Beaufort County lies in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Tourism is important to the county, as many visitors flock to the area to enjoy coastal waters, barrier islands, wildlife, and historic small towns. A number of notable people have called Beaufort County home, including author Pat Conroy and boxer Joe Frazier. The presence of Gullah culture also characterizes the region. Beaufort, one of the state’s oldest towns, serves as the county seat.
Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Spaniards all attempted to settle in Beaufort County. Comprised of the St. Peter, St. Helena, St. Luke, and Prince William parishes, Beaufort District was created in 1769 and “named for Henry Somserset, Duke of Beaufort.” Points of historical interest in Beaufort County include a number of plantations, the Penn Center, and Parris Island.
About Beaufort County, SC. Accessed June 01, 2016.
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In the early 1880s, the federal government began to purchase land in the Port Royal area for a permanent naval base. Plans for such a base had long been the dream of Robert Smalls, the U.S...
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A raid of the Second South Carolina Volunteers among the rice plantations along the Combahee. Published in the July 4, 1863, issue of "Harper's Weekly." Courtesy of the Pratt Memorial Library.
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Forfeited estate plat from Port Royal Island. The surveyor reported, "This tract subject to Mrs. Poingsett's Right of Dower during her life." The plat--an official map made by a surveyor that gave the...
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The occupation of the Beaufort area enabled many slaves to flee their masters. In the chaos of war and occupation, many brought with them household goods, furniture, and clothing from the homes their...
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Federal forces under General Stevens march triumphantly into the town of Beaufort on December 5, 1861. "Harper's Weekly" reported to its readers, "The beautiful rural town of Beaufort came into...
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The troops of the U.S. Army at Fort Sumter surrendered to the Confederacy on April 14, but within the year a larger force had established a permanent military footing along the South Carolina coast...
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In spite of the absence of modern television and radio news coverage, citizens were given a visual understanding of the war through the efforts of photographers like Matthew Brady, and the engravings...
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The occupation of the coastal region of South Carolina by federal armies in 1862 led to troops taking over the homes of many citizens who had supported the Confederacy. This home in Beaufort became...
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This relief map of what is now Parris Island shows the distribution of the land among the large plantation owners around 1820. Courtesy of the United States Marine Corps, Parris Island Museum.
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During the 1730s, to protect against Native American attack and slave uprising, the government made plans to establish eight townships in a semicircle about one hundred miles around Charles Town (see...
