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McClellanville is a town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 459 at the 2000 census. It is situated on the Atlantic coast, on land surrounded by Francis Marion National Forest and has traditionally derived its livelihood from the sea and coastal marshes by fishing, shrimping and oystering. In 1989 the town was devastated by the full brunt of Hurricane Hugo, which destroyed homes, fishing boats, trees and much of the picturesque character of this historic fishing village. The stronger north side of the eyewall passed directly over the village. Residents who took refuge in Lincoln High School, a designated storm shelter, were surprised to be flooded by a storm surge which threatened to drown all the residents. Helping one another, in pitch darkness, they were all able to get into the space above the false ceilings in the building and no one was lost. Media and relief agency attention was focused on Charleston after the storm, which had proportionally much less damage, and it was several days before McClellanville was "discovered." Much of the business in the area moved westward, away from the coast, and the business district is now focused along Route 17. Many of the area residents commute northward to Georgetown or southward to Charleston for employment. McClellanville did not see another hurricane after Hugo for fifteen years. That was until 2004, when two of them, Hurricane Charley (which had devastated parts of Florida the previous day) and Hurricane Gaston hit the town in a matter of weeks, both at Category 1 strength. Research Tips
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