Folly beach has a long and sorted history. Known originally as "Coffin Island," Folly Beach was where incoming ships would leave the ill and disease-stricken before entering the city of Charleston. Upon leaving again, they would bury those that did not make it on the west end of the island where the county park now sits. According to internet materials, the first shot of the Civil War was fired on Morris Island in the 1860s and for much of its history Folly Island has been viewed as relatively lawless; a place where bootleggers and those hiding from the law sought refuge. However, in the 1960s Folly was apparently cleaned up and amenitized with 1700+ feet of pier, boardwalk, amusement rides and the such. This was known as Folly's "golden age." However, the pier was burned in 1977 (suspected arson) and Hurricane Hugo cleaned up in 1989. The current pier shown in the picture was built in 1995.