Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Kiawah Island, South Carolina
Town
Kiawah Sunrise
Location of Kiawah Island in South Carolina
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Charleston
Government
• Mae Weeks	Charles R. Lipuma
Area
• Total	13.4 sq mi (34.8 km2)
• Land	11.0 sq mi (28.4 km2)
• Water	2.5 sq mi (6.4 km2)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	1,626
• Density	148/sq mi (57.2/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	29455
Area code	843
FIPS code	45-38162
GNIS feature ID	1253569
Website	www.kiawahisland.org

Kiawah is a sea island, or barrier island, on the Atlantic coast of the United States. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina, it is operated today largely as a gated beach and golf resort — the Kiawah Island Golf Resort — with spacious villas, beaches, large and acclaimed golf courses, and other attractions. As of the 2010 census, Kiawah Island's population was 1,626, up from 1,163 at the 2000 census. The island is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville metropolitan area. Alternative spellings and variants of the name itself include "Kiawa", "Kittiwar" (in DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy), and "Kittiwah" (in George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess).

The marshes at Kiawah Island

History

The Bass Pond Site and Arnoldus Vander Horst House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.8 km²), of which 11.0 square miles (28.4 km²) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²), or 18.36%, is water.

Kiawah was named for the Kiawah Indians who were led by their head chieftain or cassique. In the year 1670, the cassique of the Kiawah led English colonists to settle at Charlestowne Landing.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	91		—
1990	718		—
2000	1,163		62.0%
2010	1,626		39.8%
Est. 2014	1,725		6.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,163 people, 557 households, and 474 families residing in the town. The population density was 104.2 people per square mile (40.2/km²). There were 3,070 housing units at an average density of 275.0 per square mile (106.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.19% White, 0.34% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.

There were 557 households out of which 6.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 82.9% were married couples living together, 1.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 14.9% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.25.

In the town the age distribution of the population shows 6.0% under the age of 18, 1.5% from 18 to 24, 6.4% from 25 to 44, 48.8% from 45 to 64, and 37.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 61 years. For every 100 females there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $76,114, and the median income for a family was $83,829. Males had a median income of $60,938 versus $32,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $47,782. About 4.4% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 3.6% of those age 65 or over.

Parks and recreation

Golf

Main article: Kiawah Island Golf Resort

Kiawah Island is widely hailed as one of the premier golf destinations on the East Coast. The island features five award-winning golf courses designed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Fazio, and Pete Dye. The courses snake along the skinny island, moving from the dense wooded interior of the island to the breezy oceanfront.

The Ocean Course

Pete Dye designed the Ocean Course in 1991 and the course has since proved to be one of the toughest on the East Coast. [1] The Ocean Course was the home of the 1991 Ryder Cup, the 1997 World Cup of Golf, the 2007 Senior PGA Championship, and the 2012 PGA Championship, becoming only the fourth golf course in history to host each of the PGA of America's men's major championships [2]. The Ocean Course was featured in the 2000 movie The Legend of Bagger Vance, starring Will Smith, Matt Damon and Charlize Theron.

County parks

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission (CCPRC) [3] operates a park on the island, Beachwalker County Park, located on the west end of the island. In 2013, Forbes ranked the park's beach as the 10th best in the United States.

Government

The city is run by an elected mayor–council government system. The current mayor is Charles R. Lipuma.

The Kiawah Island Community Association is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation established in 1976 that governs and manages the business and property that contribute to the overall ambiance and property values of Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The association maintains and insures the roads, ponds, facilities, parks and open areas built or conveyed by the developer, and offers social and recreational programs for property owners.

Notable people

• Ray Allen, NBA basketball player
• Joe Gibbs, retired Hall of Fame NFL head coach for the Washington Redskins
• Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric; owns a home on Kiawah Island
• Tara Lipinski, Olympic gold-medalist figure skater
• Dan Marino, retired NFL quarterback
• George Will, syndicated columnist

External links

• Town of Kiawah Island official website
• Kiawah Island Community Association