Last updated October 24, 2026.
These terms cover your use of countylineconfidential.com and the dispatches sent by email. By using the site or subscribing, you agree to them.
This is fiction
The dispatches are works of fiction. They are set in real places in Dorchester County, South Carolina, and they draw on the county’s real history, which we try to get right and cite where we can. The characters, the events in the stories, and anything presented without a date or a source are invented. Any resemblance between a fictional character and a real person, living or dead, is coincidental, except where a real historical figure is referred to by name in a historical context. Real businesses mentioned in the stories are used as settings and are not endorsing the stories or responsible for anything in them.
The county history pages are nonfiction and sourced, with one exception you’ll recognize: the occasional undated sentence at the end of a section is the correspondent’s, not the record’s.
Ownership
Everything on this site and in the dispatches is © Charles Kirkland and County Line Confidential unless otherwise noted. You may read it, share links to it, and quote short passages with credit. You may not reproduce whole stories or pages, sell them, or present them as your own without written permission. Historical facts are not ours to own; the writing is.
Letters to the editor
If you send us a story or a letter, you keep ownership of it. By sending it, you give us permission to read it and to reply. We will not publish it, in whole or part, without asking you first and getting your yes.
The email list
Subscribing is free. We send one dispatch a week and, once a year, a note when a collected edition is published. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in any email. See the Privacy Policy for what we do with your address.
Visiting the places
The map and the county pages describe real places. Some are private property, some are closed after hours, and some are cemeteries and active places of worship. Respect posted signs, hours, and the people who live and worship there. Do not trespass. We are not responsible for what happens to you on a road, a boardwalk, a riverbank, or a church lawn, and the hours and prices we quote may have changed since we checked them.
Links and books
The site links to other websites, including booksellers. We are not responsible for their content or their terms. Where a link to a bookseller earns us a commission, we will say so on the page.
No warranty
The site is provided as is. We work to keep it accurate and available but make no promises that it will be either at any particular moment. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of the site.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina. Any dispute will be handled in the courts of Dorchester County, which seems only right.
Changes and contact
We may update these terms; the date at the top will change when we do. Questions go to the Contact page. County Line Confidential · Charles Kirkland · St. George, South Carolina.