A production of South Carolina ETV in association with the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism ♪ (male singer) ♪ Oh, I have found the sweetest place ♪ ♪ where people smile and know my name.

♪ ♪ Oh, I have found the sweetest land ♪ ♪ as warm as sun and cool as rain.

♪ ♪ A place so faaarrr... from all we had, ♪ ♪ a place so far from all we've known, ♪ ♪ a quiet place that we can love ♪ ♪ and call our home.

♪ ♪ [seagulls cawing] (Joanna Angle) In 1825, the architect Robert Mills wrote, "The inhabitants of Georgetown "have a delightful and salubrious retreat "in the sickly season.

"A happier situation is not to be found anywhere... "here the perpetual breezes and saline vapors "are constantly rising from the ocean.

"The good things of this life "are here really enjoyed b the inhabitants in abundance... "for the land and the ocean lay treasures at their feet."

[seagulls screeching] For generations, this slender stretch of land has beckoned visitors whose normal lives find them inland.

Memories of summers gently passed here, between the marsh and the sea, are handed down like precious family heirlooms.

[seagulls screeching] This tiny island's enchantments are those of the natural world... sunrises, seashells, sand dunes, and sea oats.

Here, the only rules are to be laid back and barefoot, to simplify, and to savor.

[seagulls screeching] Less is always more here, and it is fashionable to be "arrogantly shabby."

Welcome to Pawleys Island and to "Palmetto Places," a series that explores and celebrates South Carolina's small towns and countryside.

I'm Joanna Angle.

[seagulls screeching, surf rolling] Pawleys Island was probably so named because of its proximity to plantations belonging to two brothers, Percival and George Pawley.

There's no evidence that either Pawley ever owned land or lived here.

However, Percival Pawley's niece Susannah married Joseph Allen, who was given a Colonial grant for the island in 1768.

[no audio] Pawleys' status as one of the nation's oldest resort communities evolved from the seasonal flight of the Lowcountry rice planters, desperate to save their families from the dreaded malaria.

While they did not realize that the deadly fever was mosquito-borne, they did comprehend the relative safety of the shore.

Their annual summer encampments here swelled after the hurricane of 1822 virtually destroyed adjacent islands.

[surf rolling] The summer season ran from mid-May to early November.

The packing and moving of households was an ordeal for the women responsible.

Furniture, bedding, clothes, food, medical supplies, even farm animals were transported to the beach and back.

Drinking water was carried in large crockery demijohns.

In a letter dated May 8, 1856, Sue Allston wrote, "I think I shall... pull the house to pieces and move to the beach in about ten days."

The early summer houses were story-and-a-half raised cottages, elegant in their simplicity, designed with the comfort of cooling breezes in mind.

Wide porches, airy, high-ceilinged rooms, plentiful windows which could be shuttered against storms all defined the Pawleys Island style.

Built of cypress, tucked behind the dune line, fewer than ten of the oldest houses survive, and they are treasured.

Writing in "Pawleys Island Historically Speaking," Katherine Richardson states, "They represent a way of life "in which seasonal movement "between the Lowcountry and the seashore evolved.

"They signify our threads with the past... "we are no different "from those South Carolinians who came before us.

"When the summer heat and humidity is upon us, "and the cicadas and mosquitoe whine in the woods, "we long for the sea breeze, "the crash of the waves on the shore, "and the balm of the cool salt water, as did our counterparts over a century ago."

[no audio] One observer wrote in 1888, "The houses on the island "have no pretension to style, with the exception, perhaps, of the Hagley House."

This understated version of Greek Revival was built for P. C. J. Weston by Renty Tucker, a Hagley plantation slave called "one of the most talented carpenters in All Saints Parish."

In 1860, an Englishwoman employed here wrote, "I can only compare this building to a castle "so lofty that we could find a cool place in any part of the house."

The owner, Mr. Weston, served South Carolina as lieutenant governor during the War Between the States.

In 1901, the property was bought by the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company as a retreat for the company's employees.

For many years, it has operated as the Pelican Inn and was reputed to have been the liveliest spot on the island during the gay '90s.

In 1995, the Pelican Inn's owners donated a conservation easement protecting the building's facade, to the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation.

This legal covenant assures that the inn will retain its landmark appearance into the future.

[no audio] Over the past half century, the name "Pawleys Island" has become synonymous with relaxation through the worldwide marketing of one of South Carolina's most famous products... the Pawleys Island hammock.

Brett Guarino is vice president of the Pawleys Island Hammock Company.

Basically, the Pawleys Island hammock came to life in the late 1880s.

A riverboat captain named John Joshua Ward, who barged rice up and down the intracoastal waterway between Georgetown and Charleston and points up north, needed somewhere to sleep that was cool and basically would elevate him off the decks where nothing could get at him on the boats.

He played with several different designs of a rope hammock.

He tried various designs with knots in them, without staves or spreader bars as we have now, but basically he hit upon the design that, if he used a barrel stave, which he drilled holes through, and then threaded the ropes through the stave, that it would spread the hammock out and would provide a nice, even bed for him that wouldn't wrap him up like a mummy, so to speak.

