All language subtitles for Aerial America Series 1 11of20 South Carolina, 1080p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org.Eng2

the same day that
the rebel flag was removed

of white south carolinians
in the civil war.

but many saw it as a symbol
of the state's rebellion

to the growing
civil rights movement.

in 2000,
nearly 50,000 protesters

marched up main street
to the state house steps

and demanded that
the flag be lowered.

later that year
it was finally removed

making south carolina
the last state

to officially fly
the confederate flag.

but the confederate spirit

still cooks up controversy
in columbia.

it was raised in 1962
to mark the sacrifices

from the state house, the owner
of a popular barbecue chain

raised confederate flags over
his nine local restaurants.

barbecue is always a contentious
subject in the carolinas.

the question of mustard versus
tomato-based sauces

has been known to start duels.

but the battle waged by the
owner of maurice's piggie park

is a racial one.

maurice openly defends
the former practice of slavery

in the state.

in protest, major store chains
throughout the south

barbecue products
have pulled all the company's

incredibly, the new state house,
already under construction,

construction of a new
state house began in 1851,

but the first structure
had to be torn down

because of major
structural flaws.

major john niernsee,
a vienna-born railway engineer

took over the project.

but his structure
was threatened by war.

on february 17, 1865,
general william tecumseh sherman

and his union troops
swept into columbia.

fueled by abandoned barrels
of confederate whiskey,

the disorderly soldiers pillaged
and set fire to the city.

a total of 84 blocks
burned in a single night.

from their shelves.

survived the attack.

but the fires did destroy

architectural plans.
all the building's

empty after the civil war,
and with the state's coffers

until 1903.
the building wasn't completed

its corinthian columns are among
the largest in the world.

each is carved from a single
massive hunk of blue granite

that slaves pulled from a quarry
just south of the city.

for nearly four decades,

the confederate flag flew atop
the state house dome.

a legend of the tribe
says that a giant spirit

and fend off the attack.

in 1781, 1,000 patriots
attacked the fort.

the ensuing battle
became the longest siege

of the american revolution.

inside the fort
lie the remains of a well

that british forces dug
hoping to sustain themselves

throughout the long siege...

but they never reached water.

heading towards the northwest
boundary of the state,

the blue ridge mountains beckon.

this used to be
cherokee country.

to help the loyalists
better see their enemy

used to sit on one
of these mountains

and eat from the top of another.

table rock, as it's called,

is located in
table rock state park--

a protected wilderness that
covers more than 3,000 acres.

pinnacle mountain.
it's also home to

at more than 3,400 feet,

it's the highest peak
that's entirely within

the state of south carolina.

east of the blue ridge mountains
lies gaffney.

was established on the cherokee
trail near a plentiful spring.

heading north lies
south carolina's backcountry.

these forests were once home
to the cherokee trail,

a key native american
trade route that once stretched

from charleston
all the way to tennessee.

european settlers used
the trail to expand west

and trade their weapons, rum,
and gunpowder for pelts.

in 1748 alone, the skins of
160,000 deer were exported

from south carolina to europe
to make pants, gloves, and hats.

biggest commodity
deerskin was south carolina's

until the arrival
of rice cultivation.

by 1775, a settlement with
12 dwellings and a courthouse

is that this state house
is even standing.

it was named 96,
from the mistaken belief

that it lay 96 miles away from
the cherokee capital, keowee.

the village has since
been reconstructed

along with a stockade fort built
in 1781 to protect the spring.

nearby, an odd form appears
on the ground below.

points of a star pushing up
from the earth.

these are the remains
of star fort.

british loyalists
built the fort here in 1780

with slave labor to defend
themselves against rebel forces.

the fort was designed
with eight points

these historic sites provide
stunning glimpses

was a smallpox hospital
and should be spared.

today drayton hall
is considered the oldest

and most splendid example of
georgian palladian architecture

in the united states.

houses of plantation owners
luckily, it's not just the grand

that have survived.

on the nearby boone plantation,
small slave cabins still stand

on what's known as slave street.

