The 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment
was raised from sea island slaves living around Port
Royal. Elements of the regiment were formed on Hilton
Head in May 1862. In August 1862, the regiment was
reorganized near Beaufort at the . . . — — Map (db m7094) HM
Prior to the Civil War, Beaufort was home to some of South Carolina's wealthiest citizens who had grown rich from the Sea Island Cotton harvested by the people they enslaved. In 1863, after more than a year of US Military occupation, the prewar . . . — — Map (db m227253) HM
Civil War Dead An estimated 700,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in the Civil War between April 1861 and April 1865. As the death toll rose, the U.S. government struggled with the urgent but unplanned need to bury fallen Union troops. . . . — — Map (db m134423) HM
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that . . . — — Map (db m114214) HM
The Baptist Church of Beaufort descends from Euhaw Baptist Church on Edisto Island. In 1794 the first meeting house was built on this site. In 1795 Henry Holcombe moved to Beaufort and became the first mission pastor. The Beaufort Baptist Church . . . — — Map (db m133292) HM
Battery Saxton, constructed here in 1862, was in the second line of earthworks built by Federal troops occupying Beaufort during the Civil War. Laid out by the 1st New York Engineers with the assistance of black laborers, it held 3 8 inch siege . . . — — Map (db m6985) HM
Second oldest town in South Carolina, authorized by the Lords Proprietors, December 20, 1710, chartered January 17, 1711, laid out prior to February 16, 1717, incorporated by the state, December 17, 1808 — — Map (db m19642) HM
Erected in 1798 and rebuilt in 1852, the Beaufort Arsenal was the home of the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery, commissioned in 1802, which had its roots in an earlier company organized in 1776 and served valiantly in the Revolutionary War. The BVA was . . . — — Map (db m5664) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m218213) HM
1860 -
On November 7,1861 a flotilla of U.S. warships steamed into Port Royal and the "Cotton Kingdom" came to a swift and thunderous end. The planters were forced to flee inland, many never to return, abandoning homes, lands and slaves. . . . — — Map (db m5941) HM
1520 - 1711
In 1520 the Spaniard, Francisco Gordillo, sailing from Hispaniola, stopped near Port Royal Sound long enough to call the place Santa Elena. Fourty-two years later, in 1562, Jean Ribaut and his French Huguenots named the . . . — — Map (db m5886) HM
During the Colonial period the Beaufort district grew and prospered. Rice was produced for export on the mainland, indigo in the sea islands, shipbuilding flourished. The Parish System developed as the political basis and Beaufort competed with . . . — — Map (db m5935) HM
The Society, founded in 1814 to educate and provide relief for destitute children, built this
house in 1895 and leased it for many years, using the income to help the needy. Tenants included the Clover Club, which operated a circulating library . . . — — Map (db m5681) HM
Beaufort Historic District
has been designated a
National
Historic Landmark
This Site Possesses National Significance
in Commemorating the History of the
United States of America
1974
National Park Service . . . — — Map (db m55130) HM
National Cemetery Beaufort National Cemetery was established in 1863. The U.S. Army Quartermaster General's Office laid out the 22 acres in sections that radiate outward from a central plaza to form a half circle. Of the 9,226 interments here . . . — — Map (db m134421) HM
Beaufort 300
We celebrate and recognize the proud citizens
who gave generously to create and erect
these monuments to honor
Beaufort's 300th Birthday
January 17th 2011.
