FOREST LAKE SOUTH

History of Development

This history was derived from conversations with Edward L. Young, co-founder of Forest Lake, held in June and July 2005 at his home in Florence, South Carolina.

Mr. Young was a substantial property owner of land around Middle Swamp in Florence County. After the creation of the dam in the 1960’s, Mr. Young began selling various lots around the lake. One large portion of land was between the lake and Alligator Road, bordering on Knollwood Road. He developed this as a subdivision of the original Forest Lake and named it Forest Lake South.

The property was developed in “phases”. At first everything was in Mr. Young’s name only and later his attorney advised him, for tax purposes, to use a corporate entity. It was then developed under the name Forest Lake South, Inc. (which no longer exists). Covenants and Restrictions used pretty much followed those of the original Forest Land subdivision but added restrictions about fencing and other things.

The property was laid out for approximately 105 homes and contained several cul-de-sac streets. Two main entries were provided into the community –one from Knollwood Road and one from Alligator Road. Each provided a “buffer” zone which allowed for entryway signage to be installed. Entry is also possible from Lakeshore Drive onto Brock Circle.

Street names chosen all relate to Mr. Young’s immediate family, friends and persons working on the project with him. He has explained the history of these names in the sections below. I have added current demographics to each.

Forest Lake South Street Names:

1. YOUNG CHARLES DRIVE

   There are 37 houses on this street. One end is a cul-de-sac. It is accessible from Brock Circle, Lunn Drive or Julia Drive. Ed’s daughter, Harriett Young married a doctor named John Charles. She goes by the name Harriett Young Charles. This street is named after her combined married name.

2. BROCK CIRCLE

   There are 29 houses on this street. It’s main entry is from Lakeshore Drive and it circles within the Forest Lake South community ending at Julia Drive –it then becomes Young Charles Drive. The street is named after Ed’s grandson. Ed’s grandmother was a “Brockington”. His daughter Rebecca Young married a Jay Madden. They had a son and named him “Brock”. Brock died at the age of 8 or 9 months.

   There are two old street signs (grey vertical) one on the corner of Brock Circle and Young Charles Drive, and one on the corner of Lakeshore Drive and Brock Circle identifying the street as “Brockington Circle”. This may have been the original intention, but the street was never actually named Brockington. The name Brock was however, derived from the family name.

3. MADDEN LANE

   There are 3 houses on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Young Charles Drive. This street was originally named Rebecca Lane after Ed’s daughter Rebecca. She married a Jay Madden and later requested the street name be changed to reflect her married name. The street now goes by her married name, Madden.

4. REBECCA LANE

   This street name was changed in 19______ and is now Madden Lane. It was originally named “Rebecca Lane” after Ed’s daughter Rebecca. She apparently wanted to change the name to her married name and did so. See comments under Madden Lane.

5. YEARGIN COVE

   There are 10 homes on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Lunn Drive. Ed’s wife, Hatsie Young comes from the Yeargin family. The street is named after her family.

6. GINNY COURT

   There are 7 homes on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Brock Circle. Ed’s third daughter is named Virginia. She goes by the name “Ginny” and that was the name chosen for the street. Ginny is now married to Farrell Gean, a professor at Pepperdine University.

7. LUNN DRIVE

   There are 3 houses on this street. It runs from Young Charles Drive to Alligator Road. Ed’s mother was named Sadie Young Lunn. His first cousin is named Jack Lunn. The street is named for the Lunn side of the family. Jack Lunn and Ed also developed Oakdale and are active in managing the Oakdale lake and surrounding community.

8. WANDA COVE

   There are 7 homes on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Brock Circle. During the development of Forest Lake South, Ed did a lot of business with a local firm called Ervin Engineering. Wanda was a secretary at the firm at the time. Ed named the street after her.

9. JULIA DRIVE

   There are no houses on this street. It functions as an access into the Forest Lake South community from Knollwood Road. Ed’s daughter Harriett Young Charles has a daughter named Julia. This is Ed’s granddaughter and the street is named after her.

10. SLIGER COVE

    There are 8 homes on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Lunn Drive. Ed worked closely with a real estate agent named Karen Foss to develop Forest Lake South. Karen Foss married Jack Lunn’s nephew. Karen’s grandmother was a “Sliger”. Karen wanted to honor her in some way and Ed named the street after her.

11. GOFF CIRCLE

    There are two (2) houses on this street. It is a cul-de-sac street. It is accessible from Brock Circle. Ed often sought advice from a friend on the Council of Governments in developing Forest Lake South. This was a friend named Phil Goff, a land use planner for the Council. Ed named the street after him.

The total number of homes in Forest Lake South is 106. As of 2005 twenty five (25) of these residents have joined the Forest Lake Homeowners Association (FLHA). This represents approximately 24% of the Forest Lake South community.

Mr. Young feels that many homeowner’s here do not identity with Forest Lake especially if they are far from the water. This is especially true of Lunn Drive, Sliger Cove and Yeargin Cove which are all closer to Alligator Road. Historically, only one or two people from each of these streets join the Association.

There was never a formal homeowner’s association for Forest Lake South --they pretty much abided by the rules of the main Forest Lake Homeowners Association (FLHA)

Frank M. McIntyre,
Forest Lake Historian
June 2005