it was common at the time for
slave cabins to be built

in front of
a plantation mansion

as a public display
of their prosperity.

were ordered to tell union
troops that the house

of the antebellum period and
a chance to understand

what life was like for enslaved
africans in south carolina.

as plantation profits grew,

so, too, did the estates
of their owners.

the vast landscape gardens
of middleton place

are thought to be
the oldest in the u.s.

they were designed and planted

so that there would be something
in bloom every day of the year.

middleton place was also the
site of a farming experiment.

in 1846 the owners imported

water buffalo
from constantinople

the river would provide
a transportation network

most english settlers
came from barbados.

they were young,
ambitious farmers

eager to expand
their opportunities.

among these early settlers were
thomas and anne drayton.

arriving from barbados in 1679,
they built magnolia plantation.

but it was one of
the draytons' sons

greatest legacy.
who established the family's

as the third son,

john drayton knew he wouldn't
inherit his family's land.

so, in 1738 the 23-year-old
purchased 350 acres of his own

along the ashley river.

to see if, with their
wide hooves and sturdy legs,

to carry his crops to the ports.

he then set about building
himself a new house

on a grand scale.

during the civil war,
union soldiers torched

many of the plantation houses
along the ashley river.

amazingly, drayton hall was one
of only three that survived.

why it did is a mystery that has
long puzzled historians.

some say that general sherman
spared the estate

because he was in love with
one of the drayton women.

another theory is that the
slaves working on the plantation

a single logging company
bought up nearly all this land.

which nearly wiped out
the congaree.

the few members of the tribe
that remained

were either imprisoned or killed
by the colonists.

there are no congaree
left today,

but this vast stretch of
their ancient land

remains practically untouched.

the congaree national park
covers 27,000 acres

and is home to nearly
100 species of trees

and a canopy that rises higher
than the amazon rainforest.

the dampness here is also
what's protected it from people.

in the early 20th century,

when european settlers arrived
here they brought smallpox,

but the trees were so wet they
wouldn't even float downriver,

and the company quickly
abandoned their operations here,

floodplain forests intact.
leaving the congaree's

20 miles to the northwest
the floodplain ends...

just before reaching columbia,
the capital of south carolina.

at the center of town lies one
of the most notable buildings

in the country--
the south carolina state house.

its most unique feature
is its dome

covered with
44,000 pounds of copper.

but what's even more remarkable

from the air
it's easy to see why.

they could outperform horses
in tilling rice fields.

but during the civil war

union troops burned
the main house

and slaughtered some of
the animals for food.

many of the buffalo
that were spared

ultimately ended up in
new york's central park zoo.

today, middleton place is
a national historic landmark.

its gardens were opened to
the public in the 1920s.

the garden club
of america called them

"the most interesting
and important gardens

in the united states."

it was once a thriving
textile mill center.

moving inland from
south carolina's coastline,

a rolling landscape beckons.

largest intact area
this is north america's

of old growth
floodplain forest.

this fertile region
once belonged

to a native american tribe
called the congaree.

periodically, nearby rivers
flood the forest,

supplying it with
nutrients and sediment

that create a rich ecosystem

fish, reptiles, and insects.
that's home to a wide variety of

better known as egyptian cotton.

hilton head island covers
more than 40 square miles,

and is one of the largest
barrier islands on the coast.

over the centuries,
it's had many inhabitants

including native americans
and spanish explorers.

the british cotton planters
but it wasn't until

arrived here around 1800

that the island developed into
an economic powerhouse.

by the start of the civil war,

more than 20 plantations
had sprung up,

including the first in america

to grow extra-long
staple cotton,

that once produced
the finest cotton in the world.

cotton may no longer
be king here,

but the island is still
an economic powerhouse.

every year, tourists pump
roughly 1.5 billion dollars

into hilton head's economy.

just north of hilton head

lies one of the toughest
places on earth.

parris island had been home to
the u.s. marine corps

since 1891.

recruits are turned into marines
it's here where newly enlisted

in just 13 weeks.

today, drill instructors
train an estimated

then, the tea plants grew wild
until they were transplanted

in the late 19th century,

the american department
of agriculture

was searching for new
financially viable crops.

until then, almost all of
america's tea came from asia.

they discovered that
south carolina's humid climate

and sandy soil could be perfect
for growing high quality tea.

but the labor cost of picking
the tea leaves in south carolina

was eight times more expensive
than it was in china or india,

and after just four years
the venture was shut down.

however, another tea plantation
was founded nearby in 1888,

producing award-winning teas
until its owner's death in 1915.

