The History of the Old Sheldon Church Ruins in South Carolina

Old Sheldon Church Ruins with four brick columns and roofless church walls in Yemassee, South Carolina.

Some places look beautiful in photographs. Then you arrive, step through the gate, and realize the photographs didn’t prepare you at all. That was the Old Sheldon Church Ruins for me. Hidden beneath enormous live oaks in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the remains of this eighteenth-century church rise from the landscape almost like they were … Read more

Fort Fremont: The South Carolina Fortress That Never Fired a Shot

Fort Fremont Preserve map and welcome sign on St. Helena Island, South Carolina.

Hidden beneath sprawling live oaks on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, stands a massive concrete reminder of a battle that never happened. Fort Fremont was built at the end of the nineteenth century to protect one of the most important naval facilities along the southeastern coast. It was armed with enormous disappearing guns, staffed by … Read more

The Chapel of Ease: Where Forgotten Friday Began

Ruins of the St. Helena Parish Chapel of Ease on St. Helena Island, built in the 1740s from tabby and now standing abandoned beneath moss-covered trees.

It started with a name on a map. I was planning a road trip to Washington, D.C.—nothing spooky, nothing intentional. Just a long drive, a ten-year-old history buff in the passenger seat, and a tired driver trying to avoid highway hypnosis. To break up the drive, I used Roadtrippers to plot a few stops along … Read more