Thank goodness we finally made the right decision. Since the public hearing, an unusual coalition of allies has come together to explore permanent protection for Morris Island. These citizens are now meeting with the Conservation League, the Lowcountry Open Land Trust, and several state agencies, exploring ways to provide permanent protection for Morris Island and other threatened properties between Folly Beach and James Island. Childsbury and Strawberry Chapel Graves at Strawberry Chapel Deep in the backwoods of Berkeley County sits a spare whitewashed building surrounded by graves older than the founding of our country. Lichen blooms across the face of a tombstone.
Ancient trees stir in the mild spring air.
An emerald blanket of snowdrops creeps slowly over Balls and Stoneys, Harlestons and Bulls, as they settle deeper into their untroubled rest. This churchyard so gracefully suspended in time belongs to Strawberry Chapel, built in the 1720s and once part of a colonial town called Childsbury. Not much of Childsbury is visible today, but underfoot and at the bottom of the Cooper River lies a rare opportunity for archaeologists. Underwater, among other things, is a schooner believed to have been burned by Wade Hampton during the Revolutionary War. Despite its historical significance, Childsbury is now in serious peril.