(Plaque 1)
Prior to the founding of . . . — — Map (db m67284) HM
Berean Church. Berean Presbyterian Church was founded by Samuel J. Bampfield, an influential African American political figure during Reconstruction. Bampfield served in the S.C. House of Representatives, was Beaufort's postmaster, and clerk . . . — — Map (db m133351) HM
Beth Israel (House of Israel) Congregation was founded and chartered in 1905. Beaufort's Jewish community dates before the American Revolution, but grew most rapidly from the 1880s to the 1930s as more families arrived from Eastern Europe. . . . — — Map (db m133375) HM
Known for acts of bravery and outstanding leadership in the defense of Beaufort. This Memorial is erected by the Stephen Elliot Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy opposite the home in which this chapter was organized. — — Map (db m5638) HM WM
Built after The Great Fire of 1907 destroyed a frame ca. 1810 house on this site, this structure was consecutively home to hardware enterprises by two prominent Beaufort families for over 100 years. — — Map (db m135439) HM
Sister to 702 Craven Street, both were municipal buildings until the 1990’s and adhere to the 18th century city plan to locate public activities on this block and the one block immediately to the east. — — Map (db m135457) HM
Born in Dublin Ireland in 1671
Son of Jacobite, Alderman Matthew Barnwell
Immigrated to South Carolina in 1701
Protege of Governor Nathaniel Johnson
and Chief Justice Nicholas Trott
Deputy Surveyor in 1703
Clerk of the Council 1703 . . . — — Map (db m148755) HM
Welcome to Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. This unit of the national park system was established in January 2017 to preserve and interpret the resources and complex national stories of Reconstruction — African Americans' quest for . . . — — Map (db m227256) HM
Arrived Port Royal (Beaufort) 1666 with
Robert Sanford's Expedition exploring
the area. He remained with Indians and
learned their language. Captured by
Spanish, he escaped; later returned
guiding the Port Royal Colony. On his
advice the . . . — — Map (db m144230) HM
This church, founded in 1865, grew out of an antebellum praise house for black members of the Baptist Church of Beaufort. During the Civil War, after the Federal occupation of the town, it hosted a school for freedmen. Rev. Arthur Waddell . . . — — Map (db m103224) HM
On or near this site in the settlement known as Stuart Town stood the "Tight Watch House" erected in 1683-4. After the destruction of the town by the Spanish in 1686 it was replaced by a fort, approximately 100 feet square defended by "9 Great Guns" . . . — — Map (db m5939) HM
Early attempts to establish a Presbyterian church in Beaufort, in the 1740s and 1880s, were unsuccessful. The first permanent congregation was founded in 1912 by 16 charter members. In 1921, when it acquired this lot, Rev. A.P. Toomer put up a . . . — — Map (db m65698) HM
This building was built ca. 1896 by the David Hunter Post No. 9, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) The G.A.R., founded in 1866, was a fraternal society for veterans of the Union army and navy, with white and black posts. David Hunter Post was . . . — — Map (db m133383) HM
The eastern oyster launched the Beaufort Co. commercial seafood industry. The first canning factory on this site, for which Factory Creek was named, was begun in 1883. Oysters were harvested from Sept. to May. Tomatoes and okra were canned in the . . . — — Map (db m301234) HM
Shortly after the Civil War, Mather School was founded here by Rachel Crane Mather of Boston. In 1882 the Women's American Baptist Home Mission Society assumed support of the venture, operating it as a normal school for black girls. With some . . . — — Map (db m6940) HM
Maxcy - Rhett House. This house was built circa 1810 for Milton Maxcy (1782-1817), who came here from Massachusetts in 1804. Maxcy and his brother Virgil, who founded a school for young men in Beaufort, later taught at Beaufort College. In . . . — — Map (db m218490) HM
Beaufort community activist Abbie Holmes Christensen founded the Port Royal Agricultural and Industrial School for young African American students near this site in 1902. The school was modeled on Booker T. Washington's Tuskegee Institute. . . . — — Map (db m301184) HM
Port Royal Agricultural School. The Port Royal Agricultural School, later the Beaufort County Training School, operated nearby 1901-1955. Offering vocational and academic education for blacks, it was founded by Beaufort citizens led . . . — — Map (db m301180) HM
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Michael S. Dukakis, and descendant's of the African-American Civil War Volunteers of the 54th and 55th Infantry Regiments and the 5th Cavalry Regiment of Massachusetts, . . . — — Map (db m20211) HM
Born in Stateburg, Sumter County, SC: October 7, 1821
Graduated from West Point: 1842
Served with distinction in Mexican War: 1846-1848
Served at Cavalry School in Carlisle, PA. and wed Sarah Gibson: 1850
With the secession of South . . . — — Map (db m148756) HM
Dedicated in 1971
to the memory of
State Highway Patrolman
R.V. Woods (1935-1969)
and all other
South Carolina
Law Enforcement Officers
who died while serving
in the line of duty — — Map (db m15605) HM
" Here, in 1794, I had the happiness,
instrumentally, to lay the foundation of
a place of worship which composed of
the best materials, and classes with the
most neat and commodious Baptist
meetinghouses in the United States."
