3 Images, 2 Moments, 1 Memory

Three Images of History

Bina and Brutus Brunson at home on Palawana Island, SC. Brutus may be the same enslaved man Dr. James Julius Sams mentioned in his memoir. Bina and Brutus were born around 1840 and passed away between 1913 and 1915. This photo, taken around 1905, captures them in their later years.
Rowland’s Dataw Cottage, built in 1936 by Dick & Libby Rowland – repurposed by the 1950s to store cattle feed on Dataw Island. The house no longer stands, leaving only its memory behind. circa 1960
Carolina Ballroom—built in 2001-2002. It opened in 2003. In 2020, it was remodeled, bringing new life and modern elegance to the space.

Two Moments in History


Moment 1—1607

As the scent of ink and freshly bound parchment filled the air in 1607, William Shakespeare was in the prime of his creative power, crafting verses that would echo through centuries. Shakespeare’s life spanned from the Elizabethan age into the dawn of a new world. With 37 plays and a staggering 1,700 words woven into the fabric of the English language, he transformed the Globe Theatre into the beating heart of London’s artistic scene.

Meanwhile, across the vast Atlantic, sails billowed as over 100 settlers touched the shores of a foreign land, carving out the first permanent English settlement—Jamestown, Virginia—named in honor of King James I. 

While Shakespeare shaped the soul of the English language, these settlers laid the foundation of a new chapter in its history. Together, they left a legacy that shaped the words we speak and the lands where those words would thrive.


Moment 2—1707

One hundred years on, the Act of Union reshaped the political landscape, merging England and Scotland to form Great Britain. With this bold stroke, the colonies fell under the weight of a unified British crown, no longer subjects of England alone but part of a greater empire.

Meanwhile, on the western shores of the Atlantic, the halls of Yale College, established in the Connecticut wilderness just six years earlier, echoed with scholars’ footsteps. As one of only three institutions of higher learning in the colonies, Yale grew alongside its venerable counterparts—the College of William and Mary, founded in 1693, and Harvard College, dating back to 1636. 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, these educational institutions continued to play a pivotal role. They served as the breeding grounds for individuals from influential families such as the Sams, Barnwell, Elliott, and Verdier, preparing them for the turbulent tides ahead.

The union of crowns and the rise of these colleges would profoundly influence the course of history on both sides of the ocean.

One Memory Preserved

Present: Herb Arnold, Gloria Becker, Marilyn Bernart, Judy Imbus, Dorothy Johnson, Brenda Norris, Nancy Paul and Jean Smith. This is the first ruins committee meeting. The ruins committee is a sub-committee of the Dataw Island Home Owners Committee.”

April 3, 1995

Monday, 10:00 am

These are the opening lines of the meeting minutes from the inaugural Ruins Committee meeting.

These minutes mark the humble beginnings of what would eventually evolve into the Dataw Historic Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our community’s rich history.

Today, after almost three decades, our tradition of convening for board meetings on the first Monday of each month endures.