Callawassie Island is a small subtropical sea island with a long and rich history. The island is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina along the headwaters of the pristine Colleton River between the town of Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, SC.

Throughout the five thousand years preceding the eighteenth century Callawassie Island was occupied by numerous Native American cultures, which left a rich archaeology legacy. The Yemassee Indians, who inhabited the Carolina low country in the early eighteenth century, gave the island its name. After they rebelled in 1715 the English expelled the Yemassees and began their own settlements.

The island's owners and residents from that era until twenty years ago shared one trait in common. They were consummate risk takers. The risk taking took many forms. Some sought money and power, others were motivated by Patriotism, and others sought personal safety or simple survival. In A Short History of Callawassie Island you will meet these people--famous, infamous, and just plain ordinary. And you will also meet Callawassie Island--beautiful, quiet, and even mysterious. It is a Callawassie Island that eloquently rewarded the risk takers, but sometimes in unexpected ways for them.