(Rev. . . . — — Map (db m25958) HM
(Marker Front):
This Episcopal Parish was established by Act of the Assembly June 7, 1712. The first known rector, William Guy, conducted early worship services in homes of settlers. The parish suffered greatly during the 1715 Yemassee . . . — — Map (db m5827) HM
†
St. Helena's Parish was established June 7, 1712
by act of Provincial Assembly. First rector,
The Rev. William Guy, was appointed 1713; Glebe lands of 50 acres provided 1717.
Original church erected 1724; Enlarged
1770 and . . . — — Map (db m25741) HM
This Greek Revival church, built In 1846, dedicated as "St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church," Is the oldest Catholic church in Beaufort County. Michael O'Connor (1798-1850), a native of Ireland who came to Beaufort In 1822, built it and deeded . . . — — Map (db m133312) HM
Stephen Elliott Jr. Brigadier General C.S.A.
Born October 26, 1830. Beaufort, SC.
Capt., Beaufort Volunteer Artillery: 1861
Capt., 11th SC Volunteers: 1861
Chief of Artillery: SC 3rd Military District: 1862
Commanded the defense of Fort . . . — — Map (db m176515) HM
Tabernacle Baptist Church. Tabernacle Church was formed by black members of Beaufort Baptist Church after other members evacuated the area because of Federal occupation in 1861. The church's lecture room was used for services during the war. In . . . — — Map (db m20144) HM
Established as a mission of the Euhaw Baptist
Church in 1795, Henry Holcombe, pastor.
With Joseph B. Cook as pastor, the church
was chartered as a Baptist church by the
State of South Carolina on January 27,1804.
At the beginning of the Civil . . . — — Map (db m26102) HM
This lot and surrounding corners of the intersection were platted for civic use in Beaufort’s 1711 town plan. A municipal market stood here while the arsenal, a courthouse and jail stood at the other corners. — — Map (db m227292) HM
Significant as one of the tallest known surviving tabby structures, the house was built by a prominent merchant. Altered in the 20th century by removal of the first floor, it remains architecturally important. — — Map (db m135408) HM
This structure housed a cobbler before the Levins operated businesses in it, including a print shop which produced printed materials for Parris Island using modern early 20th century equipment. — — Map (db m135456) HM
About the Bench
The Reconstruction period, the era immediately following the Civil War and emancipation, teaches us when it comes to justice and equality—what may seem impossible is indeed possible. And it all began right here, in our South . . . — — Map (db m301222) HM
John Mark Verdier
1759-1826
Builder of this house
1795-1800
General Lafayette spoke to the people
of Beaufort from this portico
March 18, 1825 — — Map (db m19644) HM
This church, established in 1833, was the first Methodist church in Beaufort and was founded as a mission to slaves and free blacks here and on the neighboring Sea Islands. The congregation had both black and white members but many more black . . . — — Map (db m133501) HM
Possibly the earliest home on Bay Street, this structure housed the Freedmen's Bank to help freedmen save money during Reconstruction. By the 20th century, its first floor had been altered as a storefront. — — Map (db m301226) HM
On March 18, 1825, General Lafayette was welcomed with a procession & passing through an arch, he was addressed by Mayor William Elliott. — — Map (db m301225) HM
Built as a grocery with residence upstairs, the Roberts Building stands on the site of a mid-19th century home destroyed in the Great Fire of 1907. Prior to this structure, a lumber yard and a small store stood here. — — Map (db m301233) HM
