All language subtitles for Aerial America Series 1 11of20 South Carolina, 1080p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org.Eng

\h\h\h\hthe same day that
the rebel flag was removed

of white south carolinians
\h\h\h\hin the civil war.

but many saw it as a symbol
\h\hof the state『s rebellion

\h\h\h\hto the growing
civil rights movement.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin 2000,
nearly 50,000 protesters

\hmarched up main street
to the state house steps

\hand demanded that
the flag be lowered.

\h\h\hlater that year
it was finally removed

making south carolina
\h\h\h\hthe last state

\h\hto officially fly
the confederate flag.

but the confederate spirit

still cooks up controversy
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin columbia.

it was raised in 1962
to mark the sacrifices

from the state house, the owner
of a popular barbecue chain

raised confederate flags over
\hhis nine local restaurants.

barbecue is always a contentious
subject in the carolinas.

the question of mustard versus
\h\h\h\h\htomato-based sauces

has been known to start duels.

\hbut the battle waged by the
owner of maurice『s piggie park

is a racial one.

\h\h\h\hmaurice openly defends
the former practice of slavery

in the state.

in protest, major store chains
\h\h\h\h\hthroughout the south

\h\h\h\h\h\hbarbecue products
have pulled all the company『s

incredibly, the new state house,
already under construction,

\h\hconstruction of a new
state house began in 1851,

but the first structure
\h\hhad to be torn down

\hbecause of major
structural flaws.

\h\h\h\h\hmajor john niernsee,
a vienna-born railway engineer

took over the project.

\h\hbut his structure
was threatened by war.

\h\h\h\h\hon february 17, 1865,
general william tecumseh sherman

and his union troops
swept into columbia.

fueled by abandoned barrels
\h\hof confederate whiskey,

the disorderly soldiers pillaged
and set fire to the city.

\h\h\ha total of 84 blocks
burned in a single night.

from their shelves.

survived the attack.

but the fires did destroy

architectural plans.
\hall the building『s

\hempty after the civil war,
and with the state『s coffers

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\huntil 1903.
the building wasn『t completed

its corinthian columns are among
the largest in the world.

each is carved from a single
massive hunk of blue granite

that slaves pulled from a quarry
just south of the city.

for nearly four decades,

the confederate flag flew atop
\h\h\h\hthe state house dome.

\ha legend of the tribe
says that a giant spirit

and fend off the attack.

in 1781, 1,000 patriots
\h\h\hattacked the fort.

\h\h\hthe ensuing battle
became the longest siege

of the american revolution.

\h\h\h\h\hinside the fort
lie the remains of a well

\h\hthat british forces dug
hoping to sustain themselves

throughout the long siege...

but they never reached water.

heading towards the northwest
\h\h\h\hboundary of the state,

the blue ridge mountains beckon.

\hthis used to be
cherokee country.

to help the loyalists
better see their enemy

used to sit on one
of these mountains

and eat from the top of another.

table rock, as it『s called,

\h\h\h\h\his located in
table rock state park--

\ha protected wilderness that
covers more than 3,000 acres.

pinnacle mountain.
it『s also home to

at more than 3,400 feet,

it『s the highest peak
that『s entirely within

the state of south carolina.

east of the blue ridge mountains
lies gaffney.

was established on the cherokee
trail near a plentiful spring.

\h\h\h\h\h\hheading north lies
south carolina『s backcountry.

these forests were once home
\h\h\hto the cherokee trail,

\h\h\h\h\ha key native american
trade route that once stretched

\h\h\h\h\hfrom charleston
all the way to tennessee.

\heuropean settlers used
the trail to expand west

and trade their weapons, rum,
\h\h\hand gunpowder for pelts.

in 1748 alone, the skins of
\h160,000 deer were exported

\hfrom south carolina to europe
to make pants, gloves, and hats.

\h\h\h\h\h\hbiggest commodity
deerskin was south carolina『s

\huntil the arrival
of rice cultivation.

\h\hby 1775, a settlement with
12 dwellings and a courthouse

is that this state house
\h\h\his even standing.

\h\h\h\hit was named 96,
from the mistaken belief

that it lay 96 miles away from
the cherokee capital, keowee.

the village has since
\h\hbeen reconstructed

along with a stockade fort built
in 1781 to protect the spring.

nearby, an odd form appears
\h\h\h\hon the ground below.

points of a star pushing up
\h\h\h\h\h\hfrom the earth.

these are the remains
\h\h\h\hof star fort.

\h\h\h\h\hbritish loyalists
built the fort here in 1780

\h\h\hwith slave labor to defend
themselves against rebel forces.

the fort was designed
\h\hwith eight points

these historic sites provide
\h\h\h\h\hstunning glimpses

was a smallpox hospital
\hand should be spared.

\h\h\htoday drayton hall
is considered the oldest

\h\hand most splendid example of
georgian palladian architecture

in the united states.

houses of plantation owners
luckily, it『s not just the grand

that have survived.

on the nearby boone plantation,
small slave cabins still stand

on what『s known as slave street.

it was common at the time for
\h\h\hslave cabins to be built

\h\h\h\hin front of
a plantation mansion

as a public display
of their prosperity.

were ordered to tell union
\h\htroops that the house

of the antebellum period and
\h\h\ha chance to understand

what life was like for enslaved
africans in south carolina.

as plantation profits grew,

so, too, did the estates
\h\h\h\hof their owners.

the vast landscape gardens
\h\h\h\hof middleton place

\h\hare thought to be
the oldest in the u.s.

they were designed and planted

so that there would be something
in bloom every day of the year.

\hmiddleton place was also the
site of a farming experiment.

in 1846 the owners imported

\h\h\hwater buffalo
from constantinople

the river would provide
a transportation network

most english settlers
\hcame from barbados.

\hthey were young,
ambitious farmers

\h\heager to expand
their opportunities.

among these early settlers were
thomas and anne drayton.

arriving from barbados in 1679,
they built magnolia plantation.

but it was one of
the draytons『 sons

\h\h\h\h\h\hgreatest legacy.
who established the family『s

as the third son,

john drayton knew he wouldn『t
\h\hinherit his family『s land.

\hso, in 1738 the 23-year-old
purchased 350 acres of his own

along the ashley river.

\h\h\hto see if, with their
wide hooves and sturdy legs,

to carry his crops to the ports.

he then set about building
\h\h\hhimself a new house

on a grand scale.

during the civil war,
union soldiers torched

many of the plantation houses
\h\h\halong the ashley river.

amazingly, drayton hall was one
of only three that survived.

why it did is a mystery that has
long puzzled historians.

some say that general sherman
\h\h\h\h\h\hspared the estate

because he was in love with
\hone of the drayton women.

\h\h\hanother theory is that the
slaves working on the plantation

\h\h\h\ha single logging company
bought up nearly all this land.

which nearly wiped out
\h\h\h\hthe congaree.

the few members of the tribe
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hthat remained

were either imprisoned or killed
by the colonists.

there are no congaree
\h\h\h\h\hleft today,

but this vast stretch of
\h\h\htheir ancient land

remains practically untouched.

the congaree national park
\h\h\hcovers 27,000 acres

and is home to nearly
\h100 species of trees

and a canopy that rises higher
\hthan the amazon rainforest.

\h\h\hthe dampness here is also
what『s protected it from people.

in the early 20th century,

when european settlers arrived
\hhere they brought smallpox,

but the trees were so wet they
wouldn『t even float downriver,

\h\h\h\hand the company quickly
abandoned their operations here,

floodplain forests intact.
\h\hleaving the congaree『s

20 miles to the northwest
\h\hthe floodplain ends...

just before reaching columbia,
the capital of south carolina.

at the center of town lies one
of the most notable buildings

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin the country--
the south carolina state house.

its most unique feature
\h\h\h\h\h\his its dome

\h\h\h\h\h\hcovered with
44,000 pounds of copper.

but what『s even more remarkable

\h\h\h\h\hfrom the air
it『s easy to see why.

they could outperform horses
\h\hin tilling rice fields.

but during the civil war

union troops burned
\h\h\hthe main house

and slaughtered some of
\hthe animals for food.

many of the buffalo
\h\hthat were spared

\h\h\hultimately ended up in
new york『s central park zoo.

\h\htoday, middleton place is
a national historic landmark.

its gardens were opened to
\hthe public in the 1920s.

\h\h\hthe garden club
of america called them

"the most interesting
and important gardens

in the united states."

it was once a thriving
\htextile mill center.

\h\h\h\h\hmoving inland from
south carolina『s coastline,

a rolling landscape beckons.

