Isle of Palms Winter-Spring 2018-19

27 www.IsleOfPalmsMagazine.com | www.ILoveIOP.com | www.IOPmag.com A Vision for Greatness O n Dec. 12, 1944, John Charles Long, a prominent Charleston attorney, purchased 1,300 acres on the Isle of Palms. His vision of greatness would change the city forever. Long and his development company, The Beach Company, not only introduced paved roads, new bridges and new homes but also provided services to the island such as garbage and trash collection, water and streetlights. Born Sept. 19, 1903, in Pensacola, Florida, J.C. Long moved to Charleston with his family at the age of 15. His 55-year career started in his teens, when he was a star football player on the championship Bantam team at the High School of Charleston in the 1920s. During law school at the University of South Carolina, he played on the varsity football, baseball and basketball teams. His ability to compete, sharpened by training as an athlete, continued through law school and into big-time land development. “He was truly an adventurous entrepreneur,” said George E. Campsen Jr., a longtime friend and admirer of Long. After law school, Long was associated with the firm of Logan and Grace but later founded the State Savings and Loan Association, now known as South Carolina Federal; the old Charleston Insurance Company, Ltd.; the Isle of Palms Water Company; the Worth Agency; insurance and real estate agencies; and The Beach Company, formed primarily to purchase the Isle of Palms. As a real estate developer, Long became the largest single property owner in all of Charleston County. He also had extensive developments throughout South Carolina and other states. In 1931, six years out of law school and in the early By Thomas Waring days of the Great Depression, Long launched his career as a builder while in his 20s. His first project was Ashley Forest, one of the earliest residential developments west of the Ashley River. That same year, at the age of 28, Long was elected to the state Senate. He served one term and in 1948 was elected alderman at large from Ward 12. He resigned in 1951 and became a member of the Educational Finance Commission at the request of Gov. James F. Byrnes. As an associate of his put it, “J.C. Long was into almost everything that he thought would benefit Charleston.” Among his many public services, Long was instrumental in preserving the “Four Corners of Law” at Broad and Meeting streets. When the Timrod Inn went out of business in 1963 and the sale of the building to private investors jeopardized the possibility of expanding the courthouse at its traditional site, Long bought the property with personal funds and offered to sell it to the county without any profit for himself. The offer was accepted and the O.T. Wallace County Office Building was constructed. Another public service was the widening of U.S. Highway 17 from the Cooper River Bridge to the Ben Sawyer Bridge. As chairman of the1954 Promotional Committee of the East Charleston Highway Commission, Long and others obtained 90 percent of the land needed for the right-of-way at no cost to the state Highway J.C. Long and the Isle of Palms As a real estate developer, J.C. Long became the largest single property owner in Charleston County. Photos courtesy of Hal Coste.