A late 19th century building boom brought an influx of Jewish merchants to new commercial structures like this one on the ruins of the ca. 1810 Fripp House. Remains of tabby outbuildings stand in the rear. — — Map (db m301232) HM
Contributing to the building boom after The Great Fire of 1907, the Levin Building housed the Levin law offices and that of Sheriff J. E. McTeer who, 1924-1963, used voodoo in keeping the law in Beaufort County. — — Map (db m301229) HM
In Oct. 1943, the U.S. Army opened a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp near here on Pigeon Point Road. It was one of more than twenty POW camps built in S.C. during World War II to hold Axis prisoners. Around 250 Italian soldiers arrived here from Camp . . . — — Map (db m301189) HM
Beaufort Colored School opened at this site in 1867. The school was housed in a two-story frame residence acquired by thirteen free-born and previously enslaved Black men who served as the property's trustees. It was first staffed by northern . . . — — Map (db m301217) HM
Built in 1917-18, this was one of fourteen libraries constructed in S.C. with funding from the Carnegie Corporation. It was built at the urging of the Clover Club, a local women's literary group who in 1902 began a small subscription library. The . . . — — Map (db m223614) HM
Methodism in Beaufort Co. dates to the 1730s when denomination founder Rev. John Wesley visited the area. Methodist preachers in antebellum Beaufort worked primarily among local enslaved people. In c. 1882, white residents formed a union church . . . — — Map (db m301221) HM
This site was the starting point of the Great Fire of 1907, one of the worst disasters in the history of Beaufort. On Jan. 19, a fire started around 1:30 p.m. in F.W. Scheper's barn south of here and move into a large store at this corner. The . . . — — Map (db m219671) HM
This house was commissioned by Edgar Fripp (1806-1860) and completed c. 1853. Based upon architect Samuel Sloan's designs, it was built in the Italianate style, with a prominent central cupola, and served as the "town home" for Fripp and his . . . — — Map (db m240915) HM
1749 established First headmaster
1786 Beaufort Society-St Helena Society chartered by the state to foster educational endeavor
1795 St Helena-Beaufort Societies combined Resolved to "build a stately pile to the muses to be . . . — — Map (db m301190) HM
Originally known as May River, and later as Kirk's Bluff, Bluffton was settled as a resort town where planters could escape the hot, malarial summers of lowcountry plantations. The streets were laid out in the 1830s and much of the early . . . — — Map (db m219594) HM
The Methodist Society, organized in Bluffton,
built the first church and parsonage on
Boundry Street in 1853. During the Civil War,
two confederate soldiers saved the
church from being burned. In 1875 the church
sold the building to the . . . — — Map (db m39840) HM
Settled in 1825, as a summer resort of rice and cotton planters, this town was incorporated in 1852. Here in 1844 was launched the protest against the Federal tariff known as the "Bluffton Movement". — — Map (db m219148) HM
Built in 1853, this was originally Bluffton Methodist Episcopal church. Organized by whites, the church's 216 members in 1861 included 181 African Americas, who were likely enslaved to its white congregants. The church caught fire during the . . . — — Map (db m218551) HM
Cyrus Garvin. Little is known of Cyrus Garvin's early life. He was likely born into slavery, possibly on a plantation of the Baynard family. Garvin is notable for having amassed considerable status and property after emancipation. In 1868 he . . . — — Map (db m218662) HM
This congregation organized around the time of the Civil War to serve formerly enslaved African Americans living in the Bluffton area. It was originally known as First African Baptist Church and was later renamed First Zion. It was founded by . . . — — Map (db m269753) HM
