Three Presidents Who Visited Summerville and Their Stories

Forty-six presidents have governed the United States. Only one was born in South Carolina and that was Andrew Jackson, although North Carolina disputes the claim. It seems Jackson was born on the border of the two states in the Waxsaw region, an area just south of Charlotte. Jackson himself claimed to be a native of South Carolina. Of the 46, three found their way to Summerville.

In December of 1901, Charleston opened the South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition to promote the industry and resources of the state. President Theodore Roosevelt accepted proprietor FW Wagener's invitation to attend the Expo's "President's Day" celebration in April 1902. April 9, the president viewed Charleston's historic sites from the harbor aboard the USS Algonquin and visited the exhibits. At Lowndes Grove Plantation, he was treated to a special Charleston lunch which included tea grown at Summerville's Pinehurst Tea Farm. After his day in Charleston, the president was escorted by train to Summerville, where he stayed at another one of FW Wagener's enterprises, the Pine Forest Inn. Roosevelt toured the Pinehurst Tea Farm. He was also an avid outdoorsman. Perhaps, he joined one of the fox hunts on Ingleside.

Rutledge House

William Howard Taft and his wife were guests of Mayor R. Goodwyn Rhett at his home, the John Rutledge House, in January of 1909. As legend has it, Rhett's butler was asked to "dress up" the pale crab soup they usually served. The butler, William Deas, added lump crab meat and orange-colored crab eggs to give color and improve the flavor. It became the famous Charleston delicacy known as She Crab Soup. Some contend that Taft enjoyed it so much he had the soup added to the White House's menu. On this occasion, Mrs. Nellie Taft, with diplomatic grace, summed up her assessment of Southerners fondly referring to them as being "strange" for their irritating ritual of "always taking a half hour to get ready for everything." Once again, Wagener hosted a dinner at Summerville's Pine Forest Inn for the president.

The third president to visit Summerville is a story less told, if at all. Unlike Roosevelt and Taft, he did not come to be a dinner guest at the Pine Forest Inn, by this time shuffled into the dust of history. He did come on a date indelibly branded into the psyche of Lowcountry residents equal to that of the War Between the States and The Great Earthquake of 1886 centered near Middleton Place.

President Bush and Berlin G. Meyers

The time was September of 1989, and George H. W. Bush was the president. Catastrophic Hurricane Hugo was the event. On this occasion, Bush landed at Doty Park in Summerville to personally meet with Mayor Berlin G. Meyers. Together they surveyed the destruction from a helicopter. On ground, Bush rode about 15 miles in a motorcade through the heavily damaged forests. The report was the president patted the mayor on his shoulder and said, "Why am I here? I'm here to give a little encouragement to a courageous man."

Who will be the next president to visit the Flowertown in the Pines? Maybe, it will be one who may have a hankering for a refreshing glass of sweet tea in the Birthplace of Sweet Tea, or a need for a fantastic cup of in-house roasted coffee at the local community hot spot, Coastal Coffee Roasters, or any one of the many amenities that make Summerville a desirable place to visit and hang out. Only time will tell.

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