So that proved to be very comfortable, and he used it on board for a number of years.

The person that's really credited with pushing the Pawleys Island hammock as far as getting people to recognize it for comfort is Doc Lachicotte.

He was the brother-in-law of Captain Ward.

Pawleys Island being a resort community, even at that time to a certain degree, he started making the hammocks and selling them.

It was basically a cottage industry.

He started selling them on the roadside stand here on Highway 17 to people that were passing by.

These were very tough times then.

That was basically during the Depression, so people were looking for sources of income, and the handcrafted Pawleys Island hammock seemed to provide some extra income for him.

As word spread about the comfort of the hammocks and the fact that they were created here in Pawleys Island, people began to ask for them by name.

We're the largest and oldest rope hammock manufacturer in the world.

We sell all over the world.

Basically we use seasoned Carolina oak.

We get it in big boards.

We cut it to length here.

We steam it to give it that comfortable bend and sway.

We drill it, sand it, and finish it here ourselves.

The cotton comprises about 90 percent of our overall sales.

Cotton is known for its coolness and comfort and seems to have a better feel to it than some of the other materials we've tried.

We do, however, make a polyester hammock for folks that want something that is a little more durable in extreme climates, such as South Florida.

We use about a quarter mile of rope in every hammock we weave.

The body is knitted on racks as you see.

Then the body of the hammock goes to a finishing process where a finisher takes the staves, threads the ends of the hammoc through the staves, into the body of the hammock, ties a nice, tight, bowline knot, which is basically a nautical knot, which--that's Captain Josh's contribution to the hammock-- one of them, I should say.

The finisher then ties it in, trims it up, hangs it, and checks the quality, and it's virtually done.

It takes 20 to 25 minutes as far as the weaving of the bed of the hammock.

You've got about 10 minutes in the ends of the hammock and 10 to 15 minutes on each stick.

We're very fortunate to have, in some cases, as many as two and three generations of family members working here.

Our turnover rate is extremely low here.

People really appreciate the job and are true craftspeople in making them.

As you know, everything is handmade.

We have about 70 production employees here weaving hammocks five days a week, every week.

[no audio] (Angle) Doris Simmons weaves the hammock body.

(Doris Simmons) I was working to the Hammock Shop about 18 years and had Annette Bryant as a trainer.

What I like about the Hammock Shop is I can come to work when I want, and I can leave when I want.

It's not too strict on me... got your work time, and they work with you.

That's what I really enjoy about it...good benefits.

Most of the time, to really get through it, you talk to one another... you know, make the work go faster.

Listen to the radio, mostly.

Sometimes you just want your mind on how much money you're gonna make, whatever, a good week and feel it.

Somehow you can feel it or whatever.

You know, just keep knitting it, feeling it.

It's not hard... it look hard to most people.

The only problem is standing up most of the time.

But besides that, it's okay.

Yeah, I think about it, wonder who's swinging in it, or who got it, in what country they in, and all that... whether they enjoy it or not... and that it's done by hand mostly.

I mean, you take pride in your work, especially when you do it by your hand, so you want it to look good.

(Brett Guarino) We're very proud that the Pawleys Island hammock is made here, and it's the original.

We go to trade shows all over the world as well as in the United States, and we've been very fortunate to have people request our product overseas.

We shipped a couple container loads to Japan last year, to the Middle East, to Sweden, various other points in Europe.

What we like about the hammock and would like everyone else to feel as they lay in a Pawleys Island hammock is that there is tradition, quality, and comfort involved in the hammock, the fact that somebody handcrafted that for you.

We have a saying that we use in the sales effort, "From our hands to your home."

We're very proud of that.

[workroom noises] (Angle) On Pawleys Island, good times have always meant good food.

Fishing along the causeway and shrimping in the creek are daily preludes to delicious Lowcountry fare.

A perennial favorite is crab cakes like these prepared at the Litchfield Beach Fish House by Cathy Green and Lucy Point.

First, you're gonna make enough for about a dozen of crab cake.

First, we must pick the crab meat to make sure all the shells and everything is out.

Once we do that, then we start our procedure.

First, Lucy will start with Accent, a teaspoo of that.

Next one will b the black pepper, half a teaspoon to a teaspoon.

Next one will b the Old Bay Spice, seasoning and spice.. 2, 2 1/2.

Then the next one will be the Worcestershire sauce, two teaspoon of that.

Then the next one we'll add the onions, the gree and red pepper to give it the colo and also the taste.

Then we ad two eggs.

Beat eggs... add that in.

Next will b Tabasco sauce, tea- to a tablespoo of that.

Then the next on will be the mustard, a teaspoo of mustard.

Next will b the mayonnaise, about a half a cu to a cup.

And you shoul mix that.

[ingredients swishing in bowl] [spoon clanging against metal bowl] [spoon clanging against metal bowl] Once she mix all he ingredients together, then she will ad the bread crumb... about a cup to two cup.

