Written History Early discussions of funding the Cooper River Bridge By Mary Coy Somewhere over the rainbow — or maybe just over the Cooper River — dreams really do come true. This dream started in 1898 when Lowcountry native Joseph Lawrence envisioned creating a place for city dwellers to enjoy a staycation at an affordable island resort. He 25 IslandVibesIOP.com HISTORY even gave the island an enchanting name to lure them over — the Isle of Palms. Lawrence’s front beach Shangri-La showcased a dance pavilion, bath houses, a restaurant and the three-story 50-room Hotel Seashore. A giant 186-foot-tall Ferris wheel, a carousel and a mechanized steeplechase added a touch of excitement. The place was a booming success. Upon Lawrence’s retirement, the property was purchased in 1913 by James Sottile, owner of entertainment venues and theaters in Charleston. His venture, however, ended in bankruptcy and the resort deteriorated. In 1925, a company called Isle of Palms, Inc. was established by local businessmen Charles R. Allen and Harry Barkerding to purchase and resurrect the resort. The challenge was getting visitors there, since the trolley service that Lawrence had established from Sullivan’s Island had been discontinued. Folks had recently begun their love affair with the automobile and the trestles over Cove Inlet and Breach Inlet had been converted to auto bridges. But the ferry from downtown to Mount Pleasant was still the only way to cross the harbor. So, Allen and Barkerding planned to build a bridge across the Cooper River. Although Sottile had earlier proposed the idea, Allen and Barkerding drummed up support by forming the Cooper River Bridge Corporation in 1926. Who would pay for this mega project? Controversy arose over whether it should be government-financed or privately-owned. The two men aggressively pursued approval from public officials to allow them to obtain the exclusive rights to own such a structure, a monopoly that would be without competition from a separate publicly-funded bridge. A toll would help the men finance it. One figure they targeted was Richard Manning Jefferies, a name wellknown in these parts at the time. Jefferies, a former Walterboro lawyer and probate judge in Colleton County, had recently won election to the state senate. And what better way for Jefferies to get on board with the plan than by inviting him to see the allure of the island for himself. Allen’s business savvy was evident in his letter to Jefferies. In it, he included the ferry schedule, punctuating the attractiveness of an unimpeded commute and the time-saving factor that a Cooper River bridge would provide. After some legal roadblocks, their company was eventually successful in obtaining approval for their bridge, with the stipulation that the state have the option to buy the structure after 20 years. And the rest, as they say, is history.
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