1960 Map of Wadmalaw Island

About this map

Wadmalaw Island and Johns Island are defined by a complex network of coastal waterways, where the Stono River meets the Wadmalaw Sound along the Intracoastal Waterway. This 1960 survey, updated in the early 1970s, reveals a landscape deeply connected to both the water and the rails. To the northwest, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad serves the inland settlements of Hollywood and Meggett, while an Old Railroad Grade suggests an earlier era of transport reaching toward Yonges Island. Small communities and agricultural clusters are anchored by local institutions, including Wadmalaw School and a high concentration of country churches such as St James Bethel Church and Jerusalem Church. From the Landing Strip near the southern coast to the Church Flats in the north, the map documents a distinct South Carolina Lowcountry economy of riverside landings and rural crossroads like Smoak and Rivers.