[crumbs crunching] Bread crumb give it... make it firm make it hold together.

Need mor bread crumb, you just add mor bread crumb in there until you have i the way you want it.

[spoon clanging against metal bowl] Once they're firm, she will start measuring it, whatever, what size do you want, patting it out, then you put it in the flour.

If you grill it, do not stick it in flour.

Spray it with non-stick spray, and then you grill it.

So bread them if you wanted to fry them.

But if you grill them, take them from here to the grill.

I think we're gonna grill ours.

(Cathy Green) Once the crab cakes are shaped in their form, then you're gonna start cookin' in hot grease.

Make sure it's cooked lightly brown on both side.

Once it's cooked on both side, lightly brown, then it's ready.

[no audio] The reason I said "lightly brown" because you do not want to cook it too long, because they will turn into a hard stage, and you would not taste the crab meat, period.

You would taste nothing but bread crumb mixture only.

[no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] Pawleys Island is joined by two causeways to Waccamaw Neck, which stretches from Conway almost to Georgetown.

At the southern end is Hobcaw Barony, a sprawling, unspoiled kingdom that was part of one of the first vast, Colonial estates carved from the wilderness.

In 1718, the Lords Proprietors granted 12,000 acres to a supporter of King George II, John Lord Carteret, who named his land Hobcaw , an Indian word meaning "between the waters."

Eventually, this grant resulted in 13 rice plantations.

Today there are the remains of four slave villages.

The land and its excellent duck hunting attracted the interest of Bernard Baruch, a native of Camden turned New Yorker, who made a million on Wall Street before his 25th birthday.

A financial adviser to five Presidents, he was the nation's most prominent nonelected official.

Baruch bought the property in 1905 and used its large Victorian mansion as a winter vacation home and family retreat.

His definition of family included guests, and there were always riding horses, hunting dogs, guns, guides, boats, and servants to entertain visitors.

The wooden frame house burned on Christmas day in 1929.

On the same site overlooking Winyah Bay, Baruch built a second large, nine-bedroom home, using brick, steel, and concrete to make it as fireproof as possible.

Its concrete floors are 6 inches thick, and ceramic materials were used wherever feasible.

Hobcaw House soon became known internationally as Baruch brought the VIPs of the first half of the 20th century there to his winter residence.

Among those whom Baruch entertained were Joseph Pulitzer, Edna Ferber, Clare and Henry Luce, Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, Generals George C. Marshall, Mark Clark, and Omar Bradley, Hedda Hopper, Zasu Pitts, and Robert Taft.

A large plaque in one of Hobcaw House's bedrooms reads, "This guest room, which was assigned "to many of the prominent "and notable friends of Bernard Baruch, "is particularly historic for the fact "that it was occupied by Sir Winston Churchill "during his visits to Hobcaw "starting as early as 1932, "and by Franklin D. Roosevelt during his protracted visit in April 1944."

Hobcaw became a spot where leaders of government and industry could be entertained, advised, and influenced.

In 1935, the land was bought from Mr. Baruch by his daughter Belle, who had shared her father's countless happy hours of hunting and horseback riding at Hobcaw.

Her home, Bellefield House, was built the following year, fulfilling her desire for a rustic, comfortable, old-fashioned lodge.

Although the house was constructed while Miss Baruch was in Europe, she would not, quote, "even consider building the stable until I am on the premises," end quote.

An avid horsewoman, she spent most of 16 years in Europe showing horses on the international circuit.

From her childhood days, Belle Baruch had developed a deep appreciation for the natural beauty of Hobcaw Barony, which she spoke of as "the friendliest woods in the world."

In later years, this childhood love matured into a strong obligation to see that Hobcaw's resources would be preserved and used wisely.

[no audio] Miss Baruch decided to leave these thousands of acres for a purpose which would benefit all South Carolinians.

She directed that the bulk of her estate be used to promote teaching and research programs in South Carolina related to the forests, waters, and wildlife which she had come to love so deeply at Hobcaw.

Belle Baruch's legacy has given the state's academic community a 1700-acre coastal laboratory with an unimaginable potential for ecological research.

The Bellefield Nature Center, a kind of hands-on museum, gives the public a taste of the wonders to be found in the surrounding lush woods and marshes.

Hobcaw House and grounds may be visited by prior appointment.

[no audio] We're glad that you could come with us to Pawleys Island and hope that you'll be with us again for "Palmetto Places."

Until then, I'm Joanna Angle, inviting you to discover South Carolina... smiling faces, beautiful places.

♪ Program captioned by: CompuScripts Captioning, Inc. 803.988.8438 ♪ (female singer) ♪ And here we live, ♪ within this land ♪ of mountains' edge and ocean's shore.

♪ ♪ A land of strength... a land of grace... ♪ ♪ of men and women gone before.

♪ ♪ So many smiling faces here, ♪ ♪ so many memories still to come.

♪ ♪ Beautiful places we hold dear ♪ ♪ in this our home.

(choir joins) ♪ South Carolina, always near... ♪ ♪ and always hooommmme.... ♪♪♪ ♪