MYSTERY PHOTO: Some kind of construction going on

Here’s a scene with some kind of construction — like that doesn’t happen often across the Lowcountry these days.  But where and, better yet, what is it?  Send your best guess to editor@charlestoncurrents.com. And don’t forget to include your name and the town in which you live.

Our most recent mystery, “Marine scene,” showed a boardwalk and shrimp boat along Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant.  Several readers correctly identified the photo, including: Chris Brooks and Meredith Nelson, both of Mount Pleasant; Joe Mendelsohn of Charleston; Allan Peel of San Antonio, Texas; Marnie Huger of Richmond, Va.; and George Graf of Palmrya, Va.

Graf told us that Shem Creek was known as Distillery Creek in the early 1800s when “a short-lived distillery built along the creek’s shoreline. Between ownerships, it was always referred to as Shem Creek and the name remains today.  Shem Creek flows through the heart of Mount Pleasant and is known for its many waterfront bars and restaurants. It also offers a variety of leisure activities including fishing, boating, kayaking, and paddleboarding. The banks of Shem Creek were originally inhabited by Sewee Indians. Its name is thought to derive from the Native American word Shemee.”

Peel added, “Shem Creek Park features a 10-foot wide, 2,200-feet long wooden boardwalk that stretches from the mouth of the creek in Charleston Harbor to the Shem Creek Bridge at Coleman Boulevard. Open daily to the public, the park offers 250 feet of floating dock space, a commercial fishing dock and both pedestrian and local water taxi access to many of the Lowcountry’s favorite waterfront bars and restaurants.

“By the mid-1940s, shrimping had grown into one of the most important industries in the area and several seafood companies had been established along Shem Creek. During the 1970s, it was common to see several dozen shrimp boats flanking either side of the creek. However, with the advent of more government regulations on the shrimping industry, which led to illegal shrimping operations and cheap shrimp being imported from China, local shrimpers began finding it increasingly difficult to make a living off of the waters around the area. Sadly, a modern-day view of Shem Creek, as in today’s mystery photo, usually reveals fewer than ten shrimp boats lined up along the creek.”

• Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  editor@charlestoncurrents.com.