19,000 men and women
at parris island each year.

and cultivated by
the lipton tea company in 1963.

fearing the instability of
the third world countries

that produced so much of its
tea, lipton wanted to experiment

with creating its own
working tea farm.

the company eventually
sold the venture,

but today the tea plantation
remains in operation

commercial tea garden.
as the country's only

the american classic brand
of tea that it produces

is the official tea
of the white house.

southwest is another
barrier island

to see south carolina by air
is a chance to explore

beaufort was more fortunate than
many of its neighboring towns.

wherever they went,

northern troops left
a path of destruction.

but the army spared beaufort,

using it instead as
a union headquarters.

historic antebellum buildings
as a result, many of the city's

have been preserved.

from its barrier islands,
along its pristine beaches,

and inland across its giant
floodplain forest,

south carolina is as much
defined by its wild spaces

as it is by the history
woven into its earth.

during the civil war,

the true spirit of the south.

from the elegant streets
of charleston,

to the rough frontier villages
of early pioneers,

to the giant plantations

that built some of
america's biggest fortunes,

and the stories of those
who were brought unwillingly

to its shores...

aerial south carolina
travels across

southern state
america's smallest

whose stories are as big
as the nation itself.

when he knocked down
muhammad ali in round 15

the humorist art buchwald,
a former marine

who got his training
at parris island,

described his experience there
as, "a very painful one,

which is exactly how the marines
intended it to be."

its purpose he said
was to "break you down,

and then rebuild you
into a soldier

who will never
question an order,

who will always worry
about their buddy,

and who someday will walk
as tall as john wayne."

in march 1971, joe frazier

became a household name
around the world

home to a unique
agricultural experiment.

at madison square garden.

frazier was born here
in beaufort,

second oldest town.
south carolina's

its quaint,
historic streets and houses

have made this town
an ideal movie set.

films like
forrest gump, the big chill,

prince of tides
were all shot here.

celebrities often stay
at the rhett house inn

on craven street,

a classic 1820 plantation house
turned luxury hotel.

settled their differences
with blood.

this state-of-the-art factory
covers four million square feet,

an area the size of
nearly 70 football fields.

inside, 7,000 workers produce
about 600 vehicles every day--

one out of every six that
the company makes.

after they roll off
the assembly line,

these luxury cars are
shipped across the u.s.

and from the port of charleston
into 130 markets worldwide.

today, many call
the region around greer

the detroit of the south.

traveling south of greer
is a trip back in time

to a place where pioneers

in the united states, right here
in the small town of greer.

today, edgefield is by all
appearances peaceful and quaint.

but in the early 19th century,

this town and
the surrounding county

had one of the highest
murder rates in the country.

local legend says that
blood has been spilled

over every square foot
of this town center.

accused criminals
were tried here

at the edgefield courthouse.

one of the most colorful trials
of the day

was that of a young beauty
named becky cotton.

she had murdered her first
husband with a large needle,

to let the world know

but one with enormous pride.
today it's a sleepy town,

enough to erect a four-story,
one million gallon water tank

to celebrate it.

locals call it the peachoid.

peaches were originally
brought to america

by spanish explorers
in the 1500s.

and when english colonists
arrived 100 years later,

they found native americans
cultivating the fruit...

leaving the settlers to believe

that peaches were actually
native to south carolina.

built in 1981, the water tower
was designed as a giant peach

poisoned her second,

that south carolina
produces more peaches

than the so-called
peach state, georgia.

in fact, south carolina
now officially calls itself

"the tastier peach state."