\h\hlargest intact area
this is north america『s

\h\hof old growth
floodplain forest.

this fertile region
\h\h\honce belonged

to a native american tribe
\h\h\hcalled the congaree.

periodically, nearby rivers
\h\h\h\h\hflood the forest,

\h\hsupplying it with
nutrients and sediment

that create a rich ecosystem

fish, reptiles, and insects.
that『s home to a wide variety of

better known as egyptian cotton.

hilton head island covers
more than 40 square miles,

\h\hand is one of the largest
barrier islands on the coast.

\h\h\hover the centuries,
it『s had many inhabitants

including native americans
\h\hand spanish explorers.

the british cotton planters
\h\h\h\hbut it wasn『t until

arrived here around 1800

that the island developed into
\h\h\han economic powerhouse.

by the start of the civil war,

more than 20 plantations
\h\h\h\h\hhad sprung up,

including the first in america

to grow extra-long
\h\hstaple cotton,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hthat once produced
the finest cotton in the world.

cotton may no longer
\h\h\hbe king here,

but the island is still
an economic powerhouse.

\hevery year, tourists pump
roughly 1.5 billion dollars

into hilton head『s economy.

just north of hilton head

lies one of the toughest
\h\h\h\hplaces on earth.

parris island had been home to
\h\h\h\hthe u.s. marine corps

since 1891.

recruits are turned into marines
\hit『s here where newly enlisted

in just 13 weeks.

today, drill instructors
\h\h\htrain an estimated

then, the tea plants grew wild
\huntil they were transplanted

in the late 19th century,

the american department
\h\h\h\h\hof agriculture

\h\hwas searching for new
financially viable crops.

\h\huntil then, almost all of
america『s tea came from asia.

\h\h\h\h\hthey discovered that
south carolina『s humid climate

and sandy soil could be perfect
for growing high quality tea.

\hbut the labor cost of picking
the tea leaves in south carolina

was eight times more expensive
than it was in china or india,

and after just four years
the venture was shut down.

however, another tea plantation
was founded nearby in 1888,

\h\hproducing award-winning teas
until its owner『s death in 1915.

\h\h\h\h19,000 men and women
at parris island each year.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hand cultivated by
the lipton tea company in 1963.

fearing the instability of
the third world countries

\h\hthat produced so much of its
tea, lipton wanted to experiment

with creating its own
\h\hworking tea farm.

the company eventually
\h\hsold the venture,

but today the tea plantation
\h\h\h\hremains in operation

commercial tea garden.
as the country『s only

the american classic brand
\hof tea that it produces

is the official tea
of the white house.

southwest is another
\h\h\hbarrier island

to see south carolina by air
\h\h\his a chance to explore

beaufort was more fortunate than
many of its neighboring towns.

wherever they went,

\hnorthern troops left
a path of destruction.

but the army spared beaufort,

\husing it instead as
a union headquarters.

historic antebellum buildings
as a result, many of the city『s

have been preserved.

\hfrom its barrier islands,
along its pristine beaches,

and inland across its giant
\h\h\h\h\hfloodplain forest,

south carolina is as much
defined by its wild spaces

as it is by the history
\hwoven into its earth.

during the civil war,

the true spirit of the south.

from the elegant streets
\h\h\h\h\hof charleston,

to the rough frontier villages
\h\h\h\h\h\hof early pioneers,

to the giant plantations

\h\h\h\h\hthat built some of
america『s biggest fortunes,

\h\hand the stories of those
who were brought unwillingly

to its shores...

aerial south carolina
\h\h\h\htravels across

\h\hsouthern state
america『s smallest

whose stories are as big
\has the nation itself.

\h\hwhen he knocked down
muhammad ali in round 15

the humorist art buchwald,
\h\h\h\h\ha former marine

who got his training
\hat parris island,

described his experience there
\h\h\has, "a very painful one,

which is exactly how the marines
intended it to be."

\h\hits purpose he said
was to "break you down,

and then rebuild you
\h\h\hinto a soldier

\h\hwho will never
question an order,

who will always worry
\h\habout their buddy,

and who someday will walk
\has tall as john wayne."

in march 1971, joe frazier

became a household name
\h\h\h\haround the world

\h\h\h\hhome to a unique
agricultural experiment.

at madison square garden.

frazier was born here
\h\h\h\h\hin beaufort,

second oldest town.
\h\hsouth carolina『s

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hits quaint,
historic streets and houses

have made this town
an ideal movie set.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfilms like
forrest gump, the big chill,

\h\h\h\hprince of tides
were all shot here.

celebrities often stay
at the rhett house inn

on craven street,

a classic 1820 plantation house
turned luxury hotel.

settled their differences
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hwith blood.

\hthis state-of-the-art factory
covers four million square feet,

\h\h\han area the size of
nearly 70 football fields.

inside, 7,000 workers produce
about 600 vehicles every day--

one out of every six that
\h\h\h\hthe company makes.

after they roll off
\hthe assembly line,

\hthese luxury cars are
shipped across the u.s.

and from the port of charleston
into 130 markets worldwide.

\h\h\h\htoday, many call
the region around greer

the detroit of the south.

traveling south of greer
\his a trip back in time

to a place where pioneers

in the united states, right here
in the small town of greer.

\h\h\htoday, edgefield is by all
appearances peaceful and quaint.

but in the early 19th century,

\h\h\h\hthis town and
the surrounding county

\h\h\hhad one of the highest
murder rates in the country.

local legend says that
blood has been spilled

over every square foot
\hof this town center.

accused criminals
\hwere tried here

at the edgefield courthouse.

one of the most colorful trials
of the day

was that of a young beauty
\h\h\hnamed becky cotton.

\hshe had murdered her first
husband with a large needle,

to let the world know

but one with enormous pride.
\htoday it『s a sleepy town,

enough to erect a four-story,
one million gallon water tank

to celebrate it.

locals call it the peachoid.

peaches were originally
\h\h\hbrought to america

by spanish explorers
\h\h\hin the 1500s.

and when english colonists
\harrived 100 years later,

they found native americans
\h\hcultivating the fruit...

leaving the settlers to believe

that peaches were actually
native to south carolina.

built in 1981, the water tower
was designed as a giant peach

poisoned her second,

\hthat south carolina
produces more peaches

\h\hthan the so-called
peach state, georgia.

\h\hin fact, south carolina
now officially calls itself

"the tastier peach state."

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hanother small
upstate south carolina town

\h\his home to a unique
american success story.

\has in gaffney, textile mills
thrived in the town of greer.

but by the 1970s,

competition from asia sent
\hthe region into decline.

\hthen, in the early 1990s, bmw
opened its first and only plant

of the plutonium used to build
the nation『s nuclear weapons.

and to provide power
\h\h\hfor the state.

\h\h\h\hthe savannah river
stretches over 300 miles--

\hfrom the foothills of
the blue ridge mountains

all the way to the atlantic.

the river divides south carolina
from georgia to the south.

\h\hlying in the midst of this
seemingly pristine wilderness

is a vast, once top secret
\h\h\h\hindustrial complex

that covers 300 square miles.

the savannah river site
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hwas built

by the u.s. department of energy
in the 1950s.

for decades, up to five giant
\h\h\h\hreactors produced 40%

in order to stop flooding
in communities downstream

\h\htoday the reactors and the
site『s other processing plants

have been shut down.

they were too old to operate
\hwithout expensive repairs.

and the site is now contaminated

with tens of millions of gallons
of radioactive waste.

\hthe plan is to entomb the old
reactors and seal off the waste.

\ha vast amount of cement--
but that『s expected to take

\henough to fill four home depot
stores right up to their roofs.

60 miles up the coast from
the mouth of the savannah

is wadmalaw island,

including the oldest
\h\hand longest one

and put an axe through the skull
of her third.

but surprisingly, she was
acquitted on all charges.

some say she used her beauty
\h\hto win over the jury...

and perhaps they『re right--

becky cotton went on to marry
\h\h\h\h\hone of the jurymen.

but before she could kill him

\h\h\hher own brother
murdered her first...

\h\h\h\h\hand he did it right on
the edgefield courthouse steps.

today, edgefield county
\h\his better remembered

\has the birthplace of ten
south carolina governors,

\h\h\hfive lieutenant governors,
and a number of state senators,

during the first years
\h\h\h\hof the colony

strom thurmond.
to serve in the state『s history:

\h\hwest of edgefield,
these peaceful waters

\h\hhave been named
in thurmond『s honor.

strom thurmond lake
covers 71,000 acres

\h\hand is surrounded by
a 1,200-mile shoreline.

bodies of water in the south.
it『s one of the largest inland

and while it may not
\h\h\hlook like it,

the lake is entirely manmade.

\h\h\h\h\h\hit was created when
the u.s. army corps of engineers

built the strom thurmond dam on
the savannah river

in the history of the u.s. navy.

\h\h\hthis one was renamed
in its honor and took part

\h\h\hin several important
pacific theater campaigns,

including the battle of iwo jima
and later in vietnam,

earning her a total of
\h\h\h16 battle stars.

\h\h\hin december 1968,
the carrier made history

\hwhen she served as
the recovery vessel

for the apollo 8 command module
and her astronauts,

who returned to earth
\h\h\hafter completing

\h\h\h\h\horbital mission.
nasa『s first manned lunar

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hdeck stands
an f-14a tomcat--

\hone of the most
powerful fighters

during world war ii.

and the e-1b tracer.

dating from the 1950s,
\hthe e-1b is mounted

with an early warning
\h\h\h\h\h\hradar dome

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfour-man crew
that was used by the plane『s

to find and track
\henemy aircraft.

today charleston harbor
\h\h\h\h\h\his also home

to one of the busiest container
cargo ports in the country--

second only to new york on
\h\hthe eastern seaboard.

\h\hthe port is located inside
the mouth of the cooper river

to help protect freighters
\h\h\hfrom the hurricanes

that batter the coast.

on april 12, 1861, confederate
\h\hforces stormed fort sumter

\hhis body was left hanging for
four days as a warning to others

who might have been considering
a life of piracy.

in later years, forts were built
to protect the city

from pirates and the union navy.

starting in the 1841,

70,000 tons of new england
\hgranite and other stone

were sunk in charleston harbor
\h\h\h\h\hto make fort sumter.

it was one of a series
of key fortifications

along the eastern seaboard.

\h\hlittle did anyone know,
the first attack on the fort

\hwould come from
charleston itself.

with its wide, deep
\h\h\hnatural harbor

and fired the first shot
\h\h\hof the civil war--

the war between the states.
or as it『s called in the south,

guarding the harbor today
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hu.s.s. yorktown--

aircraft carrier.
\hamerica『s oldest

at patriots point,
\hit『s docked here

naval and maritime museums.
\hone of the world『s largest

commissioned in 1943,

and nearly as long as
three football fields,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\his the fourth u.s.
naval ship to bear that name.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hwas lost
at the battle of midway

they turn this sleepy winter
town into a vacation mecca,

\h\hhighway system.
in south carolina『s

it offers travelers from
\hcharleston fast access

\hgreatest treasures--
to some of the state『s

the stunning beaches and barrier
islands that line its coast.

this 60-mile-long beach is
\hcalled the grand strand,

and stretches from georgetown

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hright up to
the north carolina border.

most famous coastal town--
at its heart is south carolina『s

myrtle beach.

30,000 winter residents
\h\h\hit『s home to just

but to hundreds of thousands
\hduring the summer months.

today the ravenel
is a crucial link

\hpacking high-end hotels and
golf courses and campgrounds.

the pace of development on this
stretch of beach has been rapid.

\h\hjust over a century ago
it was largely uninhabited--

and for good reason.

up until the end of
\hthe 19th century,

\h\h\h\hswamps made it hard
to even get to the coast...

and sandy soil conditions
\h\h\hand low crop yields

made farming here difficult.

\h\h\h\h\h\hto top it off,
storms battered the beach.

no one knew the difficulties
of farming and survival here

\hbuilding the ravenel was
a major engineering feat.

and high-tech crane system, this
port can move cargo and ships

faster than any other
in the united states.

\h\h\h\hbut to get here,
ships have to pass under

\h\h\hthis marvel of
modern engineering.

the arthur ravenel bridge soars
570 feet above the cooper river.

its road decks are suspended
\h\h\h\h\hhigh off the water

\h\h\h\hlargest freighters.
to make way for the world『s

named after u.s. congressman
\h\h\h\harthur ravenel, jr.,

more than 1,500 feet long,
the bridge『s main span is

making it the longest
\hcable-stayed bridge

in north america.

to white point gardens
\hto face the gallows.

its location makes it vulnerable

\h\h\h\h\h\hto a host of
potential catastrophes,

so engineers had to take every
measure to make it fail-safe.

they drilled 240 deep shafts
\h\h\h\h\hinto the riverbed

for the bridge『s main footings.

\hand they encased each support
tower in a one-acre rock island,

\h\h\h\h\hbuilt with more than
half a million tons of stone.

