 South Carolina's Edisto Island holds out against crass commercialization of the family beach vacation |  |
 Edisto's "exterior decorator"  The Old Post Office Restaurant  The Legare Mausoleum  'George and Pink' Fresh Vegetables |
June 27, 1997
Web posted at: 11:16 a.m. EDT (1516 GMT)Story and photos by Amber Eaves
(CNN) -- For years, there was no good way to get to Edisto Island, just off the coast of South Carolina. In the 1950s, workers did replace the island's dilapidated one-lane, wooden bridge which had been in service since the 1920s. Even the "new" metal drawbridge was a hand-me-down -- not a terribly reliable one, at that -- from nearby Savannah, Georgia.
Today, a modern, concrete span makes the drive to Edisto smooth, fast and terribly convenient. But the essence of Edisto -- a slow, Southern character that had aged for years out of reach of steamroller development -- remains untarnished.
Edisto charms visitors with its antebellum homes, historic churches and moss-draped live oaks that line the entrance road to the island. It's salty inlet creeks, rife with sharp swamp grass, wind their way through a sprawling, pristine marsh.
Edisto (pronounced ED-is-toe) is a quiet place of uncluttered coastline. Unspoiled and not over-commercialized, the island is just beginning to be found.
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