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Safe Harbor: A moment in time at Mosquito Beach, a safe harbor for the African American community during racial segregation

Safe Harbor: A moment in time at Mosquito Beach, a safe harbor for the African American community during racial segregation
June 2022
WRITER: 


Members of the Harborview Club pose in front of the pavilion at Mosquito Beach in this image taken on July 12, 1953. Once serving as the southern boundary of a James Island plantation owned by Solomon Legare, the land that would become Mosquito Beach was subdivided and sold in 1874 to Charles Seele. Several of these lots, many still owned by descendants of the original family, were sold to Black truck-farmers who prospered for generations growing crops and harvesting fresh seafood from local waters. In the 1950s and ’60s, Mosquito Beach, so named for a year-round insect infestation, became a popular social destination for the African American community to safely gather, swim, fish, and boat during racial segregation. The Harborview Pavilion & Club, built in 1953 and run by Andrew “Apple” Wilder Jr. and his wife, Laura, (pictured) was a hopping night spot for six years before being destroyed by Hurricane Gracie. Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, traffic to the area slowed as citizens found opportunities elsewhere, but preservation efforts, including grants from the National Park Service and local crowdfunding, are in place to keep the area’s history alive.