Plumbers in Goose Creek, SC

The city of Goose Creek is the most populated city in Berkley County. And with a tight-knit community, beautiful outdoor attractions and a great location with close proximity to Charleston, the city’s population continues to grow and thrive.

Goose Creek was officially founded in 1961, but its early history dates back to the beginning of the Carolina colony. The city was a waterway at the time, and the name “Goose Creek” likely originated due to the curved shape of its creeks and waters, similar to that of a goose’s neck.

The first inhabitants of the Goose Creek territory were the Eitwan and Sewee Indian tribes, and European settlers then arrived in the early 1670s. The rich soil of the area along the Cooper River attracted wealthy planters from the British Caribbean colony of Barbados, including Sir John Yeamans and Sir Peter Colleton.

The region of Goose Creek became known as home to the “Goose Creek Men.” These men established a trade route with the Native Americans, trading goods from cloth to guns and ammunition.

The Goose Creek Men were known for questioning higher authority of the Lord Proprietors in the colony, and they eventually undermined the hierarchy, gaining a majority in the Commons House of Assembly.

The majority of white inhabitants of Goose Creek practiced Anglicanism, but many Huguenots were established there after 1700, including the Izard family on the Elms plantation. The Anglican Parish of St. James Goose Creek was established in 1706 and completed in 1719 by a small group of planters.

St. James Church still stands today and is one of the oldest surviving buildings in South Carolina and one of the only surviving Georgian chapels in the nation.

By the eighteenth century, Goose Creek was a prosperous and popular area for rice production. The town continued to experience population growth, measuring a population of 2,787 in the first U.S. census in 1790. 2,333 members of that population were slaves who harvested the rice plantations.

Goose Creek remained prosperous for rice production into the nineteenth century, with the eventual demise of rice plantations after the Civil War led to the abolishment of slavery. Hurricanes eventually wiped out the remains of rice fields across South Carolina. The area became desolate and as a result, the population decreased heavily.

In the twentieth century, wealthy northerners bought land in Goose Creek to inhabit during winters. They moved to the area to hunt. The United States Ammunition Depot was established near Goose Creek, later becoming the Naval Weapons Annex in 1959.

These new establishments brought growth to Goose Creek, resulting in the need for the town to become incorporated. The town of Goose Creek was incorporated in 1961. The population underwent a surge in numbers, from 3,656 in 1970 to 17,811 by 1980, making it the largest city in Berkeley County.

The town continues to grow steadily. In 2021, its population clocked in at 46,229. The city is an attractive destination for future homeowners, boasting award-winning schools, recreational activities and a close proximity to the city of Charleston and coastal beaches. Goose Creek also hosts many events and takes pride in offering their residents the ability to live, work and raise families in the town’s borders.

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GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Homeowners in a Goose Creek neighborhood are looking for a solution to the flooding that affects their properties every time it rains.

Kristen Gilliam has lived in the Boulder Bluff Neighborhood in Goose Creek for about 15 years. She has a home around the corner from her parents and they both see their properties fill up with sitting water each time it rains. It’s not just the yards threateningly close to their homes; she says it’s also the streets.

“It doesn’t even have to be heavy rain. It does get very bad in some areas, especially down one of the roads here. Water Oak Drive and Lucy Drive itself. They do tend to flood to where people have to literally turn around and take another route. The neighborhood tends to shut down,” Gilliam says.

She says the flooding is affecting some of the homes, and she knows people who are moving out and say the water is a big reason why.

“Like on this road alone, we actually have a bunch of vacant homes right now because they’ve left. A lot of people have had damages happen in the past year. Like my next next-door neighbor, they’re gone. A couple of other owners have just left their homes,” Gilliam says.

A road over in Boulder Bluff, Leslie Powell and her family have lived in their house for three years.

“The first time that we noticed the flooding was like, maybe a month after we moved in. We were in the house hanging out and then looked out the window and our whole yard was underwater. And we talked to our neighbors and they said the flooding hadn’t been that bad since Hugo and since then three years ago, it happens throughout the summer. It happens every couple of weeks or so,” Powell says.

She says their property is a little downhill and dips down from the road so their house is built up from the ground. But, they still have issues with water getting into their crawl space and water getting into their cars.

“We have to move the cars there’s been damage under our house and water has gotten into our cars before when we’ve been out of town. And so it’s been going on for at least three years now,” Powell says.

The women say the neighbors talk amongst themselves and some have individually tried calling the city and county to get answers. But so far, they haven’t been able to get in contact with the right person, and say they feel bounced around with no answers.

“There’s clearly a bigger issue that needs to be addressed and I don’t know what that is. So I don’t know the right questions to ask,” Powell says.

Gilliam acknowledges that making sure drains are clear from trash or tree trimmings is the responsibility of the neighbors.

“I know the neighborhood has a lot of debris and trash and it is our responsibility to also clean up the neighborhood. But I believe is the county or the city, whatever you live in I feel like it’s their responsibility to make sure that our trenches or ditches are actually trenched out and they’re not being built up with a bunch of debris,” Gilliam says.

The city of Goose Creek directed concerns for this area to the Berkeley County Stormwater Department. Berkeley County Stormwater Department says they are looking into the service history and plans for the neighborhood and will provide them when available.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GOOSE CREEK — The Carnes Crossroads community is going to take “from farm to table” literally as it adds a farm to its amenities.

With the addition of an 11-acre farm, Carnes Crossroads will turn into an agrihood — a community or neighborhood that integrates agriculture.

Gerrit Albert, division president of South Carolina and Georgia for Freehold Communities — the developer of Carnes Crossroads — said Freehold has been learning how to make a farm “part of the DNA of the community.” He said his company first did this in 2017 with a community in Florida called Arden, where they incorporated a 5-acre farm.

Carnes Crossroads will have a farm twice as large as Arden’s, as it’s a fast-growing community. It currently has 1,000 houses, but Goose Creek spokesman Frank Johnson previously told The Post and Courier another 300 are expected to be built each year. Once complete, Carnes Crossroads will have just under 5,000 houses, he said.

While Freehold is not the first group to incorporate agriculture in its planning, Tripp Eldridge — the agrihood expert for Carnes Crossroads — said the company has differentiated itself by being the first to create an agrihood where residents of the community can receive a share of their harvest.

In addition to the farm, a barn will be built where residents can pick up their share of crops. Albert said the barn will include for sale other local proprietor items like honey. If people want to buy more produce after collecting their share, they can do so in the barn.

Eldridge said 11 acres of farmland will be divided into two locations. The “main farm” will be centrally located in the community, and it will be more experiential with “you pick” crops like blueberries, blackberries and figs, as well as orchard fruit trees.

Just down the road will be a larger production farm mostly featuring field crops. Eldridge said vegetable production will be a big focus there.

The agrihood will have a head farmer and opportunities for residents to volunteer, helping to tend to the farm, Eldridge said.

Albert said the concept promotes good health in several ways. It’s meant to be sustainable and to produce organic vegetables. Perhaps more importantly, he said, is that it can build human connections and social cohesion, helping to ensure the community’s longevity.

“You can’t escape connecting with people, because when you go to the barn you’re interacting with the farmers and you interact with other property owners,” Albert said.

Eldridge said residents can expect to pick up several different kinds of fruits, vegetables and herbs. Some of these crops include beets, radishes, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, blueberries and blackberries.

The farm and its barn aren’t the only features being constructed. Several other amenities planned for the community include a pool, wellness center, playground and lake house that will serve as an event venue and gathering space.

Mayor Greg Habib said he’s excited for this unique and inspiring addition to the Carnes Crossroads community.

“The vision that brought this addition to Carnes Crossroads aligns with the values of Goose Creek, and our focus on sustainability and quality of life,” Habib said. “The importance of creating a community that brings people together and enhances their overall well-being cannot be overstated. That’s what we’re about in Goose Creek.”

