This South Carolina island, which once flourished and folded under the bondage of slavery, is now a place where all races live and celebrate its rich heritage. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces at Fort Johnson fired upon Federal-occupied Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, etching James Island's name in American history as the starting place of the War Between the States. Before the island was a battleground for war skirmishes, antebellum plantations lay nestled between the thickets of live oaks; fertile soil yielded sea island cotton that required the labor of thousands of enslaved people, and a rural planting community existed in the shadow of nearby Charleston. More than this, though, James Island was and is a beloved home to generations of proud families and individuals. The Gullah culture and language, derived from the original West Africans brought in bondage to the Carolina coast, thrive and are treasured here, and James Island is a beautiful community welcoming to everyone.