Local resident Rod Welch traces Stone Post neighborhood history and landmarks

Rod Welch, a longtime James Island resident and past owner of the Skyway event site who formerly chaired the Public Service District, delivered a historical presentation about the Stone Post neighborhood, its early maps and landmarks.

"My name's Rod Welch. I live at on Stone Post Road," Welch said, and he told attendees he had help assembling the presentation from Parker Richardson and from his cousin, Skipper Keith. Welch said he coined the local name "Stone Post Neighborhood" for the area that centers on a stone post near Fort Johnson and Mill Point.

Welch walked listeners through historic maps including a U.S. Army map from 1824 and later 20th‑century deeds. He described a swamp in the neighborhood that drains through a feature the community long called "the canal," noting it connects to Mill Point and the sound. Welch showed photos and video from the site and cautioned residents that the swamp contains wildlife: "When I said it was a swamp, I was serious," he said, adding, "don't go swimming in the swamp."

He described a mill at Mill Point with a mud levee and a rice‑gate‑style mechanism that trapped tidal water to power millstones, and said one of those millstones still exists. Welch reviewed how land use changed over time: James Island was largely cotton farmland in the 19th century; later, the South Carolina Agricultural Society purchased land in the area in the 1920s and operated an experimental farm and field station.

Welch noted a school that later became Holy City Church and said it served white children until 1930, when other local schools opened. He described the evolution of roads and property ownership, recounted local anecdotes about moving and rebuilding the stone posts to protect them from vehicle damage, and discussed the parceling of waterfront lots in the early 20th century.

The presentation included maps labeled with historic road names (Kings Highway) and references to plantations and family owners such as the Oswalds and a developer named Statesley Levy. Welch identified features on deeds — including references to the "Great Sound" — to show how place names changed over time and how deeds recorded neighbors and water bodies.

Welch's talk was a descriptive, noncontroversial history of local geography, land use and community memory; he answered occasional technical questions about slides and commented on family and neighborhood stories. The presentation did not produce formal actions or votes.