North Island has always been the beacon from the sea leading toward Georgetown, South Carolina. It was an island of exploration for the Spanish in 1526 and the first landing place of Lafayette, France's hero of the American Revolution, in 1777. It was a summer resort for aristocratic rice planters and their slaves from Georgetown and Waccamaw Neck until 1861. North Island's lighthouse, built in 1812, led thousands of sailing ships from all over the world past massive stone jetties and through Winyah Bay to Georgetown. Today, North Island is a sanctuary and laboratory for the study of nature's effects on this unique barrier island. Join historian Robert McAlister as he recounts the island's storied past.

Georgetown lies just inland of the Atlantic Ocean at the upper reaches of Winyah Bay. For eons, five rivers have flowed through the countryside, offering lifeblood to a town and its people. Founded in 1729, Georgetown has seen the heights of prosperity in the indigo and rice crops and the depths of despair in the aftermath of the Civil War. Many famous names have connections here, such as Francis Marion, better known as the Swamp Fox; the Marquis de Lafayette; Thomas Lynch, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; and Vice Pres. Aaron Burr, just to name a few. Presidents and other dignitaries have visited with us over these 200-plus years and millions have luxuriated in the waters of our nearby beaches for generations.

Georgetown is an island located between the historic Kennebec and Sheepscot Rivers. Incorporated in l716, it was accessible from the mainland only by various ferries and local fishing boats until a bridge was erected in 1898. Maritime endeavors like fishing and shipbuilding emerged as the major industries in town very early on and continue to be a primary means of employment today. Georgetown encompasses several beautiful villages, all of which retain a feeling of an older time and place. As the area continued to grow as a destination for artists in the early 1900s, several notable photographers congregated at the Seguinland Hotel, now known as Grey Havens Inn, to discuss starting a school that would ignite the development of commercial photography. One of the most recognizable parts of Georgetown is Reid State Park, which attracts visitors with its beautiful beaches. Today, residents take pride in the new historical society building, firehouse, post office, and restored community center.

Georgetown and the Waccamaw Neck in South Carolina are steeped in historic and folkloric literature, reflective of the area's rich cultural past. This volume brings that treasury to bear in a collection of vintage postcards from the region compiled for the first time. You will see how the area's aristocratic past ties to present-day Georgetown and the nearby resorts of Pawleys Island and Murrells Inlet and the renowned Brookgreen Gardens. Also included are nostalgic views of life on plantations along the Santee Rivers, which relied upon Georgetown for economic trade, then and now. The communities depicted in this book were among America's wealthiest 150 years ago. That legacy is still seen in architectural remnants-plantations, churches, and town houses now restored to their former grandeur.

Before John and Jackie lent a touch of Camelot to the famous red-bricked rows, and even before the founding of the nation's capital, Georgetown was an influential port city. Men such as the charismatic Scot Ninian Beall came to the Potomac shores to capitalize on the riches of the New World. Beaver pelts, great hogsheads of tobacco and slaves all crossed the wharves of George Town. Through a series of vignettes, David Mould and Missy Loewe chronicle the fascinating history of the nation's oldest neighborhood. Discover the lost port city from the days of the Revolution and the terror of the War of 1812 to the founding of Georgetown University and the town's incorporation in the District of Columbia.