Beaufort in Beaufort County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Beaufort College
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 2008
1. Beaufort College Marker
Beaufort College, a college preparatory academy founded in 1795, occupied this Greek Revival building from 1852 to 1861. The school opened in 1804 at Bay and Church Sts. but closed in 1817 after a yellow fever epidemic, reopening in 1820 at Newcastle and Craven Sts. This building designed by John Gibbs Barnwell II featured two classrooms, two offices, and a library modeled after the one at S.C. College, now the South Caroliniana Library at the University of S.C.
Beaufort College closed its doors in 1861 when Beaufort was occupied by Federal troops. For the rest of the Civil War it was a school for former slaves and part of a hospital complex serving both freedmen and Federal soldiers. It also served as headquarters for the Freedmen's Bureau here during Reconstruction, then became a public elementary school in 1909. In 1959 the University of S.C. acquired this building for its new Beaufort campus.
Erected 2001 by South Carolina Department of Archives and History; sponsored by Beaufort Historical Society and the Beaufort College Board of Trustees. (Marker Number 7-26.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Education
this page online
Location. 32° 26.198′ N, 80° 40.191′ W. Marker is in Beaufort, South Carolina, in Beaufort County. It is on Carteret Street (U.S. 21), on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Beaufort SC 29902, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Lowcountry and on the Sea Islands. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Beaufort Colored School (within shouting distance of this marker); University of South Carolina Beaufort (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Peter Catholic Church (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Wesley Methodist Church (about 700 feet away); Berean Church / J. I. Washington Branch Library (about 800 feet away); First African Baptist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Carteret Street United Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Site of the Old Baptist Meeting House (approx. Ό mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Beaufort.
More about this marker. Now part of the University of South Caolina Beaufort campus.
Photographed by Mike Stroud, 2008
2. Beaufort College Marker
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 7, 2008
3. Beaufort College
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 7, 2008
4. Beaufort College
Photographed by Mike Stroud, June 2008
5. Beaufort College
Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 1, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 2,205 times since then and 57 times this year. Last updated on March 15, 2023, by Mark St. Martin of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 1, 2008, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
