Isle of Palms, South Carolina

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Coordinates: 32°47′47″N, 79°45′54″W
Isle of Palms, South Carolina

Location of Isle of Palms in South Carolina
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Charleston
Government
- Mayor	F. Michael Sottile
Area
- City	5.6 sq mi (14.4 km²)
- Land	4.5 sq mi (11.6 km²)
- Water	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km²)
Population (2000)
- City	4,583
- Density	1,025.4/sq mi (395.9/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
Website: www.isle-of-palms.sc.us

Isle of Palms is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,583 at the 2000 census. Isle of Palms is a barrier island on the South Carolina coast, northeast of Charleston, South Carolina. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, Isle of Palms is included within the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and the larger Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government
- 3.1 Mayor
- 3.2 Council Members
4 History
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Isle of Palms is located at 32°47′47″N, 79°45′54″W (32.796327, -79.765084)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.4 km² (5.6 mi²). 11.6 km² (4.5 mi²) of it is land and 2.8 km² (1.1 mi²) of it (19.64%) is water.

It is the location of the Wild Dunes Resort.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,583 people, 1,942 households, and 1,382 families residing in the city. The population density was 395.9/km² (1,025.9/mi²). There were 3,881 housing units at an average density of 335.2/km² (868.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.23% White, 0.35% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.52% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.20% of the population.

There were 1,942 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.4% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the city the population was spread out with 19.0% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 34.7% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 adult females, there were 94.0 adult males.

The median income for a household in the city was $76,170, and the median income for a family was $88,874. Males had a median income of $60,640 versus $37,500 for females. The per capita income for the city was $44,221. About 1.7% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

The city is run by an elected Mayor-council government system.

[edit] Mayor

F. Michael Sottile

[edit] Council Members

J. Martin Bettelli, Ryan L. Buckhannon, Dick Cronin, Leola Hanbury, John R. Marino, Jane C. McMackin, Carol Rice, Dryden G. Taylor.

[edit] History

The island's original inhabitants were the Seewee Native American tribe. Supposedly, they greeted the first English to arrive on the island by swimming out to their ships and escorting them back to the island.

During the American Civil War, the H.L. Hunley departed from Breach Inlet, between Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island.

In the late 19th century, local residents began using the island as a vacation spot. At that time it was only accessible by ferry. It was bought by J.S. Lawrence in 1899, who gave the island its current name; before then it was known as Hunting Island or Long Island. A 50-room hotel was built in 1906. In 1912, James Sottile had a beach pavilion and an amusement park built, and a trolley line was constructed from the mainland for access to Isle of Palms via Sullivan's Island. In 1929, Grace Memorial Bridge was built between Charleston and Mount Pleasant to allow automobile traffic to reach the island.

Large-scale residential development began when J.C. Long bought up most of the island and built low-cost housing for World War II veterans. In 1975, the Sea Pines Company (of Hilton Head Island fame) established the 900 acre (360 ha) development now known as The Wild Dunes Beach and Racquet Club. Isle of Palms was the first stop on Alton Brown's coast-to-coast tour in his program Feasting on Asphalt.