Place Information
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Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,583 at the 2000 census. Isle of Palms is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast, northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Isle of Palms is included within the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and the larger Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area. History
The island's original inhabitants were the Seewee Native American tribe. Supposedly, they greeted the first English to arrive on the island by swimming out to their ships and escorting them back to the island. During the American Civil War, the H.L. Hunley departed from Breach Inlet, between Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. In the late 19th century, local residents began using the island as a vacation spot. At that time it was only accessible by ferry. It was bought by J.S. Lawrence in 1899, who gave the island its current name; before then it was known as Hunting Island or Long Island. A 50-room hotel was built in 1906. In 1912, James Sottile had a beach pavilion and an amusement park built, and a trolley line was constructed from the mainland for access to Isle of Palms via Sullivan's Island. In 1929, Grace Memorial Bridge was built between Charleston and Mount Pleasant to allow automobile traffic to reach the island. Large-scale residential development began when J.C. Long bought up most of the island and built low-cost housing for World War II veterans. In 1975, the Sea Pines Company (of Hilton Head Island fame) established the 900 acre (360 ha) development now known as The Wild Dunes Beach and Racquet Club. Isle of Palms was the first stop on Alton Brown's coast-to-coast tour in his program Feasting on Asphalt. Research Tips
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