another small
upstate south carolina town

is home to a unique
american success story.

as in gaffney, textile mills
thrived in the town of greer.

but by the 1970s,

competition from asia sent
the region into decline.

then, in the early 1990s, bmw
opened its first and only plant

of the plutonium used to build
the nation's nuclear weapons.

and to provide power
for the state.

the savannah river
stretches over 300 miles--

from the foothills of
the blue ridge mountains

all the way to the atlantic.

the river divides south carolina
from georgia to the south.

lying in the midst of this
seemingly pristine wilderness

is a vast, once top secret
industrial complex

that covers 300 square miles.

the savannah river site
was built

by the u.s. department of energy
in the 1950s.

for decades, up to five giant
reactors produced 40%

in order to stop flooding
in communities downstream

today the reactors and the
site's other processing plants

have been shut down.

they were too old to operate
without expensive repairs.

and the site is now contaminated

with tens of millions of gallons
of radioactive waste.

the plan is to entomb the old
reactors and seal off the waste.

a vast amount of cement--
but that's expected to take

enough to fill four home depot
stores right up to their roofs.

60 miles up the coast from
the mouth of the savannah

is wadmalaw island,

including the oldest
and longest one

and put an axe through the skull
of her third.

but surprisingly, she was
acquitted on all charges.

some say she used her beauty
to win over the jury...

and perhaps they're right--

becky cotton went on to marry
one of the jurymen.

but before she could kill him

her own brother
murdered her first...

and he did it right on
the edgefield courthouse steps.

today, edgefield county
is better remembered

as the birthplace of ten
south carolina governors,

five lieutenant governors,
and a number of state senators,

during the first years
of the colony

strom thurmond.
to serve in the state's history:

west of edgefield,
these peaceful waters

have been named
in thurmond's honor.

strom thurmond lake
covers 71,000 acres

and is surrounded by
a 1,200-mile shoreline.

bodies of water in the south.
it's one of the largest inland

and while it may not
look like it,

the lake is entirely manmade.

it was created when
the u.s. army corps of engineers

built the strom thurmond dam on
the savannah river

in the history of the u.s. navy.

this one was renamed
in its honor and took part

in several important
pacific theater campaigns,

including the battle of iwo jima
and later in vietnam,

earning her a total of
16 battle stars.

in december 1968,
the carrier made history

when she served as
the recovery vessel

for the apollo 8 command module
and her astronauts,

who returned to earth
after completing

orbital mission.
nasa's first manned lunar

deck stands
an f-14a tomcat--

one of the most
powerful fighters

during world war ii.

and the e-1b tracer.

dating from the 1950s,
the e-1b is mounted

with an early warning
radar dome

four-man crew
that was used by the plane's

to find and track
enemy aircraft.

today charleston harbor
is also home

to one of the busiest container
cargo ports in the country--

second only to new york on
the eastern seaboard.

the port is located inside
the mouth of the cooper river

to help protect freighters
from the hurricanes

that batter the coast.

on april 12, 1861, confederate
forces stormed fort sumter

his body was left hanging for
four days as a warning to others

who might have been considering
a life of piracy.

in later years, forts were built
to protect the city

from pirates and the union navy.

starting in the 1841,

70,000 tons of new england
granite and other stone

were sunk in charleston harbor
to make fort sumter.

it was one of a series
of key fortifications

along the eastern seaboard.

little did anyone know,
the first attack on the fort

would come from
charleston itself.

with its wide, deep
natural harbor

and fired the first shot
of the civil war--

the war between the states.
or as it's called in the south,

guarding the harbor today
u.s.s. yorktown--

aircraft carrier.
america's oldest

at patriots point,
it's docked here

naval and maritime museums.
one of the world's largest

commissioned in 1943,

and nearly as long as
three football fields,

is the fourth u.s.
naval ship to bear that name.

was lost
at the battle of midway

they turn this sleepy winter
town into a vacation mecca,

highway system.
in south carolina's

it offers travelers from
charleston fast access

greatest treasures--
to some of the state's

the stunning beaches and barrier
islands that line its coast.

this 60-mile-long beach is
called the grand strand,

and stretches from georgetown

right up to
the north carolina border.

most famous coastal town--
at its heart is south carolina's

myrtle beach.

