Charles Elbert Fraser - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA.
N 32° 09.206 W 080° 45.588
17S E 522650 N 3557468
Charles Elbert Fraser (June 13, 1929 – December 15, 2002) was an American real estate developer whose vision helped transform South Carolina's Hilton Head Island from a sparsely populated sea island into a world-class resort, in South Carolina, USA.
Waymark Code: WMYC5C
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 05/28/2018
Views: 5
Tucked away near the end of Hilton Head Island is Compass Rose Park at the corner of Pope and St. Augustine. The park has some truly amazing water features including reflection pools, natural ponds, & a platform that "levitates" on water"
Also located in the park is the Man Walking with Gator Statue. If you are a roadside attractions fan like me, stuff like this is interesting. The statue is of Charles Fraser and the gator is apparently modeled on one that used to be found on a local golf course.
Man Walks with Gator - The statue is of Charles Fraser walking with a Gator. The sculptures were created by 2 separate artists & were erected in 2011 at Compass Rose Park, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA.
"He graduated from the University of Georgia and Yale Law School. Through his company, Sea Pines Company, he developed Sea Pines Plantation, Amelia Island Plantation, and Kiawah Island Resort, among several other master planned communities. Fraser died in 2002 at the age of 73 in a tragic boat explosion in the Turks & Caicos Islands while on a consulting project."
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Charles Fraser, the alligator and the story
Posted by Robbie Bunting on March 22nd, 2011 :
"The other day a friend called and asked what the story was regarding the man and the alligator on Pope Avenue. I told him the guy with the cap walking with the gator was Charles Fraser the founder of Sea Pines, and more importantly the man who discovered the present day covenant. I further explained that Charles went to Yale and was being groomed for his families lumbering business, but when he first saw the natural beauty of Hilton Head Island, all bets were off in cutting down any trees for his dad.
Who is the statue of a guy walking with the gator on Hilton Head Island?
Funny how it worked out, but Charles ended up protecting most of the trees on Hilton Head Island. Remember Dr. Seuss’s story about the Lorax? Charles became the spokesperson for the trees and nature on Hilton Head. Charles wrote covenants & restrictions that included earth tone colored homes so you would focus on the trees, architectural review boards that limited the size of trees a home owner can remove, winding roads that made you see the trees and not the developments, bike paths so we slowed down and enjoyed the trees and he made these restrictions transfer with property to the subsequent owner. Charles was not only a visionary, but in my mind he was the founder of Hilton Head Island."
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