\hthese features ensure that the
bridge can withstand everything

\hfrom 300 mile per hour winds
to magnitude 7.4 earthquakes,

and even impact collision with
\h\hthe world『s largest ships.

\hthey named their first
settlement charlestown,

with orders to start a colony.

\h\hbut life was difficult
and food supplies scarce.

so the settlers attempted
\h\hto flee back to france

on a homemade ship.

\hit was a horrific journey on
which many of the men perished

\hand others resorted to
cannibalism to survive.

the british had more success.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin 1670,
england『s king charles ii

gifted the land of the carolinas
to eight of his noblemen.

soon a group of english settlers
arrived on a storm-tossed ship

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hcarolina
to start a colony here.

in 1562, 27 french sailors
\h\hwere dropped off here

after their king.

writer pat conroy has said

that charleston is a feast
\h\h\h\hfor the human eye,

but also a dark city
\h\h\h\hwith secrets

as powerful and beguiling
\h\h\h\h\has its elegance.

\h\hcharleston may be
an elegant city today,

but it hasn『t always been.

in 1923, while working on
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hrunnin『 wild,

composer and pianist
\h\hjames p. johnson

made charleston a household name
around the world.

the charleston was one of
the definitive dance tunes

and down the colorful streets

it may be the smallest state
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hin the south,

in the history of the nation.
\hbut it『s played a giant role

\hit was here where european
settlers and african slaves

\h\h\h\h\hturned marshes
into fortunes of rice...

where the first shots of
the civil war were fired

and where new industry
\h\h\hhas transformed

\h\h\h\ha small northern town
into the detroit of the south.

\h\haerial south carolina
journeys across landmarks

of the revolutionary war

through a vast cypress swamp
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hthat once was

the refuge of a famous american
freedom fighter...

of the 1920s.

of what may be the most elegant
city in the nation...

\h\hto explore the true spirit
and rich history of the south.

from a stunning coastline

where hurricanes strike
\h\h\hwith deadly force

to a little-known island
that turns new recruits

into america『s marines.

this is south carolina.

the coast of south carolina
\h\his one of the most loved

on the eastern seaboard.

but it wasn『t always this way...

he was brought to justice here
\hin charleston『s battery park

as its streets.

\hsurrounded by water
charleston『s location,

at the mouths of the ashley
\h\h\h\h\hand cooper rivers,

made the city and its port
\hparticularly vulnerable

to invaders from the atlantic.

\h\hin the early 1700s,
the infamous blackbeard

plundered vessels anchored
\h\hin charleston harbor,

holding their cargo and
\hpassengers for ransom.

blackbeard escaped capture
\h\h\h\hin south carolina,

but another equally colorful
\hpirate named stede bonnet

wasn『t so lucky.

and many of its residents,
have been just as colorful

overlooking the harbor.

stede was an unlikely buccaneer.

\h\h\hsome called him
the gentleman pirate.

he was once a wealthy landowner
in barbados,

\h\h\hbut legend says
that marital problems

drove him to a life of crime.

he bought an old sloop,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hrevenge,

\h\hand plundered vessels
up and down the east coast

before he was finally captured
\h\h\h\h\h\hin the carolinas.

on december 10, 1718,
stede was brought here

in the 1930s, a preservationist
named dorothy legge

but at the time,

the city was already showing
\h\h\h\h\hsigns of its age.

many 18th century buildings,
\h\h\h\h\h\hincluding these,

which stood in the heart of

commercial district,
charleston『s former

were falling into disrepair.

\h\h\h\h\hafter the civil war,
plantation profits plummeted,

and many wealthy landowners
\h\h\h\h\h\hhad a hard time

maintaining their properties.

\h\has a local saying goes, the
owners became too poor to paint,

but too proud to whitewash.

better than a family
called the withers.

wanted to see if she could
\h\h\hturn things around.

she began restoring two of these
historic buildings,

which date from the 1700s.

soon, others followed.

\h\hthe owners decided
to paint their houses

the colors of the rainbow
\h\hto help draw attention

architectural history.
\hto charleston『s rich

today, these iconic buildings
\h\hare known around the world

as rainbow row.

from its earliest days,
\hcharleston『s history,

the ellis island of slavery.

will enable it to survive winds
up to 125 miles per hour

and help keep ships
\h\hsafely offshore.

