Mellon Foundation awards $1.25 million for Mosquito Beach Restoration

This story was featured on ABCNews4 on April 29, 2025, HERE.

Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF) is proud to announce a generous $1.25 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to complete the rehabilitation of the historic Pine Tree Hotel and adjacent Skeeta Beach Lounge for the newly formed Historical Mosquito Beach Foundation.

HCF is honored to act as a Fiscal Sponsor for the Historical Mosquito Beach Foundation to support the preservation and economic revitalization efforts of the Mosquito Beach community by directly supporting capital improvements to revitalize both historic properties. The goal is to return the hotel and restaurant to operational capacity and to share the history of Mosquito Beach as an essential place of African American recreation during the Jim Crow era. It also aims to celebrate Gullah Geechee food ways, history, and culture.

The Foundation has been working to support the preservation efforts of Mosquito Beach for many years.  As a result of this collaborative effort, the Mosquito Beach Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a historic marker has been installed, oral histories have been recorded, and the exterior of the Pine Tree Hotel has been rehabilitated.

Both the Pine Tree Hotel and the Skeeta Beach Lounge were constructed in the early 1960s by the Wilder family — during the Jim Crow era of racial segregation in the American South and both served as vital community gathering spaces for African American citizens who were otherwise prohibited from visiting Charleston’s segregated beaches. Even after the end of segregation, Mosquito Beach and the surrounding businesses continued to operate as important landmarks for the African American and Gullah Geechee community of Charleston.

The Pine Tree Hotel and Skeeta Beach Lounge have suffered as a result of social and economic changes and from the ravages of numerous hurricanes that have affected the area. The project team, led by William “Cubbie” Wilder, descendant of the original owners, has received and successfully executed two grants from the National Park Service for the Pine Tree Hotel. They also received a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for the Skeeta Beach Lounge to stabilize both buildings.  The project team sought support from HCF and the Mellon Foundation to return the Pine Tree Hotel and Skeeta Beach Lounge to active use. With this support, the Historical Mosquito Beach Foundation can work towards its primary goal: to revitalize both properties as an operating hotel, Gullah Geechee market, and restaurant that will help draw in tourists and locals alike to visit, learn, and share the incredible history of Mosquito Beach and vibrant Gullah Geechee culture.

“Historic Charleston Foundation is proud to work alongside the Historical Mosquito Beach Foundation and the dedicated community to revitalize this historic piece of the Lowcountry and amplify its rich culture and history which has shaped the culture of the Lowcountry we know today.” – Winslow Hastie, President & CEO, Historic Charleston Foundation

This grant is generously awarded thanks to: