Josephine Wright, a 93-year-old woman from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, told news outlets that Bailey Point Investment Group developers have been harassing her in order to get her to sell the land that her home sits on.
Wright described herself as “a fighter all my life” and clearly said she wouldn’t be giving up her family home without a fight. The Jonesville Road property has been in her family since just after the Civil War, acquired after her husband’s relatives, who were Gullah Geechee, escaped bondage and were freed by the Union. Despite the home’s rich history, the developers seek to tear it down for construction. Bailey Point is developing the land behind her house according to a 29-acre comprehensive, 147-unit plan. Wright’s home reportedly sits in the way of their progress.
First, Bailey Point offered to buy Wright’s land from her and began harassing her when she refused them. Wright accused the developers of slashing her tires, throwing trash in her yard, and even hanging a snake in her window.
“It puzzled me at first, but then it got me angry,” Wright said, “I guess they figured I would become so unnerved with the harassment that I would say take it. But they don’t know me. I am here to fight for what I have. I want to just keep my property and them to leave me alone.”
“I don’t want to say anything that can be used against me, but I think they are unscrupulous and greedy, and they want all the property they can get their hands on.”
Bailey Point filed a lawsuit against Wright soon after, claiming that portions of her home were on their owned property: a porch, shed, and satellite dish. Wright told WSAV she’d already paid $1,900 to move her shed and remove her satellite dish. However, she admitted contention with their claim about her porch.
She said, “You can see I’m at least 12 feet away from the borderline, which is right there.”
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Wright hired a lawyer to help her fight against the wrongful lawsuit, and her family started a GoFundMe asking for funds to assist her with her growing legal expenses.
Bailey Point’s persistence in removing Wright from her land has sparked media and community attention to her struggle with the developers.
A member of the Jonesville Preservation Society, Kelly LeBlanc, told WSAV a little more about the situation. She explained, “Once we did some investigation, we found out this 147-unit development was going in, and it had already been approved before anyone even knew about it. We don’t have the right to change what has already been approved; that ship has sailed. We can’t change the zoning. The town is looking very closely at the permitting at the approval phase. The town is making sure it is done to the letter of the law.”
The Jonesville Preservation Society was created in order to preserve Hilton Head Island’s native and historical past.
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