\h\h\h\hwas the port of call
but once, sullivan『s island

\h\h\h\h\h\hslave ships.
for many of the world『s

historians estimate
that as many as 40%

\hof the millions
of african slaves

disembarked here.
that arrived on america『s shores

\h\hthose who survived
the voyage from africa

were quarantined on the island

\h\h\h\h\h\hbefore being sold in
the slave markets of charleston.

\hhas been called
it『s why the area

its rigid triangular shape

in 1989, the writer
\h\h\htoni morrison

noted that amazingly, there was
no suitable memorial, plaque,

or even wreath on the island
\h\h\hto pay proper tribute

to the hundreds of thousands of
slaves who landed here.

\hplayed an important role
sullivan『s island has also

in the defense of charleston
\h\h\h\h\h\hand its harbor,

thanks to fort moultrie.

walls were constructed of logs
when it was built, the fort『s

made from freshly cut
\h\h\hpalmetto trees.

during the revolutionary war,
\h\h\h\hthis wood proved to be

surprisingly resilient
\hagainst cannon shot

of modern guerrilla warfare.
some claim that he『s the father

named francis marion

who rallied a band of fighters

to launch hit-and-run assaults
\h\h\h\hon british regiments.

the men were called
\hmarion『s brigade.

\hwith the british
hot on his trail,

\hmarion took refuge
in this swampy forest

just 30 miles north
\h\h\hof charleston.

unable to catch him, the british
nicknamed marion the swamp fox.

to this day, historians debate
\h\h\h\hwhether francis marion

was a terrorist or a hero

for independence.
in america『s fight

\hand helped colonial forces
repel a british naval siege.

\hwith such colorful exploits,
it『s no wonder that filmmakers

\hdrew inspiration
from marion『s life

the patriot,

starring mel gibson
\has the swamp fox.

with so many hurricanes slamming
south carolina『s coast,

building anything here
\h\h\hcan be risky...

\h\h\h\hfor disaster.
unless it『s engineered

a tower rises

\h\h\h\h\h\hcoastal islands.
over one of south carolina『s

this lighthouse was built with
just three sides for a reason.

the first of these estates were
built when british lords

\hof all the rice grown in
the u.s. and at one point

exported more rice than any
\h\hother port in the world.

gold was once the preferred rice
\h\hit『s been said that carolina

of the emperor of china.

the end of slavery drove most of
these coastal plantations

out of business.

but a few old structures
\h\hremain in the swamp,

like this house built on stilts
to protect residents

\h\hfrom flooding and storms,
a common practice to this day.

\h\h\hcoastal rice plantations
while most of south carolina『s

\h\h\h\h\h\hare gone, many other
plantation houses inland remain.

\h\hgeorgetown county alone
once produced close to half

awarded large tracts of land
\hhere to english settlers,

in order to farm rice, cotton,
\h\h\h\hand other cash crops.

powered by slave labor,

\h\hthe output of these once
giant farms was astounding.

\h\h\h\h\hby the dawn of
the american revolution,

\h\hplantations here
had already produced

a million pounds of
\hthe plant indigo,

from which was produced
a distinctive blue dye.

indigo exports helped
\hmake south carolina

britain『s wealthiest colony.

a haven for migrating birds.

\h\h\h\heventually became
it『s why the palmetto tree

the state symbol and appears
on the south carolina flag.

\h\h\hsouth carolina has
187 miles of coastline,

\hbut that number
can be deceptive.

beaches and barrier islands
behind the state『s pristine

lie nearly 3,000 miles
\h\h\h\hof shoreline.

much of it lies here

\h\hgreatest waterways--
in one of the country『s

the mouth of the santee river.

\h\hthe eastern seaboard.
it『s the largest delta on

mile after mile of twisting
\hinlets and salt marshes--

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hone of them was
a plantation owner and soldier

\h\hmost desired commodities
by 1690, one of the world『s

was produced here on the coast--

\h\ha variety of rice
called carolina gold.

slaves worked and shaped
these marshes to create

what were some of the largest
\h\hrice plantations on earth.

growing rice here was
\h\hbackbreaking work.

\h\hslaves cut ditches
and built embankments

to control the salinity
\h\h\h\h\hof the water,

while trying to avoid alligators
and poisonous snakes.

\h\h\h\h\hbiggest commodity.
rice became south carolina『s

\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hnaming it
burroughs『 widow proposed

\hand transport it
up the east coast.