(Plaque 1)
Dedicated to
The Memory and Honor
Of All Veterans
Servicemen and Servicewoman
Who Have Given Their
Full Measure of Devotation
In the Armed Forces
Defending This Nation
[ Emblems: Army • Navy • Marine Corps • Air Force . . . — — Map (db m18236) WM
This is the site of two schools that served the black community of southern Beaufort County for most of the twentieth century. Bluffton Graded School, a small frame building constructed about
1900, was followed in 1954 by an elementary and high . . . — — Map (db m5853) HM
This sanctuary, built 1824 as St. Luke's
Episcopal Church, housed an active
Episcopal congregation until just before
the Civil War. It was sold to the
trustees of St. Luke's Methodist
Church in 1875 and served that
congregation since. St. . . . — — Map (db m19645) HM
The name Barrel Landing (also spelled Barrell) comes from a nearby docking and landing area on the Okatie River initially used by early settlers of the Okatie community in the period following the Revolutionary War. Farmers and tradesmen used the . . . — — Map (db m15320) HM
Bluffton, an antebellum planters' summer village, was virtually abandoned by its seasonal and year-round inhabitants when Federal forces captured Beaufort and Port Royal in November 1861. Confederate forces used it as an outpost to watch Port . . . — — Map (db m219149) HM
Bluffton is a beautiful Southern town that is the heart of the lowcountry.
Bluffton began in the early 1800's and was originally known as "Kirk's Bluff." It wasn't there until the early 1840's that the name of the town was changed to . . . — — Map (db m301236) HM
The Bluffton community has an authentic historic district, celebrates the May River and respects the Bluffton character.
Once a summer retreat for wealthy planters, Bluffton has truly come into its own as a well-established . . . — — Map (db m301238) HM
(side 1)
Archeological evidence suggests human activity on Daufuskie Island as early as 12,000 B.C., with seasonal habitation tied to the harvesting of coastal resources. Early European inhabitants also realized the importance of the . . . — — Map (db m244700) HM
Phillip Martinangele, born in Italy, immigrated to this country and settled in St. Helena’s Parish. He married Mary Foster in 1743, but had died by 1762 when his widow bought 500 acres
on Daufuskie Island. Their son Phillip, a captain in the . . . — — Map (db m244107) HM
( Front text )
On the night of August 27, 1893, a
huge "tropical cyclone," the largest
and most powerful storm to hit S.C.
until Hurricane Hugo in 1989, made
landfall just E of Savannah, Ga.
With gusts as high as 120 mph and a
storm . . . — — Map (db m8782) HM
Near the old halfway house, in the vicinity of Grays Hill, on February 3, 1779, a force of South Carolina Militia, Continentals, and volunteers, including men from Beaufort, under General William Moultrie, defeated the British in their attempt to . . . — — Map (db m14738) HM
The Mystique is constructed almost entirely of teak and mahogany. At one time, crafts such as these were used by wealthy landowners to transport guests from their private yachts to lavish seaside retreats along the Northeast Coast all the way to the . . . — — Map (db m282576) HM
After the occupation of Hilton Head,
a civilian town grew up to serve the
needs of the large Union base and
its garrison here. The town boasted
a hotel, a theater, 2 newspapers, and
numerous stores, centering along a
street, officially . . . — — Map (db m16550) HM
Early A.M.E. Missionaries to South Carolina, Rev. James H.A. Johnson and Rev. James A. Handy, arrived at Hilton Head on the Steamship Arago at 3:18 p.m. Friday, May 12, 1865.
