Seashore Farmers' Lodge an endangered ruin

JAMES ISLAND — There's a certain evocative beauty to the ruin that is the Seashore Farmers' Lodge No. 767.

Most of its wooden siding has shed its paint and is bending, making the boards look more like the trees from which they were hewn. Its patchwork of tin on the roof is rusting in places, which makes it resemble the soil from which the metal was mined. Flowering plants try to climb the side.

The only problem here is, it's about to fall down.

The two-story building, which is 40 feet by 20 feet, at Sol Legare and Old Sol Legare roads has stood empty for more than a decade, and the passing years have not been kind. Glancing at it these days is interesting and sad, not unlike driving by an auto accident.

But some help finally might be on the way.

The lodge, which has existed as the focal point of the Sol Legare community since it was first built about 100 years ago, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places last fall. The town of James Island has set aside $50,000 for its repair, and the community will hold a festival fundraiser there from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The event, where chicken and fish dinners will be for sale, is designed not only to raise money for the lodge but also to commemorate the 145th anniversary of the Civil War battle nearby. The Battle of Sol Legare Island was one of the first conflicts involving the all-black 54th Massachusetts regiment, and re-enactors will be on hand Saturday, too.

James Island Town Councilman Bill "Cubby" Wilder says some estimate the cost of repairing the lodge will be about half a million dollars, but he hopes to reduce that sum with volunteer labor and other donations, including donated help from interested architects and engineers.

"We've got some people who are very interested in helping us, especially on Folly Beach," he says. "They see it as a real treasure."

Indeed, the lodge was built around 1915, and it originally provided advice, insurance and burial assistance for the black farmers in the area, according to the National Register nomination done by Karen Nickless.

As farming faded during the early 20th century, the lodge continued to serve as a social center for the hundreds of residents along this stretch of southern James Island. Lodge members joined parades in downtown Charleston and would serve ice cream and cake for 25 cents on Sunday evenings. Its social heyday lasted until 1953, when a new pavilion opened at nearby Mosquito Beach.

Today, the lodge has about 100 members, including Wilder.

They've got a big job on their hands. The porches that existed in 1997 are gone, and at least one wall is collapsing inward. Some walls are braced, but they are unlikely to withstand hurricane winds.

Wilder, 67, notes there was a pretty bad storm recently on the island, and the first thing he did afterward was to visit the lodge to make sure it had held up.

"Every day I pass by here, and all I can do is wish and pray," he says. "We need to do something pretty quick."

Robert Behre may be reached at 937-5771 or by fax at 937-5579. His e-mail address is rbehre@postandcourier.com, and his mailing address is 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC 29403.