The Murdaugh killings happened in Islandton, SC. What we know about the community

This story first published June 17, 2021.

Islandton, South Carolina: Population 64.

From its name, this community in rural Colleton County (spitting distance from Hampton County in the Lowcountry) sounds like one of the state’s award-winning beach towns.

Well... not so much.

Google searches have put the community of Islandton in the spotlight since Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Maggie, 52, were found shot to death outside their Islandton home on June 7.

Here’s what we know about Islandton

It’s recognized as a census-designated place.

Islandton has a post office and a ZIP code (29929), though that also includes other unincorporated communities nearby.

Fewer than 70 people lived in Islandton in 2018, one census database said, and all of them were white. The median age was 48.5 years, and the median household income was $59,231.

Although its name implies a town with beachfront views, it’s quite remote — and not boatable, although the Salkehatchie River is a few miles away. The community of 2.77 square miles has farmland, a few businesses, and homes — ranging from mobile homes to estates hidden behind rows of trees. It’s more than an hour’s drive from both Charleston and Hilton Head Island.

S.C. Highway 63 passes through, connecting Varnville and Walterboro, two larger towns in this rural part of the state.

The Murdaugh home, a hunting lodge known by locals as “Moselle,” is on Moselle Road in Islandton.

On Thursday, a worker was posting “KEEP OUT” signs in the ground and erecting a metal gate in front of the entrance to the family’s home.

He said the gate was for privacy because people had been trying to come onto the property uninvited.

More than 1,770 acres of property are under Maggie Murdaugh’s name, according to Colleton County property records. The land spans both Colleton and Hampton counties, with about 870 acres in Hampton and just less than 900 acres in Colleton.

A 174-acre parcel on the Colleton side has two buildings, one one-story single family home and one two-story single family home. Several smaller buildings, sheds and a dog kennel, also sit on the property.

This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 2:50 PM with the headline "The Murdaugh killings happened in Islandton, SC. What we know about the community."

Lana Ferguson

The Island Packet

843-560-9209

Lana Ferguson typically covers stories in northern Beaufort County, Jasper County and Hampton County. She joined The Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette in 2018 as a crime/breaking news reporter. Before coming to the Lowcountry, she worked for publications in her home state of Virginia and graduated from the University of Mississippi, where she was editor-in-chief of the daily student newspaper. Lana was also a fellow at the University of South Carolina’s Media Law School in 2019. Support my work with a digital subscription

Kacen Bayless

The Island Packet

(843) 560-9167

A reporter for The Island Packet covering projects and investigations, Kacen Bayless is a native of St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from the University of Missouri with an emphasis in investigative reporting. In the past, he’s worked for St. Louis Magazine, the Columbia Missourian, KBIA and the Columbia Business Times. His work has garnered Missouri and South Carolina Press Association awards for investigative, enterprise, in-depth, health, growth and government reporting. He was awarded South Carolina’s top honor for assertive journalism in 2020.