Preserving history: ‘Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch’ revised edition now available

Lee Brockington knows how to tell a good story – especially one that’s connected to Pawleys Island.

The noted historian and author has been busy promoting her newly revised book, “Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch,” at several area locations, and she’ll soon be taking it on the road.

The collection of oral history interviews that preserve the history of Pawleys Island, authored by Brockington and the late Eugene B. Chase, was originally published in 2003. It was sponsored by the Pawleys Island Civic Association and published by CLASS Publishing, both of which also made the reprint possible earlier this year.

“When Eugene Chase realized that so many of the 20th-century vacationers and residents of the island were passing away, he knew their memories might be forgotten,” Brockington recalled in a recent interview. “It was amazing to interview people who remembered hearing their parents talk about 100 years of family traditions.”

Brockington, retired from her role as an interpreter at Hobcaw Barony, the historic property north of Georgetown, has long made her home on a picturesque property known as Blue Whale Farm on the mainland of Pawleys Island. The historic barrier island and the Waccamaw Neck have inspired many other books from Brockington, including “Plantation Between the Water: A Brief History of Hobcaw Barony” and a pictorial history book simply titled “Pawleys Island,” part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series that Brockington penned with nationally syndicated newspaper columnist and part-time Pawleys Island resident Steve Roberts (widower of famed journalist Cokie Roberts).

The reprint of “Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch” has kept Brockington busy lately. She’s been the guest of honor at The Moveable Feast and at signings for My Sister’s Books, Brookgreen Gardens, and the Waccamaw Neck Arts Alliance at Old Town Hall on Pawleys Island (ongoing Sundays this summer). She was kept busy, too, at this year’s Hammock Day Festival in July held at the Hammock Shops Village in Pawleys Island.

“I am available for other book signings, book clubs or church presentations and will be on the road for book signings in Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville soon,” Brockington said.

Bess Long, owner of My Sister’s Books, said the revised edition of “Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch” has been popular with customers.

“The cover is appealing, as well as all the stories,” Long said. “We are very proud of the new edition, and we are selling plenty of copies.”

When Linda Ketron of CLASS Publishing approached Brockington about a revised edition, she suggested a new introduction and afterword and Brockington suggested new illustrations. Archival photographs from 1900-1999 from the PICA Collection, that are now in the Georgetown County Digital Library online, were used. 

“Since the book was no longer in print and the original plates had long since been destroyed and had never been digitized, it was necessary to reset and layout the entire book as if it were a new publication,” Ketron said. “This offered the opportunity to re-design the format. This second edition is a great addition to residents’ libraries and guest rooms, as well as a take-home treasure for visitors.”

Brockington and Ketron realized that many of the old daily traditions were being replaced, including buying crabs, flounder, and fish directly from fishermen on the island. Included in the book are stories of the several inns and boarding houses, the origin of the 4th of July parade, the four pavilions, not just the last one that burned in 1970, the Atlantic Coast Lumber Co. train that carried employees from Hagley Landing across the Ocean Highway and down the South Causeway for vacations.

“The company steamboat ride from Georgetown to Hagley and the train to the island ended after about four short years due to a major hurricane destroying the tracks,” Brockington said. “I appreciated the generations of families that had been coming to this marsh, this island, since the 18th century, or at least through the 20th century.”

Book cover

The cover of the new edition of “Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch” features a watercolor painting by Charleston artist Steven Jordan, titled “Floor Show”. It shows the front porch of Sea View Inn on Pawleys Island. Jordan first created the painting in 1980 and it hung in Brockington’s dorm room at college, in her first apartment, and then in the home she shared with her husband, Bill, and children in Pawleys Island.

When Jordan heard that his painting would be on the cover of this historic book about Pawleys Island, he was very pleased.

“Steve attended the launch of the book at the Moveable Feast in June 2024 and gave each of the 100 attendees a free print,” Brockington said. “He also donated a framed, signed, and numbered print of ‘Floor Show’ to the Waccamaw Library for its annual October Luncheon and Auction.”

Book foreword

Walter B. Edgar, author of “South Carolina, A History,” provided the foreword for “Pawleys Island: Stories from the Porch”. When he first learned about the project, he told Brockington he couldn’t wait to see the manuscript. Over the past decade or so, he said, more and more communities across South Carolina have begun to record their histories by letting residents tell their stories.

“There is no better way to get the feel of a place than by having someone who knows it well describe it,” Edgar wrote in the foreword. “That’s what makes this book so special. It contains very personal accounts by 40 people of one of the most special places in the Palmetto State: Pawleys Island.”

Ketron said it was a joy to revisit this book 20 years after it was originally published.

“Twenty years ago, I typed up Lee’s handwritten stories for the chapters in the original book,” she said. “After 20 years, I discovered things about people I thought I knew.”

Ketron and Brockington appreciate the support of the Pawleys Island Civic Association throughout the years.

“While the composition of the PICA has changed, the values and dedication to the preservation of the unique paradise that is Pawleys have not,” she said. “PICA’s foresight and generosity in bringing the new edition into new hands is greatly appreciated.”

Brockington can be contacted for book signings and speaking engagements by emailing her at bluewhalefarm@gmail.com.

By Clayton Stairs / tourism manager for the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce