Plumbers in Lincolnville, SC

It’s not every day that a whole town gets added to a national historic network, but that’s what happened Tuesday for Lincolnville, a town of about 2,500 people on the edge of Charleston County near Summerville.

The National Park Service announced Tuesday that Lincolnville and four other sites were new additions to the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, a group of sites largely centered on South Carolina that help to tell the story of American Reconstruction after the Civil War. It’s part of an effort established in 2019 to create the Reconstruction Era National Historic Park in Beaufort.

Lincolnville’s part of the Reconstruction story is key to understanding the transformation that the United States underwent as newly freed African Americans became integrated into the country’s social, political, economic and labor systems.

Lincolnville, the Park Service said in a news release, is a “freedmen’s town founded in 1867 by seven African American men who purchased 620 acres to create a community of homes, churches and schools for African American people, primarily of Gullah Geechee heritage, who had migrated from the Sea Islands.”

Some of the descendents of original settlers still live today in the small town “among original structures, cemeteries and live oak trees, actively preserving their rich Gullah Geechee heritage and celebrating their ancestors’ ability to overcome adversity during Reconstruction to found Lincolnville.”

“These sites tell critical stories related to the Reconstruction Era,” said Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Superintendent Scott Teodorski in the release. “They join sites from across the country that focus on this important period in our history. We are pleased to welcome these new sites to the network and work with them to share their stories.”

The Rev. Richard Cain (1825-1887), a major Reconstruction leader who pastored Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church after the war, is credited with leading the effort to found Lincolnville. He later was elected to the state Senate in 1868 and served two terms in the U.S. Congress.

“He also purchased more than 500 acres of land about 25 miles north of Charleston and sold lots to African Americans,” according to “We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel” by Herb Frazier, Bernard Powers and Marjory Wentworth. “These initial sales were the basis for the settlement of Lincolnville, which Cain planned to become an all-black town in which the residents could show their capacity for discipline, order and prosperity.”

About half of Lincolnville’s residents today are Black, according to Census Reporter.

Three other South Carolina sites added to the Reconstruction network Tuesday were Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site in Aiken County; Randolph Cemetery in Columbia; and the Schofield Normal and Industrial School in Aiken. Also added was the D.C. Legacy Project: Barry Farm-Hillsdale in southeast Washington, D.C.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Some people living in Lincolnville say there is a need for public transit, and regional leaders are now taking a second look at demands.

In November of 2020, team members announced the Lowcountry Rapid Transit System would go between downtown Charleston and the Ladson fairgrounds instead of the original plans to take the line out to Summerville.

The move eliminated bus stops that were planned for the town of Lincolnville. The town’s mayor, Charles Duberry, said he was frustrated when he learned the news.

“When you hear that, all the hard work we put through as far as putting up flyers to the citizens in Lincolnville, then all of a sudden you heard that they weren’t bringing the stops in Lincolnville, you get very upset,” Duberry said.

Duberry says the town is growing rapidly so there is a great need for public transit both for longtime residents and newcomers.

Maneklal Patel works at Millers Food Mart in Lincolnville. He agreed there needs to be bus stops in the area to help people connect to other places.

“They need the bus stop over here because a lot of people don’t have any cars or means of transportation,” Patel said.

Sharon Hollis, the principal planner at Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, said the reason they took Summerville and Lincolnville out of the project was because the communities didn’t meet transit demand for high-capacity transit.

Hollis said she understands there may still be a need for public transit which is why they are conducting a survey for Lincolnville.

“One of the things we will be including as part of our overall project and our planning efforts will be what we call feeder transit services, so even if you don’t have a car to go to park and ride the end of the line we’ll still have those transit services that will connect Summerville, connect Lincolnville and connect to this line,” Hollis said. “What we want to hear from the community members is where would you look these feeder services to travel to in Lincolnville and Summerville.”

To take the Lincolnville Transit Survey, click here. The deadline has been extended to April 27.

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LINCOLNVILLE, S.C. (WCIV) -{}Tyrone Aiken and James C. Hampton will return to public service once again for the town of Lincolnville. Unofficial vote tallies show the two men edged out{}Anna Williams-Gleaton for the two open seats in Tuesday's election.When the votes are certified, the failsafe and provisional ballots will be counted.{}The Lincolnville Public Safety building was turned on Tuesday into an election precinct. The small town held a special election to fill two vacant town council seats.Williams-Gleaton served on town council for 11 years."There's a lot of work that needs to be done," said Williams-Gleaton when asked why she wanted to run again. "If you drive around the village, you can see the streets, we have several streets that's still not paved. We still have a lot of debris on the streets."Streets were one of Williams-Gleaton's main focuses when she was on council. She says, if elected, her goals would be, "to see all of the streets paved. To see us get proper drainage in here."Williams-Gleaton was born and raised in Lincolnville, much like Tyrone Aiken."Lived here all my life. Raised my children here. So, I'm very fond of Lincolnville," said Aiken.Aiken says he began public service at age 27. He served as mayor of Lincolnville for 14 years and as councilman for 14 years. Aiken says he still has work to complete for the town."I think there's some unfinished business that I didn't complete," said Aiken. "We talked about getting an increase in our water pressure and getting a water tank when I was mayor. It didn't happen. We started some sidewalk construction, we didn't complete it."Hampton wasn't born in Lincolnville, but certainly calls the small town home."I have been living in Lincolnville for about 40 years," said Hampton. "I was in the Air Force and, while in the Air Force, built a house here in Lincolnville."After rallying for better fire equipment and resources, Hampton became the Lincolnville Fire Chief, then served as a councilman for nearly 30 years."With 28 years experience, I would be remiss if I didn't come back on to try to assist the mayor and council to serve the citizens and town," Hampton said.

As we inch closer to Christmas, the Lowcountry's towns have more holiday parades to be enjoyed.

Here are parades happening Saturday, Dec. 10, and Sunday, Dec 11.

SATURDAY, DEC. 10

Folly Beach Christmas ParadeFolly Beach is hosting its 32nd Annual Christmas Parade in downtown Folly Beach Saturday at noon. The lineup is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with the parade starting at noon.

Attendees can follow Santa after the parade to Folly River Park to enjoy live music, cookie decorating, and of course, tell your wish list to Santa!

Click here for more information.

Lincolnville ParadeThe town of Lincolnville is hosting a parade on Saturday, something the community hasn't done in over 25 years.

The parade will begin at Lincolnville Garden Apartments at 501 Slidel Street with a 2:30 p.m. lineup, and the parade starts at 4 p.m. sharp.

Ravenel Christmas Tree LightingThe Town of Ravenel will host its 4th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on Saturday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The event will be held at the Ravenel Train Depot at 5775 Highway 165.

During the event, there will be live music, free food, presents and raffles for children who are in attendance, photos with Santa, desserts, hot cocoa, and more!

Click here for more information.

Parade of BoatsThe annual Holiday Parade of Boats in Charleston Harbor will depart from Shem Creek on Saturday at 6 p.m.

This parade features lighted and festive boats that proceed from the Cooper River, through the Charleston Harbor, and into the Ashley River.

Click here for more information.

Awendaw Christmas Parade

The 7th annual Awendaw Christmas Parade will begin at 2 p.m. at the field next to Dollar General on Highway 17 and will end at Goodwine Circle on Seewee Road.

Seewee Road will be closed from the intersections of Hwy 17 North and Goodwine Circle from 1 p.m. until the completion of the parade.

Residents are asked to decorate their mailboxes. Judging will begin on Friday and end no later than noon on Saturday.

Click here for more information.

SUNDAY, DEC. 11

The Summerville Christmas Parade Market In conjunction with the Summerville Christmas Parade, Summerville Dream is hosting a Christmas Parade Market with artisans, crafters, specialty foods, and food trucks!

The event is on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hutchinson Square.

Mount Pleasant Christmas ParadeMt. Pleasant's Christmas Parade is Sunday at 4 p.m.

Coleman at Pherigo Street closes at 4 p.m. for the lineup. Coleman at Whilden closes at 5 p.m. The Ravenel Bridge offramp onto Coleman Boulevard closes at 5 p.m., diverting all traffic to Highway 17.

For event safety, drones are not to be allowed to fly over or along the parade route.

Click here for more information or to participate in the parade.

Families looking for the holiday centerpiece this year shouldn’t have trouble finding Christmas trees on South Carolina lots and farms, but they can expect to dole out a little more greenery from their wallets.

Tree growers, like every other business in the nation, have had to pass on higher costs as the highest inflation in 40 years cut into the bottom line.

“I expect that all growers have gone up on prices this year,” said Steve Penland, secretary of the S.C. Christmas Tree Association and owner of Penland Christmas Tree Farm near Rock Hill.

He pegged the higher costs of holiday greenery this year at 10-15 percent.

The longtime farmer attributed rising prices to the increased costs of diesel fuel, fertilizer, weed control chemicals, farm tools, equipment and labor.

Penland pointed out the average price of trees on a pick-your-own farm is about $10-$12 a foot, depending on the quality.

“It’s higher than last year,” he said.

Weather this year has not been a factor for Palmetto State tree farmers.

“We have had adequate rain,” Penland said.

The biggest problem he faces is cutting off sales to keep from dipping into next year’s still-maturing crop.

“If we don’t, we won’t have any trees for next year,” he said. “Last year, we started the day after Thanksgiving and we stayed open for eight days. It was our shortest season ever. We are hoping to stay open at least two weeks this year.”

Still, he’s predicting a fast- and short-selling season.

At Rob Zdenek’s tree lot on Mistletoe Lane south of Lincolnville, he, too, will be passing along the higher cost to consumers this year.

“We went up about $10 more per tree because of higher freight costs and because farmers went up on their prices,” Zdenek said.

The Summerville resident said higher prices have not squelched demand. He received about 300 calls in the days before he opened on the Saturday before Thanksgiving from people asking him when he was opening and if enough trees will be available this year.

He ordered 1,200 to 1,300 trees from 2 feet to 15 feet, priced from $48 to $400. Zdenek also offers garlands, wreaths, poinsettias, a gift shop, firewood and a festive atmosphere for families with a big blow-up Grinch to welcome customers.

On opening day, a steady stream of shoppers perused his offerings.

Marie Dowdey and Carl Smith carefully scanned the lot before deciding on what will rise above the gifts on Christmas morning.

“I like this one,” Dowdey said of a roughly 7-foot tall specimen that sold for $125.

Zdenek, who operates a landscaping business, believes most people buy their trees before the second weekend in December, but he will still have trees to offer after that.

“Some people come in during the last two weeks before Christmas,” he said. “We try to have something for everyone.”

For those looking for the popular mountain-grown Fraser firs that many growers truck in to supplement their choose-and-cut farms, Penland said some tree farms haven’t been able to get them this year.

The reason is simple: many farmers left the business during the deep recession 14 years ago and newly planted trees take years to reach maturity.

He’s bringing in about 500 Fraser firs on his 60-acre spread where he expects to sell between 3,000 and 4,000 different varieties of trees this year, including those shipped in.

Penland said Fraser firs that are up to about 8 feet tall can be found, but “anything in the higher range is extremely tight.”

Hal Frampton is seeing that as well on his longtime Charleston peninsula Holy City Christmas Tree lot.

He, too, said the taller offerings are in short supply, but he has plenty of others.

Frampton is once again set up on Hanover Street near Romney Street. Now in his 34th year, he received about 500 trees and is open during daylight hours only.

He hasn’t had trouble getting enough trees since he has been ordering from the same grower in North Carolina for the past 30 years, but he reiterated a common line this year from providers: customers can expect to see higher prices this year.

“Diesel fuel, freight and labor have all gone up,” he said.

Many of the nearly 8,000 mountain-grown specimens found around the Charleston area come from the 300-acre Cardinal Tree Farms in West Jefferson, N.C.

Owner Mitchell Poe is expecting another good year for sales.

“Tree demand is up nationwide like it has been for the past three or four years,” he said. “It’s been a good growing season, but prices are going to be up a little bit. Everything we use, from human labor to herbicides went up 20-25 percent.”

Poe doesn’t characterize Fraser firs as being in short supply.

“We’ve had vendors calling from all over the nation,” he said. “Sometimes the high demand makes it appear that way. Everyone who wants a real tree will get a real tree, but some may have to look a little harder for just the right tree.