When dawn breaks on Shem Creek, there will soon be a glimmer on the water like never before. Atop the boardwalk that connects both sides of the creek will stand a bronze, life-size statue of a man who is now remembered as a Lowcountry legend. His name is Captain Wayne Magwood and soon his legacy will forever be enshrined as a testament to the role he played in preserving the area’s rich maritime history.
Magwood’s life, career and family lineage have revolved around Shem Creek for the past century. In 1930, his father’s cousin, Captain William Magwood, was the first fisherman to bring ocean shrimp into Mount Pleasant and laid the foundation for the commercial industry to be built at Shem Creek.
Magwood’s shrimping journey began as a child working alongside his father Captain Clarence Magwood Jr. and he proceeded to live out this lifelong passion for the next 50 years. Over the last half century, he achieved much more than any fish scale could weigh; he became the face of the shrimping industry in the Lowcountry. Magwood was a life member of the South Carolina Shrimpers Association and served with the Southern Shrimp Alliance. He was one of the founders of the Blessing of the Fleet Festival that originated in Charleston in the 1970’s, a parade of boats that has been going strong for 36 years now in Mount Pleasant.
In 2011, Magwood was presented the Order of the Palmetto, which is the state’s highest civilian honor awarded to citizens for extraordinary lifetime service and achievements of national or statewide significance. He devoted his time and talent to preserving the shrimping tradition and its presence on Shem Creek, advocating for himself and fellow fishermen.
When Magwood wasn’t shrimping, he was either spending quality time with family or filming something cool on his famed 68-foot trawler Winds of Fortune that has graced the waters since 1987. His boat was featured in a country music video with singer and songwriter Darius Rucker, TV shows such as “Dirty Jobs” and “Amazing Race” and on stations like the History Channel and The Weather Channel. Magwood had more airtime than most pilots; yet he was one of the humblest, salt of the earth skippers you ever met.
“He was larger than life and his life was incredible,” said Tressy Magwood Mellichamp, one of his four daughters and author of the local history book “East Cooper: A Maritime Heritage.”
A month after selling his boat and settling into retirement, Magwood was tragically killed in an auto-pedestrian collision while crossing Coleman Boulevard on Sept. 11, 2020. He was just 67 years old. Just weeks after Magwood’s untimely death, Mellichamp and her sisters were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from people calling to erect a statue in his remembrance. Mellichamp has since poured her heart into the project, collaborating with the Town of Mount Pleasant. Her mission was not only to recognize the impact her father cast on the community by way of a memorial statue, but to give back to an industry that has supported her family for generations.
“The biggest life lesson that my dad has passed into my heart is to always give back,” Mellichamp said. “Give back to your community and always ask what you can do instead of taking.”
In February 2021, the town launched a GoFundMe fundraiser called the Wayne Magwood Fisherman’s Memorial. If you read the description, then you’ll know that the goal is much greater than an individual honor. The base of a statue will have a QR code that takes you to a website with information about every vessel in the shrimping fleet and what restaurants serve their shrimp. The goal is to strengthen the community by informing tourists and boosting the local economy.
“You take your picture with Captain Magwood and then you can look at the website and say ‘hey, I can go to this restaurant right on the creek and I can get a shrimp cocktail with the shrimp from this particular shrimping boat,’” said G.M. Whitley, a Mount Pleasant town councilwoman who facilitated town council to vote and approve a 501(c)3 nonprofit sponsorship for the project.
So far, Magwood’s statue has received more than $70,000 of the $100,000 targeted goal for its creation. The work will begin once the funds are met and the artist is paid. Susie Chisholm, a sculptor from Savannah, Georgia, has been commissioned for the statue. She has already completed the maquette of Magwood, a miniaturized model of him with a bucket of shrimp. The life-size version will stand approximately 5 feet and 8 inches tall.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing memorial and monument, but also a testament to the shrimping industry and an icon for the Town of Mount Pleasant,” added Whitley, who is optimistic that the statue will be completed and erected over the course of the next year.
After almost four years since his passing, Magwood’s statue might just be the spark that Shem Creek needs to revitalize its shrimping community. Consider this homecoming his “Come Back Song.”
To make a donation to Magwood’s statue, visit gofundme.com/f/captain-wayne-magwood-statue-donations.
By Zach Giroux
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