30,000 winter residents
it's home to just

but to hundreds of thousands
during the summer months.

today the ravenel
is a crucial link

packing high-end hotels and
golf courses and campgrounds.

the pace of development on this
stretch of beach has been rapid.

just over a century ago
it was largely uninhabited--

and for good reason.

up until the end of
the 19th century,

swamps made it hard
to even get to the coast...

and sandy soil conditions
and low crop yields

made farming here difficult.

to top it off,
storms battered the beach.

no one knew the difficulties
of farming and survival here

building the ravenel was
a major engineering feat.

and high-tech crane system, this
port can move cargo and ships

faster than any other
in the united states.

but to get here,
ships have to pass under

this marvel of
modern engineering.

the arthur ravenel bridge soars
570 feet above the cooper river.

its road decks are suspended
high off the water

largest freighters.
to make way for the world's

named after u.s. congressman
arthur ravenel, jr.,

more than 1,500 feet long,
the bridge's main span is

making it the longest
cable-stayed bridge

in north america.

to white point gardens
to face the gallows.

its location makes it vulnerable

to a host of
potential catastrophes,

so engineers had to take every
measure to make it fail-safe.

they drilled 240 deep shafts
into the riverbed

for the bridge's main footings.

and they encased each support
tower in a one-acre rock island,

built with more than
half a million tons of stone.

these features ensure that the
bridge can withstand everything

from 300 mile per hour winds
to magnitude 7.4 earthquakes,

and even impact collision with
the world's largest ships.

they named their first
settlement charlestown,

with orders to start a colony.

but life was difficult
and food supplies scarce.

so the settlers attempted
to flee back to france

on a homemade ship.

it was a horrific journey on
which many of the men perished

and others resorted to
cannibalism to survive.

the british had more success.

in 1670,
england's king charles ii

gifted the land of the carolinas
to eight of his noblemen.

soon a group of english settlers
arrived on a storm-tossed ship

carolina
to start a colony here.

in 1562, 27 french sailors
were dropped off here

after their king.

writer pat conroy has said

that charleston is a feast
for the human eye,

but also a dark city
with secrets

as powerful and beguiling
as its elegance.

charleston may be
an elegant city today,

but it hasn't always been.

in 1923, while working on
runnin' wild,

composer and pianist
james p. johnson

made charleston a household name
around the world.

the charleston was one of
the definitive dance tunes

and down the colorful streets

it may be the smallest state
in the south,

in the history of the nation.
but it's played a giant role

it was here where european
settlers and african slaves

turned marshes
into fortunes of rice...

where the first shots of
the civil war were fired

and where new industry
has transformed

a small northern town
into the detroit of the south.

aerial south carolina
journeys across landmarks

of the revolutionary war

through a vast cypress swamp
that once was

the refuge of a famous american
freedom fighter...

of the 1920s.

of what may be the most elegant
city in the nation...

to explore the true spirit
and rich history of the south.

from a stunning coastline

where hurricanes strike
with deadly force

to a little-known island
that turns new recruits

into america's marines.

this is south carolina.

the coast of south carolina
is one of the most loved

on the eastern seaboard.

but it wasn't always this way...

he was brought to justice here
in charleston's battery park

as its streets.

surrounded by water
charleston's location,

at the mouths of the ashley
and cooper rivers,

made the city and its port
particularly vulnerable

to invaders from the atlantic.

in the early 1700s,
the infamous blackbeard

plundered vessels anchored
in charleston harbor,

holding their cargo and
passengers for ransom.

blackbeard escaped capture
in south carolina,

but another equally colorful
pirate named stede bonnet

wasn't so lucky.

and many of its residents,
have been just as colorful

overlooking the harbor.

stede was an unlikely buccaneer.

some called him
the gentleman pirate.

he was once a wealthy landowner
in barbados,

but legend says
that marital problems

drove him to a life of crime.