Rev. James Lynch, also an A.M.E. Missionary, shared entertainment . . . — — Map (db m104498) HM
A decisive battle in the Civil War took place here on Nov. 7, 1861, when 18 Union warships with about 55 supporting craft led by Adm. S.E. DuPont bombarded for 4˝ hours the Confederate forces in Fort Walker on this shore and Fort Beauregard on . . . — — Map (db m16504) HM
The first black troops in the Union Army enlisted on Hilton Head Island in May 1862. Initially, men who escaped plantations and slavery were reluctant to join the army. They did not want to leave their families and new financial opportunities and . . . — — Map (db m105295) HM
This statue is based on the
photograph of Charles E. Fraser
as it appeared in a 1962 edition
of the Saturday Evening Post
on “People on the Way Up”.
This celebrated image
caused a media sensation that
awarded the Sea Pines . . . — — Map (db m212437) HM
In 1957, at the age of 27, Fraser completed his six-year research program and began building the eight square mile Sea Pines Plantation community. It was the island's first large-scale planned community and the site of its first golf course and . . . — — Map (db m282577) HM
Before the Island's first bridge, Charlie Simmons, Sr., became known as "Mr. Transportation" amoung the local community, which was made up of descendants of freed slaves following the Civil War.
Until the late 1920's sailboats were the primary . . . — — Map (db m41054) HM
(Front)
This one-room frame school, built ca. 1937, was the first separate school building constructed for African-American students on Hilton Head Island. It replaced an earlier Cherry Hill School, which had held its classes in personage of St. . . . — — Map (db m104496) HM
Oldest Baptist church on Hilton Head Island
Organized August 17, 1862
in the town of Mitchelville
with 120 members
Building was moved to present location
later and rebuilt in 1966
Rededicated October 30, 1988
Rev. C.W. Aiken, Pastor . . . — — Map (db m104497) HM
This church, organized in 1862, was first located in the town of Mitchelville, a freedman’s village established on Hilton Head by the United States Army. Rev. Abraham Murchinson, its first pastor, was a former slave. The congregation numbered . . . — — Map (db m104580) HM
Fish Hall Plantation This plantation was part of a 1717 Proprietary landgrant of 500 acres to Col. John Barnwell. Later owners included members of the Green, Ellis, and Pope families. Nearby tabby ruins are remains of fire places of slave . . . — — Map (db m6625) HM
(Front ) This Civil War fort, named for Gen. Joshua Blackwood Howell (1806-1864), was built by the U.S.
Army to defend Hilton Head Island and the nearby freedmen’s village of Mitchelville from potential Confederate
raids or . . . — — Map (db m49841) HM
An excellent example of the defensive earthworks common to the civil War era, Fort Howell was constructed by Union Forces occupying Hilton Head Island and was one of the final fortifications to be built during the war. The men of the 32nd U.S. . . . — — Map (db m6801) HM
Completed in 1862, this large earth fort
was designed to defend the great Union
blockade base on Hilton Head against
Confederate land attack. Named after
the first Union commander here, Gen.
Thomas W. Sherman, the fort consists
of two miles of . . . — — Map (db m15949) HM
Hastily built in 1861 to protect the S.C. coast
against Union attack, Fort Walker, commanded
by Col. William C. Heyward, bore the brunt
of the Union attack on November 7, 1861,
when after 4½ hours, with only 3 guns left
serviceable and . . . — — Map (db m16519) HM
Fort Howell is typical of the earthen forts constructed during the Civil War by both Confederates and Union Armies. The change from earlier brick and stone masonry forts was the result of advances in weaponry that occurred as the Civil War . . . — — Map (db m131833) HM
General Joshua Blackwood Howell 1806-1864
Fort Howell is named for General Joshua Blackwood Howell of Pennsylvania, who commanded the Hilton Head District, Department of the South, United States Army, from February through April, 1864. . . . — — Map (db m131835) HM
A prominent landmark for mariners
since the voyages of the early
Spanish explorers, this headland
was known to the English as
Hilton Head after the voyage
in 1663 of Captain William Hilton
which led to their first
permanent settlement in . . . — — Map (db m16231) HM
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