A small island along the South Carolina coast with a white beach, live oaks, palms, pines, and vast marshes, Fripp Island captivates residents and visitors.
The ebb and flow of tides, the fortunes and difficulties of developers and the fluctuations in the residential community have shaped Fripp's history. In the years since 1963 when the bridge to Fripp was built, two constants in the island's history have been the beauty of its natural setting and its dedicated residents. Page Putnam Miller, who for twenty years served as the lobbyist for the historical profession in Washington and for the past five years has been a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in the graduate history program at the University of South Carolina, has undertaken several years of extensive research to examine the intricate turns and twists in ownership of the resort and to explore the evolution of the residential community.
Page Putnam Miller grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and vacationed as a young girl at Ocean Drive, Myrtle Beach and Pawley's Island. She graduated in 1959 from Dreher High School, from Mary Baldwin College in 1963, studied in 1964 at Yale Divinity School and received a PhD in American history from the University of Maryland in 1979. For twenty years she headed the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History, the national advocacy office in Washington for the historical and archival professions. She has written extensively on legislative issues and testified frequently before congressional committees on federal information policy, preservation and interpretation of culture resources and support of the National Archives and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through her online publication, "NCC Washington Update, "? she kept historians and archivists informed of developments in federal policy. For her advocacy work, Miller received awards of distinction from the American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, Society of American Archivists and National Council on Public History. In 2000 Miller moved with her husband, Charlie Davis, to Fripp Island where, in addition to swimming in the ocean and taking beach walks, she helped start a book club and a women's tennis group and began playing duplicate bridge. Miller is also active in the Beaufort community, serving as an elder in First Presbyterian Church. From 2000 to 2005 she was a Visiting Distinguished Lecturer in the Public History Program at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Among other publications, Miller is the author of A Claim To New Roles and Landmarks of American Women's History.