he bought an old sloop,
revenge,

and plundered vessels
up and down the east coast

before he was finally captured
in the carolinas.

on december 10, 1718,
stede was brought here

in the 1930s, a preservationist
named dorothy legge

but at the time,

the city was already showing
signs of its age.

many 18th century buildings,
including these,

which stood in the heart of

commercial district,
charleston's former

were falling into disrepair.

after the civil war,
plantation profits plummeted,

and many wealthy landowners
had a hard time

maintaining their properties.

as a local saying goes, the
owners became too poor to paint,

but too proud to whitewash.

better than a family
called the withers.

wanted to see if she could
turn things around.

she began restoring two of these
historic buildings,

which date from the 1700s.

soon, others followed.

the owners decided
to paint their houses

the colors of the rainbow
to help draw attention

architectural history.
to charleston's rich

today, these iconic buildings
are known around the world

as rainbow row.

from its earliest days,
charleston's history,

the ellis island of slavery.

will enable it to survive winds
up to 125 miles per hour

and help keep ships
safely offshore.

was the port of call
but once, sullivan's island

slave ships.
for many of the world's

historians estimate
that as many as 40%

of the millions
of african slaves

disembarked here.
that arrived on america's shores

those who survived
the voyage from africa

were quarantined on the island

before being sold in
the slave markets of charleston.

has been called
it's why the area

its rigid triangular shape

in 1989, the writer
toni morrison

noted that amazingly, there was
no suitable memorial, plaque,

or even wreath on the island
to pay proper tribute

to the hundreds of thousands of
slaves who landed here.

played an important role
sullivan's island has also

in the defense of charleston
and its harbor,

thanks to fort moultrie.

walls were constructed of logs
when it was built, the fort's

made from freshly cut
palmetto trees.

during the revolutionary war,
this wood proved to be

surprisingly resilient
against cannon shot

of modern guerrilla warfare.
some claim that he's the father

named francis marion

who rallied a band of fighters

to launch hit-and-run assaults
on british regiments.

the men were called
marion's brigade.

with the british
hot on his trail,

marion took refuge
in this swampy forest

just 30 miles north
of charleston.

unable to catch him, the british
nicknamed marion the swamp fox.

to this day, historians debate
whether francis marion

was a terrorist or a hero

for independence.
in america's fight

and helped colonial forces
repel a british naval siege.

with such colorful exploits,
it's no wonder that filmmakers

drew inspiration
from marion's life

the patriot,

starring mel gibson
as the swamp fox.

with so many hurricanes slamming
south carolina's coast,

building anything here
can be risky...

for disaster.
unless it's engineered

a tower rises

coastal islands.
over one of south carolina's

this lighthouse was built with
just three sides for a reason.

the first of these estates were
built when british lords

of all the rice grown in
the u.s. and at one point

exported more rice than any
other port in the world.

gold was once the preferred rice
it's been said that carolina

of the emperor of china.

the end of slavery drove most of
these coastal plantations

out of business.

but a few old structures
remain in the swamp,

like this house built on stilts
to protect residents

from flooding and storms,
a common practice to this day.

coastal rice plantations
while most of south carolina's

are gone, many other
plantation houses inland remain.

georgetown county alone
once produced close to half

awarded large tracts of land
here to english settlers,

in order to farm rice, cotton,
and other cash crops.

powered by slave labor,

the output of these once
giant farms was astounding.

by the dawn of
the american revolution,

plantations here
had already produced

a million pounds of
the plant indigo,

from which was produced
a distinctive blue dye.

indigo exports helped
make south carolina

britain's wealthiest colony.

a haven for migrating birds.

eventually became
it's why the palmetto tree

the state symbol and appears
on the south carolina flag.

south carolina has
187 miles of coastline,

but that number
can be deceptive.

beaches and barrier islands
behind the state's pristine

lie nearly 3,000 miles
of shoreline.

much of it lies here

greatest waterways--
in one of the country's

the mouth of the santee river.

