It was a Catholic summer camp until the ‘80s. Now, Beaufort Co. wants a waterfront park
On a rural road just off Okatie Highway, four derelict buildings sit on a grassy bluff overlooking the Okatie River.
The boarded-up structures, weathered by age, are remnants of Camp St. Mary — a summer camp for Catholic kids that operated from 1931 until the early 1980s.
A chain link fence now surrounds some of the buildings where kids once spent summers in the Lowcountry. A few beer bottles litter the grass near the former camp buildings. A 140-foot public fishing dock floats nearby.
More than two decades after Beaufort County purchased the property, its leaders say they want to build a park there.
“We have this gorgeous piece of property that’s not encumbered by rural and critical lands,” council member Brian Flewelling said. “I also recognize that we have limited park space in that area of the county. The county taxpayers in that area deserve a park.”
This isn’t the first time county leaders have had bold plans for the waterfront property. In 1997, the county purchased the 9-acre land for $500,000 to create a park. But it never came to fruition, and nothing has been developed on the property since.
On Tuesday, county staff and Flewelling held a public meeting to hear from the community about what should be done with property. Deputy County Administrator Chris Inglese said the project has “momentum that it never had before.”
Last October, the county’s Natural Resources Committee agreed to spend $50,000 to destroy the derelict buildings in the hopes of moving forward with plans for a park.
“Staff has proposed some passive recreational uses for the property, including an open green field, camping area for Boy Scouts and other groups, improving the fishing dock, a picnic pavilion, outdoor classroom and possibly a ropes course,” Inglese said.
Flewelling said he would like to see a small pavilion on the property with outdoor grills and picnic tables.
The six options proposed to the community:
- Campsite for Boy Scouts and other approved groups
- Open green space for soccer/football games, weddings, family reunions or special events
- Space for an outside group to run a kayaking or paddle boarding business
- Ropes course
- Pavilion for birthday parties and small events
- Partnership with local schools to use the space for field trips and outdoor classroom education
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner has proposed a regional communications center on a portion of the property.
“We’re looking for a centralized location that would be a benefit to Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties,” Tanner said. “A regional communication center would allow for the four counties in the lower part of the state to be centralized with all dispatch, fire, EMS and police. It would give us the opportunity to have a new emergency management center and it would be a benefit to the counties on a regional front.”
Tanner said the communications center is just a recommendation and would only take up about four acres.
Flewelling, however, said that plan “is an uphill battle.”
Several area residents posted their ideas for the property on Facebook. Most comments appeared to support the first two ideas, with recommendations that the county build a gate at the front of the property to prevent vehicle traffic at night.
County staff will collect ideas from the public and hope to submit plans for the park to a council committee in April, Inglese said.
History of the property
Camp St. Mary’s was founded in 1929 by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston as a summer religious education camp for the children of Beaufort missionaries, according to county documents. The camp was held at the plantation home of William Pinckney Pritchardville.
In the early 1930s, Bishop Emmett Walsh purchased the land across the river from the original campsite and built two sleeping barracks, a dining hall and kitchen, a sisters’ convent and chapel and a dock. The site was dedicated as Camp St. Mary in 1935, according to county documents.
The property operated as a camp for Catholic kids until the early 1980s, said Maria Aselage, director of media relations for the Diochese of Charleston.
In 1972, the diochese began leasing the site to the Lowcountry Human Development Center, a group that offered educational support services for economically disadvantaged people in Beaufort and Jasper counties.
Two decades later, Beaufort County bought the property from the church in the hopes of creating a park with “benches, picnic tables and walking trails.”
In 1998, the county’s Parks and Leisure Services used the property as a summer camp for kids, according to county documents.
The property has since remained vacant, apart from the occasional fisherman, Boy Scout retreat or, as some residents pointed out, teenagers looking for a good time.
“We heard from the community about some public safety concerns,” Inglese said. “We heard people have been shooting fireworks off the dock and cars spinning donuts in the open field. We hope to address those concerns.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
