Williams
Since its founding in 1992, the Battery Gadsden Cultural Center has made it a priority to advocate for preserving the island’s rich history, which stretches back some 350 years. A significant part of that history centers on the unique homes that have long defined the island’s historic fabric and are disappearing at an alarming rate.
No one exemplified the effort to educate and preserve the architectural history of Sullivan’s Island more than the late Roy Williams. A former history teacher, Williams literally wrote the book on the island’s historic homes. Published in 2004, his monograph, Sullivan’s Island, part of the Images of America series published by Arcadia Press, cataloged historic structures from one end of the island to the other through photos and text.
In addition, Williams led several popular and entertaining trolley tours of the island, narrating the detailed history of its most important homes. He also created a video version of those tours, Architectural Gems of Sullivan’s Island, produced by Battery Gadsden. In recognition of his life and preservation efforts, the Battery Gadsden Board of Directors established the Roy Williams Memorial Lecture on Historic Preservation in 2024.
Turner
May is Historic Preservation Month. On Wednesday, May 13, the cultural center will host the third annual Roy Williams Lecture. This year’s speaker is Brian Turner, president and CEO of the Preservation Society of Charleston. His talk is titled, “Tomorrow Will Be Too Late: Building on a Legacy of Community-Based Preservation Advocacy in Charleston.”
Turner was appointed to his current role in May 2022. The Preservation Society, founded in 1920, is the oldest grassroots preservation organization in the United States and serves as a membership organization and advocacy leader for preserving Charleston’s character, quality of life and diverse neighborhoods.
Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Grinnell College in 2002 and a law degree from Vermont Law School in 2006. During 12 years as a staff attorney for the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Western Regional Office, he gained experience in federal, state and local preservation law and policy, as well as community-centered advocacy.
He relocated to Charleston with his family in late 2020 to join the Preservation Society as it entered its second century of work. He now leads a staff that works with property owners, developers, policymakers and the public to enhance stewardship of cultural resources in the region amid challenges such as sea-level rise, tourism and development pressure. Turner also serves as a lecturer at the Clemson University School of Architecture in the field of law and economics.
The third annual Roy Williams Memorial Lecture will be held at Sunrise Presbyterian Church, 3222 Middle St., on Sullivan’s Island, at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13. A reception will follow in the Sunrise Fellowship Hall, giving attendees an opportunity to meet the speaker, exchange ideas and ask questions.
The event is free and open to the public, including the reception. For more information, contact BatteryGadsden@gmail.com.