FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 16, 2006
Krista Robertson
krobertson@trio-solutions.com
(843) 216-0442 or
(843) 224-8089

Magnolia Development Group Partners with Alliance to Honor Forgotten Civil War Veteran

Charleston, SC --- Magnolia Development Group and the African American Historical Alliance have joined together to celebrate the life of a forgotten Civil War veteran, Lt. Stephen Swails, who is currently buried in an unmarked gravesite in Charleston's Humane and Friendly Society Cemetery. A monument dedication for Swails will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2006 at 9 a.m. at the Humane and Friendly Society Cemetery, which is located in the Neck area of the Charleston peninsula.

Swails, the first African-American to be commissioned as an officer in the army, served with the Massachusetts 54th Regiment that fought on Morris Island. He remained in South Carolina following the Civil War and became a three-term South Carolina senator, a trustee of the University of South Carolina and mayor of Kingstree, South Carolina.

Magnolia Development became involved with the Alliance when the two realized they had similar philanthropic missions. Winthrop Allen, development director for the Magnolia Development, said the recognition that the African American Historical Alliance is bestowing on the memory of Civil War soldier Lt. Stephen Swails is in keeping with the overall mission of the Magnolia Development.

"Our approach is to respect and celebrate the history of the Neck Area, especially the history of African-Americans who settled that area," he said. "Therefore, what the alliance is doing is consistent with our overall approach as we knit the communities of the Neck Area back together."

Formed in 2005, Magnolia Development is reclaiming 450 acres of once-polluted industrial land in the Neck Area, returning the land back to productive use. The redevelopment is the largest environmental clean up of former industrial property in South Carolina by a private developer.

Once completed, Magnolia, stretched along two-miles of the Ashley River waterfront, will be a mixed-use community of research facilities, office condominiums and multi-tenant buildings, offering a wide range of housing options to meet the needs of a cross-section of society.

Magnolia Development is an affiliate of Cherokee Investment Partners in Raleigh, North Carolina, a nationally recognized firm specializing in brownfield redevelopment. For more information on Magnolia Development, visit www.magnoliadevelopment.net.

The African American Historical Alliance is a nonprofit organization formally established earlier this year to increase awareness about the role of African-Americans in the Civil War and the Reconstruction period that followed the war through preservation, commemoration and education.

For additional information about the Alliance, membership and sponsorship opportunities call (843) 953-7609.