At the first Sculpture in the South

Show & Sale in 1999, visitors and

organizers alike couldn’t help but be

drawn to the 53" bronze Southern

Leopard frog. Local folks immediately

related to the oversized amphibian, a

natural denizen of Summerville’s Azalea Park. The only thing missing in the bronze frog was the low, barking croak that resonates into a familiar earlymorning refrain from the surrounding wetlands.  

That friendly-looking Labrador

retriever beside the bench is actually a

bronze sculpture by Tallahassee artist,

W. Sandy Proctor. Joann Brooks donated the sculpture to Summerville.

A quiet woman who worked for over 20 years at the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, Joann

decided to obtain the sculpture to

celebrate the life of her late husband,

John, who was won over by the unconditional love of a yellow Lab that

appeared one day when John was quite ill. The dog, who the Brooks named Toby, remained with John during his entire illness and then disappeared shortly after John’s death. A few days later, Joann discovered Toby waiting for her in her garage. When she let him out the next morning, he walked around the house once and then sat down in the front yard, just looking at her. “When he got up and walked away,” Joann remembers, “I knew I’d never see him again. I called to him, but he never turned around. It was as if he’d come to say goodbye.” Now Toby is the never-wandering companion of anyone who relaxes on the bench in Azalea Park, and a wonderful reminder of the power and comfort of a pet’s presence.

The third sculpture to be installed in Azalea Park was Follow the Leader, dedicated in February 2002. Engineered to allow and even encourage children to have contact with the pieces, the bronze life-sized

images of five playful children and their dog have been installed on

a low serpentine brick wall near the

amphitheater in Azalea Park. Follow the Leader is the work of artist

W. Stanley Proctor, and was a favorite at the 2000 Sculpture in the South Show & Sale. After eighteen months of persistence and patience, this beautiful grouping came to Summerville, made possible through the generosity of hundreds of remarkable people in our community and a substantial grant from the Saul Alexander Foundation

The two bronze sculptures depict life-sized foxes, one alertly sitting and

expectantly licking his lips and the other standing only on his two hind

legs, curiously sniffing the air.

Neighbors have said they have seen a pair of live foxes scampering

through the east side of Azalea Park near the bronzes location. 

 For Wind and Waves, by Robert

Allison. Jack Wilbanks, a former Town of Summerville administrator had a life-long love of reading, and was impressed by the

bronze sculpture depicting a little girl seated on a wall reading a book

Dedication took place Nov. 29, 2002 on the east side of Azalea Park.

The 7-foot bronze sculpture depicting a majestic heron, head lifted to the sky, basking in the sun garnered great interest when it was first introduced to Summerville at the 2003 Sculpture in the South Exhibit & Sale.Heron and the Sun faces east, resting on an underwater base built between two islands in a brick-lined pond, where dozens of yellowbellied slider turtles make their home. 

River Rapture is a magnificent bronze

sculpture standing seven feet tall and

weighing nearly 6,000 pounds. Depicting a single otter gliding under water, the long reeds of the papyrus and turtle-friendly pond welcome the otter home.

This bronze turtle was dedicated on August 21, 2016 to honor Lena Cox, the first Board Chairman of Sculpture in the South. Her husband nicknamed her Turtle, and that’s what her grandchildren call her. She was a tireless, “hands-on” board chair who picked strawberries for the Sculpture events and cleaned the installed sculptures. We will keep her in our hearts!

The bronze life-size sculpture of a young boy was dedicated on August 21, 2016. It was purchased by Cynthia Kornahrens and donated to Smmerville as a happy memory

of her late husband, Donnie Kornahrens.