Five Points in Summerville--A Once Upon a Time Relic Explained or Unexplained

Summerville is growing, and as a result, is changing. However, Summerville has not forgotten its past. Its past is interwoven into what it is becoming today, and what it will be in the future. It celebrates the stories that have already been written through its projects, murals, arts, statues, books, magazines, festivals, and tours. Rich, entertaining stories explained and unexplained. The following unusual story, though not as well known and significant as the Pine Forest Inn, or the Railroad Station, or White Gables, you just might find compelling.

In Summerville, there is an area where three roads converge unto South Main Street to make a single intersection of five points. The roads are W. Carolina Ave, E. Carolina Ave, and Tupper Lane. I have driven through this intersection many times. Once upon a time a strange, potted ornament occupied a space at the point where W. Carolina Ave and Tupper Lane come together.

It was always just a brief curiosity because I never made any real effort to find out what the strange looking tree-like structure with blue bottles stuck on its branches was. Only by accident, I stumbled upon the answer. I was researching ghost stories in the Summerville area. Not surprising, it's called a blue bottle tree and quite common throughout the South. Perhaps, you remember seeing it as you navigated this highly traveled crossroads. I say remember because like many notable Summerville landmarks, it is no longer there.

What purpose did it serve? Was it meant to be just a decorative object to amuse passersby? Did its presence have a darker, deeper meaning for the individual or individuals who placed it there? After all, the blue bottle tree bears a cultural significance to some Lowcountry residents of times past.

Today, the blue bottle tree is mainly nothing more than a decoration people put in their gardens and on their lawns, but in history, the blue bottle tree is steeped in superstitions brought here by African slaves, although I should add, superstition to some, to others, deep rooted beliefs.

The color blue was believed to ward off spirits, more specifically, the evil kind. The blue bottles on the bottle tree are thought to entice the evil spirits into climbing inside during the evening hours where they become trapped. Then, the morning sun comes up and the sunlight kills the spirits. Quite an ingenious idea, if you believe in such things. Also, a nifty way of making good use of empty wine bottles, if you like the idea of a blue bottle tree in your yard.

Summerville's Five Points has a history. According to one study, a dark history. It is a well-known high-accident intersection. Between the years of 2015 to 2017, there were 60 crashes. Nine resulted in 13 persons injured and 51 resulted in property damage. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. To be noted, these statistics only covered a three year period. I took the picture of the blue bottle tree in 2015. So, when that study was done, it was already there. Yet, could this be the reason the blue bottle tree was placed at this crossroads in the first place, or was there something else more insidious going on with the properties around Five Points. Just down the road are the lion-topped brick pillars of 1006 South Main Street where the ghost of Mary Margaret resides.

Proposed roundabout

There are plans in the making to address the traffic problem at Five Points. One of them involves constructing a two-lane roundabout, which would not include Tupper Lane--it would be turned into a cul-de-sac. Thus, Five Points will fade away into history like the blue bottle tree that once graced the area to become just another footnote in Summerville's illustrious history like the Summerville Light.

I know there is someone out there in Summerville who knows the true reason why the blue bottle tree was placed there, when it was placed there, and who removed it. If not, it will become one of Summerville's Unexplained.

More Summerville Stories