Summerville
Summerville derives its name from the fact that nineteenth century Charleston residents and Low Country farmers "summered" in Summerville to escape the insects and associated illness of the lower water-logged areas in the summertime. Later, vacationers trekked to Summerville for a slower pace of life than the city offered. The downtown portion of Summerville has the wonderful old fashioned feel of the real America with village streets lined with mature trees, white picket fences, flags flying, stately homes with wrap around porches and tin roofs, and a town square reminiscent of the fifties. Housing choices here range from beautifully restored historic and antebellum homes to state of the art amenitized subdivisions.
Also known as Flowertown, Summerville boasts an incredible array of camellias, azaleas, and dogwoods. There is a spring Flowertown festival that draws more than 200,000 guests to Summerville annually.
Summerville has enjoyed the reputation as a relaxed, friendly community since pre-Civil War times, when Charlestonians would escape summer mosquitos and coastal humidity with retreats to this pleasant landscape.
Summerville’s physical attraction included the healthful effect of dry air infused with derivatives of turpentine from surrounding pines that earned it an international reputation for cure of lung and throat disorders. But a major part of the town’s attraction has been and is now visual, as the rich sandy loam soil of the Summerville area is ideal for gardening, and annually blooms boom.
Dogwood, camellia and magnolia grace Summerville throughout the year, but the signature spring flower of the town is the azalea indica, a hybrid plant introduced to America by local plantation owner George Grimke Drayton in 1840. The hearty evergreen blooms in stunning abundance of whites, pinks and reds from every garden, park and greenspace in Summerville, which has hosted the popular Flowertown Festival each April since 1972.
More than 100,000 people flock to this celebration of folk arts, crafts, and music, where nature’s colorful show is the major draw.