the eastern seaboard.
it's the largest delta on

mile after mile of twisting
inlets and salt marshes--

one of them was
a plantation owner and soldier

most desired commodities
by 1690, one of the world's

was produced here on the coast--

a variety of rice
called carolina gold.

slaves worked and shaped
these marshes to create

what were some of the largest
rice plantations on earth.

growing rice here was
backbreaking work.

slaves cut ditches
and built embankments

to control the salinity
of the water,

while trying to avoid alligators
and poisonous snakes.

biggest commodity.
rice became south carolina's

naming it
burroughs' widow proposed

and transport it
up the east coast.

burroughs died before
the tracks were completed,

but his sons finished his work.

soon, vacationers
were hitching rides

on the lumber trains
to reach the beach.

in 1901 the budding resort had
its very first hotel--

the seaside inn.

long since demolished,

the inn was at the center of
what's now downtown.

that same year
a contest was held

to give the up-and-coming town
a proper name.

to get his timber onto ships

after the myrtle evergreen shrub
that grew along the shore.

she won the contest and
the name myrtle beach was born.

at the turn of the century,
empty lots here

were purportedly sold for just
25 dollars a piece.

today they can be
worth millions,

even though the beach
they're on is shrinking.

studies are showing
that parts of the grand strand

and lose up to 8 inches of beach
every year to erosion.

every few years the state spends
tens of millions of dollars

to replenish the beach.

coastal forests
reclaimed his fields

in the mid 1700s

they received large land grants
along the coast

and cleared forests
to make fields.

but in 1822, the gift of that
property turned to tragedy

when a hurricane swept the home
of robert withers

into the ocean.

18 people had sought refuge
in the house from the storm,

but 14 of them drowned.

after withers watched
the storm carry away

his wife and five children,
he abandoned the land

his family had held here
for generations.

offshore, a dredge gathers sand
from the bottom of the sea

and the area remained
largely uninhabited...

that is until a lumber baron
arrived with a vision

that would transform miles
of pristine coastline

into the popular towns and
beaches they are today.

it started after the civil war,

when a businessman named
f.g. burroughs

built a lumber mill nearby.

burroughs logged
the longleaf pine trees

that still grow abundantly here.

he started laying
railroad tracks across the swamp

this is the francis marion
national forest.

by a category 5 hurricane--
the most powerful.

but every hurricane season
coastal residents

in myrtle beach and other towns
up and down the coast

turn their eyes to the sea

and track each new
weather system that moves north,

just in case the next
great storm is headed their way.

that can be hit hard
but it's not just the coast

by natural disasters.

southwest of the grand strand

lies more than
a quarter of a million acres

of wild, swampy land
and giant cypress trees.

so far this state has
not yet been hit

in 1989, hurricane hugo leveled
more than 30% of the forest,

and stripped the leaves
from the cypress trees,

leaving them vulnerable
to forest fires.

but it remains a haven
for wildlife,

including the canada geese that
migrate here every winter.

at the end of the american
revolution, the forest was home

to a famous freedom fighter
known as the swamp fox.

when british forces took control
of south carolina in 1780,

the siege of charleston,
in what's known as

many in the colony continued
to fight for their independence.

south carolina lies
in hurricane alley.

and sends it to
a pumping station.

here, giant pumps deliver
the slurry of sand to shore

via steel pipes.

once it arrives,

bulldozers spread the new sand
and shape the beach.

an amphibious tripod armed
with gps, known as the crab,

allows surveyors
to map the shoreline

and carefully determine
how much new sand is needed.

the replenished beaches cause
storm surges to break

safely far away from shore,

protecting
the beachfront property.

south carolina...

every june brings a new
hurricane season.

no one knows if and when
the next big storm will hit,

but when they do the damage
can be catastrophic.

one hurricane system called
the great storm of 1893

killed an estimated
2,000 people on the coast.

in 1989 hurricane hugo was
one of the most powerful

recent storms to hit the state.

winds gusted up to
160 miles per hour

and coastal waters
surged 20 feet,

causing 7 billion dollars in
damage and killing 35 people.