrals). Today’s town denizens have taken care to preserve Summerville’s charm while appealing to modern-day tastes. Striking that creative balance is the result of careful civic planning, according Kate Cauley, executive director of Summerville Downtown Restoration Enhancement and Management (DREAM). “In the 1980s, Summerville residents were seeing lots of vacancies in the downtown district due to the influx of big-box retailers, and they wanted to ensure that our town center would continue to thrive,” says Cauley. The National Trust for Historic Preservation, Summerville DREAM and other local organizations joined forces to safeguard the area’ s small-town vitality and architectural integrity. Nowadays, the town’s brick front buildings house art galleries, antique shops, small retail outlets, a community theatre, and a thriving business and professional sector. Summerville’s eateries range from down-home Southern fare to European bistros, ethnic restaurants and haute cuisine. And, at a delightful curiosity by the name of Guerin’s Pharmacy, you can visit bygone days by ordering up a cool malted milkshake or a soda drink from the fountain. “We have many repeat visitors, and they are just captivated by the place,” says Cauley. “Our history is steeped in hospitality, and travelers know that they can experience a wonderful night on the town without ever leaving Summerville,” she adds. |
Location & Contact Information
402 North Main Street, Summerville SC 29483 Website: www.visitsummerville.com
charm and cultural vitality makes it a must-see destination for travelers to the Lowcountry. By Catherine Fahey The local wag who dubbed historic Summerville “The Gateway to Charleston” missed the real reason why travelers feel such a deep affection for this quaint Southern village. Located less than one hour north of the peninsular port city, Summerville possesses a cozy charm and a distinguished pedigree that is uniquely its own. The town’s springtime Flowertown Festival transports many of its 200,000 visitors back to a simpler time. Opening the festival with the thrum of Scottish aires, the Charleston Bagpipers march four abreast down historic Main Street to Azalea Park, an enclave aptly named for its blooms of soft peach and hot pink interspersed with snowy dogwoods and purple wisteria vines. Close behind, a folksy parade of high school bands, jugglers, clowns, and schoolgirls dancing Irish jigs regale the crowd. “The Flowertown Festival is one of Summerville’s best-known attractions, and many of our visitors have been attending since they were children,”says Summerville YMCA Special Events Director Linda McCoy, a planner of the three-day event. All of the nostalgic festival favorites are here—kettle corn, homemade ice cream and root beer, a children’s jubilee—as well as cultural pleasures that include jewelry and other craft exhibits, a juried art show, and the Taste of Summerville, which features a surprisingly sumptuous and varied cuisine for a community of this size. How has this Lowcountry village managed to preserve its historic integrity while satisfying the urbane tastes of modern travelers? Summerville’s legendary hospitality, combined with its civic-minded community, provide the keys to its enduring appeal. Historic heydays From its earliest days, Summerville offered a haven to the weary traveler. Beginning in the 1700s and extending through the antebellum era, land barons of Ashley River plantations escaped the stifling summer heat by retreating to Summerville’s appealing cottages and cooler, drier climate. In 1897, the town found its second claim to fame when the International Tuberculosis Congress in Paris, France, named Summerville one of the healthiest places in the world for people recovering from respiratory illnesses. According to medical experts of the time, the pine filled woods near Summerville exuded derivatives of turpentine, considered therapeutic for the lungs. The resulting surge of convalescents and tourists prompted the construction of grand inns that were frequented by U. S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, as well as other luminaries. (Continued - Next Column) |
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