An American Centerpiece
Summerville-At its heart, Summerville is a Victorian village of cottages and wooden houses built under long limbs of oak and towering pine trees. Twisting shaded streets weave in front of the houses carved out of manicured forests and were formed from riding trails and walking paths that ran between the river and the village's seven hills. Circled by subdivisions and hidden by high density commuter traffic, shielded by a small business district there are intown neighborhood streets (in a district once called uptown) which dapple the light and soften time by expanding the moment. The famous promenades between inns after high tea can be recreated alone or as a group, at any point in the day or evening. These strolls showcase the open proportions of homes whose spacing and natural settings are an unique American centerpiece.
The rector at St. Paul's once whipped out a pistol and shot two of a group of men who tried to plunder the town during the 1861 war. Mrs. Kitty Springs sold dry goods by carrying her trunk shows on the back of the wagon into the yards of society ladies who opened their homes to neighbors to privately view the latest fashions from New York City where Ms. Kitty went to buy. Fishing was the town's popular sport, next to high school football. Parks and homes explode with spectacular Azalea blooms in March and April.
Beginning with Brown's, Captain Vose's, and the Paradise hotels as summer and hunting retreats, Summerville's hospitality tradition bursts into a
Golden Age of Inns when the immense Pine Forest opens (1891).
Proclaimed in Paris as a world center for respiratory healing, more inns followed as travelers, including Teddy Roosevelt and Elizabeth Arden, discovered the village's charms. Soon the Carolina, Halycon, Holly, Pine View, Postern, Squirrel, Travelers, White Gales, Wisteria Inns, and the Pinehurst Tea farm were favorites of visitors who often build winter homes, then stayed year round. Today, the Woodland Resort, the lowcountry's only 5 star property (3 bell persons appear for each vehicle, one each side and rear), and a new generation of private inns recall the highest standards of service and the rich offerings when Summerville was first choice for SC visitors.
When visitors arrived in Charleston in the 1950's, the inn at Tradd and Church Streets offered guests during the social hour a pitcher of "Oh Be Joyfuls."
