Sandy Island was founded by a man named Phillip Washington in 1880 as a freedman community. Originally, the area was named Mt. Rena, after the Gullah term which meant a mountain of sand. Over time, the name Sandy Island became the name. Before establishing Sandy Island, Washington was a slave driver for Captain Petigru who owned the Holly Pipe Down Plantation. After Captain Petigru passed, his wife had thoughts of selling the plantation. This information worried the enslaved people on the plantation because this meant that they could and probably would be separated and sold away from their loved ones. The enslaved islanders took action to find someone to buy the plantation and protect their families. Due to Phillip Washington’s experience in brokering deals with white landowners, he was the perfect fit. The enslaved islanders trusted him to take care of their community. Washington was able to convince the governor at the time, Robert Allston, to buy the plantation. After the Governor passed and the Civil War came to an end, the enslaved islanders were granted full citizenship.
During this new age of freedom, Washington purchased several hundred acres of land, beginning to build his community. He made the island into a place of encouragement and welcomed all former slaves to take part in what he was creating. The purpose of this community was to be self-sufficient and to cultivate a community where people of the Gullah Geechee culture felt safe.
In 1881, Washington established the New Bethel Baptist Church, which quickly became a staple in the community. Even today, the church plays a major role in Sandy Islanders’ everyday lives. Each week, islanders attend church and sing hymns and songs that pay homage to those that came before them, a lasting effect from the days of Phillip Washington.
Not only did Washington establish a place where people could sing together, but he also made the church a place of law in some ways that continue in the present. For example, residents of Sandy Island are expected to follow the rules of the church, and if they break a rule, the committee decides on the dispute or charge. The original church committee consisted of Phillip Washington and his colleagues Ned Huger, Francis Washington, Tom Keith, Andrew Rhode, and July Herriot.
Washington was also instrumental in creating a safe space for Civil Rights. As shown above with the church’s influence on the community, Washington created a place that is different from modern society. Before the Sandy Island School was established in 1932, the church was used as a place where residents could hold onto their culture and heritage, which is an element of everyday life that still continues today. By using the island as a point of isolation for the community, Washington made the area a place that sheltered the people from significant issues of development, racism, and segregation more than people in other areas of Georgetown County. Sandy Island began to exist as a protected collective identity for people of the Gullah Geechee culture, which was important to their development and prosperity.
Phillip Washington’s involvement also extended to the Sandy Island School as well, because the school served as the central location for the islander’s activism in terms of political representation and cultural preservation. The school itself has been nominated and registered as a historic place in the national registry because it shows the self-sufficiency of the community in the face of unequal treatment throughout history. Phillip’s intention of isolating the community worked. The area continues to limit the commercial development of the island, including denying the construction of a bridge to the mainland, which means that the school’s physical and cultural settings have been preserved. This makes the school a symbol of defiance in the face of South Carolina’s long history of discrimination in education, which is important given South Carolina’s track record.
After his death, Phillip Washington’s legacy continued with his great-great grandson, Prince Washington. Prince Washington was influential in the Sandy Island community because he brought electricity to the island in 1965. In fact, Prince Washington even had the Sandy Island School Bus Boat named after him in 1966. This shows that Phillip Washington was influential in a plethora of ways. Washington was committed to bettering and preserving the culture of his community. He worked hard to create an isolation that helped his community rather than hindered it. Most importantly, he created a legacy that outlived him. Without Phillip Washington, Sandy Island may not have existed. One thing is for sure: without him, Sandy Island would not be the wonderful and unique community it is today.