Kiawah, a brief history.

One of the most carefully preserved barrier islands in the world, Kiawah Island was named for the Native American tribe that hunted and fished in the area during the 1600s. The tribe’s chief, Cassique, led colonists to Charlestowne Landing on the Ashley River where they built the first English settlement in the New World in 1670. In 1699, George Raynor, a purported pirate, was granted title to the island by the Lords Proprietors. Kiawah Island stayed in Raynor's family until 1719, when it was purchased by John Stanyarne. Over the next 50 years, Kiawah Island SC passed throughout Stanyarne’s family until it finally feel into the hands of the Vanderhorst family, who held ownership of the island for 200 years.