SeeWee Restaurant Inc.
4808 Highway 17 North
Awendaw, SC 29429
843-928-3609
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The History of SeeWee Restaurant
The name Seewee came from an Indian tribe in the Awendaw area. The Seewee Building was built as a general store in the early 1920's. We purchased it from the original owner in the 1960's and operated it as a General Store for many years, before opening the SeeWee Restaurant in 1993. The old shelving, well worn painted floors, tongue and groove paneling and red tin roof are all reminiscent of another way of life.
A Little More History
The place where our restaurant is located was called Wappetaw. It was settled by a group from New England in 1696.
They formed a church called the Wappetaw Independent Congregational Church. The Church has been gone since the late 1800's and all that remains are a few markers. This site is located on Fifteen Mile Landing Road, directly behind our restaurant. This particular area abounds with history and has been of interest to historians for many years. If time and weather permits, it would be worth an after dinner stroll to see this interesting local landmark.
The Seewee Indians were a small tribe and at their largest, probably totaled no more than 100. They were akin to the Sioux linguistically, and their name is thought to mean "island" or "island people". They often hunted and fished on the offshore barrier islands (their "hunting" islands), known today as Bull's, Caper's, Dewee's, and Isle of Palms. In fact, it was a party of Seewee braves hunting at Bull's Island (they called it Oneiscau) in March 1670, who first welcomed the Carolina, the ship bringing the original group of English colonists to Carolina shores. One of their main villages was a place call "Avendaugh-bough", now abbreviated to "Awendaw". At some time prior to 1700, the tribe was virtually obliterated when they attempted to sail to England in canoes to trade their deer skins directly with the English King. Only the very old and very young remained behind. Tragically, they were barely out of sight of land when they were hit by a storm. Most drowned. The remaining unlucky survivors were picked up by a passing ship and sold into slavery in the Caribbean where they quickly died. By 1715, the total remaining Seewee population was estimated at only 57 remaining.
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