Plans for Georgetown community garden to revitalize West End neighborhood

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCSC) - Community members and Georgetown’s Habitat for Humanity broke ground on the new West End Community Garden Monday morning.

The groundbreaking of the new Eddie B. Ellis West End Community Garden symbolizes the community’s movement to revitalize the surrounding neighborhood. The garden was made possible through a $50,000 grant from Habitat for Humanity International.

The garden’s namesake comes from Eddie B. Ellis, who was a driving force in the West End community in the 40s, according to Habitat officials. The Ellis family donated the property for the community garden.

The West End neighborhood was once a self-sustaining community lined with thriving businesses, Susan C. Green, a Master Gardener who grew up in the neighborhood, said.

“The businesses were built on what the people needed,” Green said. “When one has, we all have, that was the mindset of this community,”

However, she said when the zoning regulations changed to only residential, businesses were lost, and the neighborhood changed.

“Like the grassy garden, our history eroded as well,” Green said.

Now, she said she hopes the garden will revitalize the community, not only by its beautiful appearance but by bringing people together and engaging the younger generations.

“We want to teach young people, not just where food comes from, but we want to combine that with teaching the history of the West End,” Green said.

Many of Eddie B. Ellis’s family members attended Monday morning’s groundbreaking, including his niece, Lillian Ellis, who said the garden will breathe life into the community.

“I think about my uncle, I think about my grandma, and I know they would be smiling down on us knowing that this piece of land is going to stay in the family, and this piece of land is going to help the community,” Ellis said.

Habitat officials said they will work throughout the summer and hope to open the Eddie B. Ellis West End Community Garden up to the neighborhood in December.

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