Neighborhood Information for Charleston, South Carolina 

*Real Estate and Homes for Sale in Summerville Resource

SUMMERVILLE

Flowertown in the Pines, as Summerville is also known as, was once considered the escape from the mosquito ridden marshes of the coast and low country. Here one still enjoys the plantations, golfing, and gardens in Dorchester County’s largest community with a population of approximately 28,000. But what Summerville mostly offers is still small town living with small town values in a quickly growing city. Summerville is the home of the annual YMCA Flowertown Festival, which draws over 250,000 people each spring. Other popular events include Sculpture in the South and theatrical performances by the Flowertown Players. There is an increasing number of small subdivisions and neighborhoods from which to choose the type of housing that you desire. Typical housing includes Charleston singles architecture as well as many homes on one level. The original neighborhood around the center of Summerville and the many churches there, wrap around the hills of that area providing ample lots with a multitude of trees and bushes of the area.The higher elevation of this pine-forest ridge fosters millions of blossoms, which are celebrated in Azalea Park every Spring. Nature enthusiasts enjoy horseback riding, birding, and kayaking.

FIELDVIEW

MYERS MILL

Keystone designs roomy, midpriced brick houses on large lots off Central Avenue By Jim Parker The Post and Courier Saturday, July 14, 2007 MYERS MILL NEIGHBORHOOD Myers Mill. LOCATION Dorchester County. DEVELOPERS, MARKETING Keystone Homes. TOTAL HOMES 53. HOME SIZES 2,577-3,535 square feet. HOME PRICES $244,990-$294,900. TYPICAL FEATURES --Brick fronts. --Two-story, with two-car garages. --Hardwood floors in foyers. --Fireplaces with gas logs. --42-inch kitchen cabinets. --Tray ceilings, sitting areas in master bedrooms. --Separate shower and garden tub in master bathrooms. PROPERTY TAXES $2,538 on a $265,000 home. AREA ATTRACTIONS Ashley River, area golf courses, Pinewood Prep, plantations and gardens on S.C. Highway 61, Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, downtown Summerville, Interstate 26. DISTANCE TO DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON 30 miles. SCHOOLS Knightsville Elementary Grades K-5; phone, 873-4851; enrollment, 1,196; certified staff, 87; PACT results, 31 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 26.9 percent on math, 22 percent on science and 23.8 percent on social studies. Dubose Middle Grades 6-8; phone, 873-7012; enrollment, 982; certified staff, 68; PACT results, 25.5 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 19.5 percent on math, 30.1 percent on science and 35.6 percent on social studies. Summerville High Grades 9-12; phone, 873-6460; enrollment, 3,393; certified staff, 201; SAT results, 507 verbal and 521 math. The 1028 combined score is higher than the state average (985) and the national average (1021). HOUSING TRENDS Dorchester County between Bacons Bridge Road and Four Hole Swamp: Number of sales in the second quarter of 2007: 293 (down from 376 in the second quarter of 2006). Average sales price: $237,100 (up from $224,600). Median sales price: $210,000 (up from $195,600). Aware that its new neighborhood in Myers Mill is on former farmland west of Summerville, Keystone Builders is aiming to preserve the spacious feel, designing cul-de-sacs to lessen traffic and constructing large two-story homes on lots from 1/4 to 3/4 of an acre. Virginia-based Keystone, one of a number of builders at Myers Mill, has plans for 53 brick traditional houses with two-car garages, porches and four to five bedrooms. Potential buyers, said Keystone sales associate Julie Cauthen, "mostly are families that are looking for a large home on a large lot." The company offers 10 floor plans ranging from 2,577 to 3,535 square feet and priced from $244,990 to $294,900. Models include the Woodbridge II, Birmingham 32, Buckingham 32, Cunningham III, Graystone, Nottingham 32, Lockwood II, Lockwood III, Wellington III and Wellington IV. The houses have plenty of standard features, such as hardwood floors in the entryways, gas fireplaces and appliances, sitting rooms in the master bedrooms and separate tubs and showers in the master baths. With too many options, "People are overwhelmed," Cauthen said. There are available extras, though, such as stainless-steel appliances, Silestone countertops, front porches and screened-in rear decks or sunrooms. "We offer a lot of nice options at a very reasonable price," she said. For instance, it costs an extra $1,600 or so to install hardwood floors throughout. Plans vary. The Woodbridge has arched doorways and a hidden staircase on the far side of the living room. One model has the master bedroom downstairs. Keystone has one of the smaller sectors of Myers Mill, a large subdivision with more than 500 homes planned on land that also encompasses the former Summerville Speedway. Fellow builders include Ryland Homes and Eastwood Homes. Myers Mill has an amenities center for all the homeowners. It has a large swimming pool, an "endless" wading circle with tall mushroom-shaped fountains and a clubhouse. Homeowners association dues are $350 a year. Keystone has a few attractions of its own. To enhance the communal feel of the neighborhood, the builder laid out sidewalks to link houses and installed gas lanterns along the streets. And there's a freshwater pond on the property. While residential and retail growth are moving out along Central Avenue, the Keystone homes are somewhat secluded. The company builds just a few homes at a time to keep close oversight of construction and so that the community doesn't get too big, too fast. "It's still a quiet neighborhood," Cauthen said. To get to Keystone Builders at Myers Mill from downtown Charleston, take Interstate 26 west to Summerville, Exit 199A. Merge onto Main Street and follow it west to Richardson Avenue. Turn right on Richardson, then the first left onto Central Avenue. Take Central about five miles, crossing Old Orangeburg Road. McKayla Road, an entrance to Myers Mill, is on the left. Follow McKayla to a roundabout. The entrance to the Keystone Builders section is three-quarters of the way around. Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com. Copyright © 1997 - 2007 the Evening Post Publishing Co.

