[1] The island is home to scores of wildlife species, including deer, alligators, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, otters and wild hogs.

They include bald eagles, osprey, wild turkeys, owls, hawks, herons, egrets and ducks.

Johns Island was originally inhabited by nomadic tribes of Native Americans such as the Kiawah, who survived by hunting and collecting shellfish.

The Stono Rebellion, which occurred on Johns Island in 1739, began as a group of slaves' attempt to escape to Spanish Florida, where they were promised freedom.

[2] The slaves crossed the Stono River and gathered more followers as they began to walk overland to Spanish Florida.

[2] The American Revolutionary War arrived on Johns Island in May 1779 as a body of British troops under the command of General Augustine Prevost.

[2] Prevost established a small force to remain on the island, headed by Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland.

Moving to James Island, marching up the west bank of the Ashley River to Old Town Landing and proceeding south to Charleston, Clinton besieged the city.

This trend is expected to continue, but numerous conservation organizations are striving for ecologically friendly growth.

[citation needed] The island's proximity to downtown Charleston and its scenic property have made it an active location for development.

[10] The Hebron Presbyterian Church on Johns Island was organized in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, near Gregg Plantation.

A secular tug of war then commenced in cities across the state as White elders fought to retain total control of the Presbyterian Church.

Former slaves living in rural isolation were not subject to such intense scrutiny by the parochial white parishioners’ governing the church.

After reconstruction, the White Presbyterian Church of the South dropped all Blacks, causing them to find a place of their own in which to worship.

Construction of Hebron Church began in 1865 when a tempest blew a schooner carrying a load of timber against the DeVeaux Bank, an estuarine island southwest of Kiawah at the mouth of the North Edisto River.

Word of the shipwreck spread to a group of freed slaves who had constructed a bush church out of pine trees and Palmetto fronds on a plot of land near Gregg Plantation.

When word of the marooned schooner and its bounty of timber reached Moultrie, he dispatched the heartiest members of the bush church to row out to the shipwreck.

The errant material was collected and slowly towed to shore, where a covey of oxen cart carried it across Hope Plantation to the site that would become home to the area's first church built by and for freed slaves.

They constructed a handsome building which consisted of a narthex and balconies along three of its four walls to maximize the number of congregants who could fit in the church.

The book's fame resulted in boxes of cloth for the quilters arriving from places as far away as Mexico and Hawaii, and a mini Renaissance was begun.

The building continued to deteriorate, and an alarmed Whyte spread the word of the historical treasure to a handful of Kiawah residents who did not take long to become active.

The congregation and dedicated community members hosted its first Gullah Gala in 2003 to raise awareness of the church's history and needs.

In Reverend River's eulogy, he characterized LaBoard's life as one of suffering, selfless service to others and strength born from faith.

During the restoration it was revealed that the wooden cants of the balcony floor joists possess a distinctive curvature, which confirms the rostrum of the shipwrecked schooner was indeed given new life as a spiritual bulwark.

Today the Hebron Presbyterian Church building is one of the oldest structures on Johns Island and contains unique architectural features created by the original carpenters.

An annual Battle of Charleston reenactment is held at Legare Farms, off River Road on Johns Island.

In addition to the John's Island Presbyterian Church, the Moving Star Hall and The Progressive Club are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

She returned to Johns Island, where she taught children during the day and illiterate adults on her own time at night.