The Carnes Crossroads community broke ground on Oct. 25, and Albert hopes for the farm and barn to be open by fall 2024, with the rest of the amenities available in the spring of 2025.

New Year’s Eve fireworks will light up the skies on Folly Beach as they have for the past 14 years, but with one slight change: The pyrotechnic show will take place five hours earlier than usual.

The annual Flip Flop Drop, a beloved tradition that rings in the New Year in the most funky Folly way, coincides with a high tide this year. In anticipation of this, officials have bumped the beach fireworks display from midnight to 7 p.m. Dec. 31.

Both the New Year’s Eve fireworks show and the July Fourth fireworks show are organized by the Folly Association of Business. Kelly Travers, an event coordinator for FAB, said the call to move the show up happened in the summertime, following the Fourth of July fireworks show that never was. The Independence Day display was canceled because of high tides.

“High tide is slated to be at 11:06 p.m. on Sunday, which doesn’t really bode well for fireworks at midnight, especially on a very eroded beachfront,” Travers said.

The launch site for the fireworks cannot be within 280 feet of a residential structure. There will not be enough sand to accommodate this radius or spectators on the beach for the traditional midnight fireworks display, Folly Beach Municipal Clerk Wes Graham said. There is “limited to no” beach access during high tide, he said.

“Personally, I love fireworks. I get the understanding of wanting our fireworks, but we will just have to work around the tides,” Graham said.

Moving the show up several hours was preferable to canceling it or rescheduling on another day. Plus, there’s a silver lining in an earlier show, Travers said. Families with young children can enjoy the evening display without breaking bedtime. The Flip Flop Drop will still take place on Center Street at midnight Dec. 31, for the night owls eager to celebrate the New Year.

“We’re excited to try something new and at 7 p.m., it’s more of a family-friendly event where people can bring out their kids to watch the display, as opposed to them being up at night. We’re kind of excited for a new take on the fireworks this year,” Travers said.

Century Aluminum addresses alumina dust concerns in Goose Creek: Promises resolution in 10 days. Community town hall held Oct. 9, 2023. (WCIV)

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCIV) — People who live in Goose Creek have been complaining for weeks about a white powder-like substance in the air- identified as alumina dust.

They said it’s been covering their cars and homes, and even making it hard to breathe.

Monday night, Goose Creek residents heard from health and environmental experts for the first time about the issue, and their plan to fix it.

They were also able to ask representatives from Century Aluminum and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) questions

Some told News 4 before the meeting started they were just looking for transparency.

“First, we’re sorry. I understand your concerns and frustrations, but we also appreciate your patience. We will fix this issue,” said Dennis Harbath, the plant manager at Century Aluminum.

Century Aluminum said the release of alumina dust in Goose Creek first happened because of accelerated bag failures. They said they’re replacing the failed bags and expect their action plan to take 10 days to solve the problem.

But people who live in the area are still concerned.

“I’m exhausted all the time, I get headaches, you know, my eyes burn. It’s just been a total nightmare,” said Jackie Davis Pfister.

Pfister lives in Goose Creek, and people like her who have preexisting conditions like asthma are worried about long-term effects.

“Before I never really had to use my inhaler except for when I was sick or overexerted myself, that was the only time I used it, but now it’s just a regular basis, three to five times [per day],” she said.

DHEC said there is a certain type of aluminum oxide particles they’re keeping their eye on.

“What we were most concerned about is actually the smaller particles that you could actually breathe in and actually get into your lungs. So, for that reason we did put out some air sensors,” said Rhonda Thompson, the Bureau of Air Quality chief for DHEC.

But she said the readings from their sensors have been very low so far.

Other questions came from the crowd: Why didn’t the plant shut down when the leak first happened? And, how will aluminum oxide affect animals, and not just people?

But Monday’s experts said they couldn’t answer some of those questions, leaving many frustrated.

Statistics from the DHEC air sensors and the area’s current air quality can be found on DHEC's website.

People can also go to mthollyupdates.com for more information from Century Aluminum, including how the plant is working to solve this issue.