COOSAW CREEK   FOR GOLF INFO ON COOSAW CLICK HERE

WESCOTT PLANTATION  FOR GOLF INFO ON WESCOTT PLANTATION CLICK HERE

A LITTLE HISTORY The Puritans,seeking religious freedom, and the Anglicans, searching for land and wealth, settled in Dorchester County in 1696. Although the Anglicans settled in the area first, the Puritans, arriving from Dorchester, Massachusetts, were responsible for the name of the town, the fort and the county. Together they built Dorchester into the third largest town in the state and an important shipping center for rice planters sending their goods down the Ashley River to Charleston. Tabby Fort built of mud, oyster shells and limestone, now known as Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, was constructed prior to the Revolutionary War and was used to defend the area. Such famous generals as Moultrie, Francis Marion and Wade Hampton held off the British from the fort. Summerville's beginning meant the ending of Dorchester. All that remains is the fort, St. George’s bell tower, and foundations of some houses, which are being carefully excavated. Summerville started as Pineland Village around 1785 when plantation owners came here to escape the swamp fevers and insects. Before Dorchester County was formed in 1897, Summerville was situated in Charleston, Berkeley, and Colleton Counties. Dorchester County was very much a part of America’s first railroad. In 1830, the rails started at Charleston and ran through Summerville to Hamburg, opening the upper part of the county above Cypress Swamp. Ridgeville got its name about that time and began to grow. St. George was originally named for the first settler, James George, who leased the land to the railroad and it became an important station on the line. Reevesville was founded in or near Indian Trail, supposedly before 1793, and several hundred members of the Edisto Indian tribe live in Indiantown today. They were officially recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the 1970s. The rural town of Givhans is home to a state park on the banks of the Edisto River. With the Civil War came the end of the plantation system and the economy and only lifestyle known to most of Dorchester’s inhabitants. Not until after Reconstruction was there a beginning of recovery. In 1899, a world congress of medical specialists in the field of respiratory disease gathered in Paris. The group, known as “the Tuberculosis Congress,” named Summerville one of the two best areas in the world for the cure of lung and throat disorders. The town was so named because of its situation on a dry, sandy ridge with pine trees that induce the air with derivatives of turpentine. Their findings were widely publicized and a new era began for the lower part of Dorchester County with a variety of new inns springing up as the town quickly became a favorite winter resort for Northern visitors who came to enjoy the mild climate and hunting season. Pine Forest Inn, sometimes served as the Winter White House for Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt. The Inn was one of the great resorts in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries when Summerville was identified as one of the two healthiest places on the planet to live.  The resort featured one of the earliest golf courses in the United States back in 1891. Pine Forest Country Club brings to Charleston the style and grace of the "Old South". The course was built on the site of the Hunt Club Grounds for the historic Pine Forest Inn.  In 1976 a portion of the town, including 700 homes and buildings were listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Some residents may still come to Summerville for pulmonary relief, but most come for its mild climate, excellent schools and healthcare, a vibrant downtown, a variety of housing options, small-town friendliness and the proximity to historic Charleston and the beaches.

While I don't typically help clients with homes in this area, I have a list of the most competent Realtors serving that area. Let me know your specifics, and I will put you in touch with a top-of- the-line agent to meet your needs.