Daniel Island secrets and stories hiding in plain sight

I’ve driven Seven Farms Drive plenty of times without stopping to wonder: Why Seven Farms? And what about names like Gunboat Lane, Iron Bottom Street, and Dark Star Lane? 

It turns out Daniel Island has been leaving clues to its past all around us. 

Long before the waterfront homes, parks, and businesses we know today, there were Native American settlements, farms, shipyards, ferries and even a river crowded with U.S. Navy ships. Some of that history is obvious. A lot of it is hiding in plain sight. 

Here are 10 Daniel Island stories that made me look at the island a little differently. 

1. It wasn't always called Daniel Island  

The island was originally known as Ittiwan Island, after the Etiwan people who used the area for fishing and trading. Archaeologists have found thousands of Native American artifacts, including evidence of dwellings, hearths, and other activity. The Daniel Island Historical Society documents artifacts dating as far back as 10,000 years.  

2. How Daniel Island got its name – and the boat that came before it  

The island was named for Robert Daniell, an English-born colonial official and military commander who owned much of the island in the early 1700s and later served as deputy governor of the Carolinas. His daughter, Martha Daniell Logan, became an influential early American horticulturist and operated a successful plant and seed business. But Daniel Island once had a boat named Daniel Island. In the late 1800s, landowner George Cunningham owned an 18-ton coal-fired steamer that carried the island's name.  

3. Seven Farms Drive has a little mystery behind it 

Harry Frank Guggenheim acquired the lower two-thirds of the island in 1946 and used it for cattle ranching and hunting. Some at the time described the land as essentially “corn and cows.” The name Seven Farms Drive comes from the island's agricultural era, although the number of farms changed over time. In fact, by 1971 there were 17 named farms, including Iron Bottom.  

4. There's a tree with a legend 

The Ittiwan Oak isn't just an old live oak. According to the Daniel Island Historical Society, Native American legend holds that grand oaks contain the wisest spirits – and those who listen with their “third ear,” the heart, can hear their wisdom.  

5. A famous Charleston blacksmith was born here 

Philip Simmons was born on Daniel Island in 1912 and lived here until he was 8 years old. He went on to create more than 500 pieces of ornamental ironwork around Charleston. Simmons also designed Daniel Island's distinctive wrought-iron logo – the original is still displayed at the Daniel Island Real Estate sales gallery. 

6. There's a treehouse hiding on the waterfront  

Tucked away at the end of Wando Landing Street, the Daniel Island Treehouse is a two-story wooden overlook with views of the Wando River and surrounding marsh. It'seasy to miss if you don't know it's there, and that's part of the charm.  

7. Daniel Island once built a gunboat for Thomas Jefferson  

In 1805, Paul Pritchard's shipyard on the Wando River built Jefferson Gunboat No. 9, part of a fleet intended to protect U.S. waters. The Daniel Island Historical Society has a historical marker at the former shipyard site.  

8. The Wando River was once packed with Navy ships  

After World War II, nearly 130 decommissioned U.S. Navy vessels were slated for storage at Charleston. Before being moved to the Charleston Naval Shipyard, the ships were temporarily moored in the Wando River off Daniel Island. The Daniel Island Historical Society documents the discovery of the former fleet's mooring remains.  

9. You could once reach Daniel Island only by ferry  

The Dover-Calais Ferry connected the island to the mainland for generations, and its name lives on in the Dover Grille. Scott's Ferry was another important crossing and became strategically significant during the Revolutionary War.  

10. A Kentucky Derby winner is hiding in the street map  

From Gunboat Lane and Seven Farms Drive to Iron Bottom Street, Cattle Street, and Dark Star Lane, Daniel Island's streets preserve pieces of its past. Dark Star Lane was named for Guggenheim's racehorse, which won the 1953 Kentucky Derby.  

Daniel Island has plenty of surprises beyond what you see today. The next time you’re out for a walk, a drive, or a trip to the waterfront, you might just look at the island a little differently.