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The first settlement in Summerville began following the American Revolutionary War; it was referred to as Pineland Village in 1785. Development in the area resulted from plantation owners who resided in the Charleston area, and who came to Summerville to escape seasonal insects and swamp fever. Summerville became an official town in 1847. In that year, the town passed a law against cutting down trees of sizes, the first of such laws in the United States, and a $25 fine was issued upon any who did so without permission. Today, the motto upon the town's official seal reads "Sacra Pinus Esto (The Pine is Sacred)." In 1899, the International Congress of Physicians (or "Tuberculosis Congress" ) listed Summerville to be one of the two best areas in the world for treatment and recovery of lung and throat disorders.