\h\hburroughs died before
the tracks were completed,

but his sons finished his work.

\hsoon, vacationers
were hitching rides

on the lumber trains
to reach the beach.

in 1901 the budding resort had
\h\h\h\hits very first hotel--

the seaside inn.

long since demolished,

the inn was at the center of
\h\h\h\hwhat『s now downtown.

\h\hthat same year
a contest was held

to give the up-and-coming town
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\ha proper name.

to get his timber onto ships

after the myrtle evergreen shrub
that grew along the shore.

\h\h\h\hshe won the contest and
the name myrtle beach was born.

at the turn of the century,
\h\h\h\h\h\hempty lots here

were purportedly sold for just
\h\h\h\h\h25 dollars a piece.

today they can be
\hworth millions,

\heven though the beach
they『re on is shrinking.

\h\h\h\h\hstudies are showing
that parts of the grand strand

and lose up to 8 inches of beach
every year to erosion.

every few years the state spends
tens of millions of dollars

to replenish the beach.

\h\hcoastal forests
reclaimed his fields

in the mid 1700s

they received large land grants
along the coast

and cleared forests
\h\hto make fields.

but in 1822, the gift of that
\h\hproperty turned to tragedy

when a hurricane swept the home
of robert withers

into the ocean.

18 people had sought refuge
in the house from the storm,

but 14 of them drowned.

after withers watched
\hthe storm carry away

his wife and five children,
\h\h\hhe abandoned the land

his family had held here
\h\h\h\hfor generations.

offshore, a dredge gathers sand
from the bottom of the sea

and the area remained
largely uninhabited...

that is until a lumber baron
\h\h\harrived with a vision

that would transform miles
\h\hof pristine coastline

into the popular towns and
\hbeaches they are today.

it started after the civil war,

when a businessman named
\h\h\h\h\hf.g. burroughs

built a lumber mill nearby.

\h\h\h\hburroughs logged
the longleaf pine trees

that still grow abundantly here.

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hhe started laying
railroad tracks across the swamp

this is the francis marion
\h\h\h\h\hnational forest.

by a category 5 hurricane--
\h\h\h\h\hthe most powerful.

but every hurricane season
\h\h\h\hcoastal residents

in myrtle beach and other towns
up and down the coast

turn their eyes to the sea

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hand track each new
weather system that moves north,

\h\h\h\h\hjust in case the next
great storm is headed their way.

\h\h\h\hthat can be hit hard
but it『s not just the coast

by natural disasters.

southwest of the grand strand

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hlies more than
a quarter of a million acres

\h\hof wild, swampy land
and giant cypress trees.

so far this state has
\h\h\hnot yet been hit

in 1989, hurricane hugo leveled
more than 30% of the forest,

and stripped the leaves
from the cypress trees,

leaving them vulnerable
\h\h\h\hto forest fires.

but it remains a haven
\h\h\h\hfor wildlife,

including the canada geese that
migrate here every winter.

\h\h\hat the end of the american
revolution, the forest was home

to a famous freedom fighter
\h\hknown as the swamp fox.

when british forces took control
of south carolina in 1780,

the siege of charleston,
\h\h\hin what『s known as

\h\hmany in the colony continued
to fight for their independence.

south carolina lies
in hurricane alley.

\hand sends it to
a pumping station.

\hhere, giant pumps deliver
the slurry of sand to shore

via steel pipes.

once it arrives,

bulldozers spread the new sand
\h\h\h\h\hand shape the beach.

\han amphibious tripod armed
with gps, known as the crab,

\h\hallows surveyors
to map the shoreline

\h\hand carefully determine
how much new sand is needed.

the replenished beaches cause
\h\h\h\hstorm surges to break

safely far away from shore,

\h\h\h\h\h\h\hprotecting
the beachfront property.

south carolina...

every june brings a new
\h\h\hhurricane season.

\h\hno one knows if and when
the next big storm will hit,

but when they do the damage
\h\h\h\hcan be catastrophic.

one hurricane system called
\h\hthe great storm of 1893

\h\h\hkilled an estimated
2,000 people on the coast.

in 1989 hurricane hugo was
\hone of the most powerful

recent storms to hit the state.

winds gusted up to
160 miles per hour

and coastal waters
\hsurged 20 feet,

\hcausing 7 billion dollars in
damage and killing 35 people.