A Brief History of Shem Creek

From above, the water twists and turns through the landscape of Mount Pleasant like a long-forgotten blacktop in the vein of Route 66. This flowing freeway is called Shem Creek. Shem is based on the word “shemee” which is a Sioux term of unknown meaning, lost to the sands of time.

Long before it was settled by any European group or the like, Shem Creek was inhabited by a tribe of Eastern Sioux named the Sewee. When the 1670s arrived, the town that would eventually become known as Charleston was established and trade with the Sewee tribe was profitable.  At least it was for the English who came to settle there...

Captain Florence O'Sullivan – the man for whom Sullivan’s Island was named – was the first person who was granted land in the area. He would change the name of the land from Shem Creek to Sullivan’s Creek, in fact. It would eventually be passed from owner to owner adopting their surnames year after year. It was even named Distillery Creek for a short period of time when a distillery was built and functioned in the early 1800s. However, during this entire time, the original name of Shem Creek remained as well.

And then? The entire area was soon to be industrialized by that day’s standards.

In the 1740s, Peter Villepontoux owned a lime kiln utilized for the ever-exciting process used to produce quicklime. If you wanted something a little more festive, a distillery was also located on the Creek. Not to mention the other mills and factories that littered the area.  The ebb and flow of the tides would be harnessed by Jonathan Lucas. In 1795, he would construct the first water-driven combination rice and saw mill in Charleston.

This wouldn’t be the last time the tides would bring these bountiful businesses to the shore. Because of the deep water of the waterway, shipbuilding was the perfect fit. This would define Shem Creek in the 1700s and the 1800s. Boats were constructed and sent out to sea as quickly as they were able. Nearly 300 years later—in 1990-- E.O.  Hall’s shipyard shuttered its doors.

If you were sending ships off into the horizon, then some would, of course, be back. Shrimping and fishing were a huge part of the economic culture of the area at the time and remain so to this day. A man named Captain William C. Magwood would introduce shrimping to the area trawling onto the scene in his vessel, the Skipper. By 2011, there were less than a dozen shrimp trawlers on the Creek due to the rising costs and lack of dock space.

If you were to ask anyone today what does Shem Creek have to offer, they would probably tell you: Food, glorious food! A series of restaurants litter either side of the waterway just off of Coleman Boulevard. Each vying to offer the most delicious seafood feast. Each working to pour the most sumptuous libations.

What the future hold for this picturesque postcard of a place? That is where the waters get a little murky – Pun intended—be it building parking garages so more people can enjoy the sights and sounds or leaving it be to keep its original charm... Whatever lies just over the horizon for Shem Creek, you can be sure that the people of Mount Pleasant will take care of their little piece of heaven just East of the Cooper.

~ Brandon L. Joyner