165 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com on the coast Before the turn of the century from July 1780 to May 1781, according to historian Paige Sawyer, British troops occupied Georgetown and upon their retreat, military officer, planter and politician Thomas Sumter gave his soldiers permission to reclaim the town and treat British loyalists with great disdain. In retaliation, British troops returned on the Peggy, captained by a royalist ship captain named Mason, to burn down the buildings on Front Street. Fire resulting from a cannonball shot from the Peggy swept through Georgetown, destroying a further 42 homes. Sawyer said that following this destruction, it took a full 50 years for residents to recover and rebuild the once thriving port city. Then tragically in 1840, only a decade after the district’s reconstruction, several other fires burned the area where the town clock and The George Hotel stand today; charred timbers can still be seen. Despite such devastation over the centuries, today Georgetonian business owners and residents, with customary perseverance and refinement, are thriving on Front Street and beyond. For history lovers, Front Street provides a fantastic opportunity to learn about the Lowcountry’s enchanting and haunting past. Tour the Kaminski House Museum, the South Carolina Maritime Museum, the Gullah Museum, the Rice Museum and the Georgetown County Museum. To learn more about Front Street and the surrounding historical district, take a walking tour with Sawyer, who is a living textbook when it comes to Georgetown County. Down on Front Street Georgetown’s revolutionized downtown Visit oldgeorgetownwalkingtours.com to secure your time. You can also learn more about Front Street at frontstreetgeorgetown.com and more about Georgetown at georgetownpodcast.com. BY SARAH ROSE
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