The Flickr Berkeleycounty Image Generatr

Cottages at Ingleside and Botanic at Ingleside in North Charleston South Carolina Aerial View by David Oppenheimer

Cottages at Ingleside and Botanic at Ingleside at 3000 Cypress Lake Road in North Charleston, South Carolina, aerial view - © 2024 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - performanceimpressions.com

Colony North Neighborhood Houses in North Charleston South Carolina Aerial View by David Oppenheimer

Colony North neighborhood of single family houses in North Charleston, South Carolina, aerial view - © 2024 David Oppenheimer - Performance Impressions aerial photography archives - performanceimpressions.com

Williams Farm Supply by Christopher Wallace

Chatting with some of the locals during my two-day camping trip near Monck's Corner, one of them asked me to document William's Farm Supply. She had very fond memories of her parents taking her here as a child, and told me that one day, Mr. Williams locked up the store and left, and died during the night. She said the store had been closed ever since, preserved like a time capsule inside. She told me there were no photos of the store online, and made me promise I would stop before leaving and make some photographs.

I have discovered there are indeed photos online, and it wasn't quite an overnight closure of Mr. William's death - the family kept it going for four more months, but I do indeed feel honored that a someone took enough of a shine to my photographs that wanted me to document such a special part of their life, and the community. Below is an article I found online about the closure of Williams Farm Supply.

THE BERKELEY OBSERVER:
"If you’ve traveled to downtown Moncks Corner recently and crossed over the railroad tracks on Main Street, you may have noticed a piece of history no longer open. Williams Farm Supply, which was located at 108 E. Railroad Ave., permanently closed its doors for business Dec. 31, 2019.

The store had been in business since the late 1920s. For many people who passed through the heart of Moncks Corner daily, the store reminded them of simpler times long before computers, the internet and smartphones. For more than 90 years, the store served as the go-to place for all your farming needs.

“I remember as a kid going in some feed stores with my grandfather and my uncle,” said one Berkeley County resident who gave the store a five-star review on Yahoo. “Dad wasn’t really into feed and seed places. This place is just like one of those stores of old. Man, what a great place.”

“This is a throwback to my childhood,” another person posted. “This is a real live feed and seed. It’s complete with chickens, ducks, and bunnies.”

Now that the iconic store, whose outward appearance at first glance could fool many people, has come to an end, some Berkeley County residents say they are sad to see it go. Along with the many treasures found inside a store worn down from time were many memories made.

“It is truly a landmark store and a pillar of the community,” one resident said. “This breaks my heart.”

“I’m shattered,” said another resident.

The store’s closing comes four months after the death of the owner, Rusty Williams, III. He passed away on Aug. 31 at 75 years old. For three generations, he and his family ran the store.

“Whenever I visited you at the Williams Farm Supply, you always had a ready hello and excellent service for your customers,” one person wrote under his obituary’s guest book.

“He was filled with advice on any and all matters of feed and fertilizer, plants and animals,” another person posted. “I will miss seeing him.”

Williams left behind a wife and son. He was buried at Spring Hill United Methodist Church Cemetery in Ridgeville on Sept. 8." (2019)
www.berkeleyobserver.com/2020/01/26/williams-farm-supply-...

PLEASE, NO GRAPHICS, BADGES, OR AWARDS IN COMMENTS. They will be deleted.

Cattle Egrets taking off by Christopher Wallace

Savanna Creek Farm
St. Stephen, South Carolina

"The cattle egret (Bubulcus) is a cosmopolitan genus of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. According to the IOC bird list, it contains two species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret, although some authorities regard them as a single species. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world in the last century.

They are white birds adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. They nest in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands, and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Some populations are migratory and others show postbreeding dispersal.

The adult cattle egret has few predators, but birds or mammals may raid its nests, and chicks may be lost to starvation, calcium deficiency, or disturbance from other large birds. This genus maintains a special relationship with cattle, which extends to other large grazing mammals; wider human farming is believed to be a major cause of their suddenly expanded range. The cattle egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both organisms, but it has been implicated in the spread of tick-borne animal diseases."

St. Stephen, South Carolina
"St. Stephen is a town in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,697 at the 2010 census.

St. Stephen is included within the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area.

St. Stephen is located in northern Berkeley County at 33°24′18″N 79°55′24″W (33.405024, -79.923365), between Lake Moultrie to the west and the Santee River to the northeast. The town lies along the western edge of Francis Marion National Forest near its northernmost point.

U.S. Route 52 runs through the center of the town, leading north 25 miles (40 km) to Kingstree and south 17 miles (27 km) to Moncks Corner, the Berkeley County seat. South Carolina Highway 45 crosses US 52 in the town center and leads west 30 miles (48 km) to Eutawville and southeast 40 miles (64 km) to McClellanville near the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2), all of it land." (Wikipedia)

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