The Sandy Island Cultural Initiative (SICI) will present an update on the historic preservation of the Sandy Island School on June 19, 2019, at noon at the Litchfield Education Center, 14427 U.S. 17, Pawleys Island. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

A collaboration among the Sandy Island community, Coastal Carolina University and Brookgreen Gardens, SICI was awarded a National Park Service Civil Rights Grant to document and begin preservation on the Sandy Island School. The school was built in 1932 by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington for the education of Sandy Island residents through the eighth grade. The school closed in 1964, but the building has remained an important community center, managed by both the community and Georgetown County. Preservation and documentation work is being conducted by the Cummings & McCrady architectural firm of Charleston, S.C.

The SICI project team, comprised of Charles Pyatt of Sandy Island, Robin Salmon of Brookgreen Gardens, and Eric Crawford, David Palmer and Alli Crandell of Coastal Carolina University, will make a presentation on the history of the Sandy Island School and the current condition of the building. They will also seek input on its rehabilitation into a modern education and community center.

The project team will hold a follow-up meeting at the Litchfield Education Center on Tuesday, July 2, at noon to gather additional feedback on future use of the center and renovation priorities. The team hopes to begin the renovation process in Fall 2020.

This project is funded by the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The views and conclusions of the project are those of the grantees and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the Department of the Interior or U.S. government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement by the U.S. government.