The Beaufort History Museum Presents "Historical Family Homes of Beaufort"

Join us for a member-only, special event on May 8, 2025. It is limited to 28 people. John McCardell, our esteemed local historian, will lead a small bus tour of the historical homes on The Point and The Bluff. Cocktails will be served mid tour. The refreshment stop will be at the summer residence of Barbra Streisand when she was here in Beaufort filming "The Prince of Tides."

March 18, 2025 is the bicentennial of Lafayette's visit to Beaufort during his farewell tour of America. July 4, 2026, is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The museum is hard at work on planning special commemorations of both these historic events. Look for updates in the coming weeks.

The Beaufort History Museum is honored to be the recipient of a $125,000 grant from the SC 250 committee. The purpose of this award is to create events for Beaufort, students, and visitors to showcase Beaufort’s role in the Revolutionary War. Plans are still developing. The major effort will be to create an immersive theater experience. This video will show the differences in opinion and factors that led to SC colonists to be on the side of the Patriots or the Loyalists. Other exciting events will be possible through this generous grant. Stay tuned.

Dr. James Shinn, associate professor of history at USCB, and two of his students recently collaborated with the Beaufort History Museum to develop field study guides for all grade levels. Working under the supervision of Dr. Shinn, Liz Peck and Aiden De la Torre created a guide for each grade, one through 12. These guides align the museum's content with grade level South Carolina standards. These guides will be posted on the website, making them available to all educators who are planning a trip to the museum.

Save the date. Thursday, May 8, 2025. Join us for a member-only, special event. It is limited to 28 people. John McCardell, our esteemed local historian, will lead a small bus tour of the historical homes on The Point and The Bluff. Cocktails will be served mid tour. The refreshment stop will be at the summer residence of Barbra Streisand when she was here in Beaufort filming "The Prince of Tides." Details to follow. 

"A Piece of Our Past" included items from our archives; artifacts and treasures collected over the years. Great attendance helped the Beaufort History Museum in its mission to preserve and showcase the historical legacy of our community. The event was held Thursday, March 14th, at the home of Phil and Amelie Cromer, Beaufort. More Information.

2023 saw record attendance at the Beaufort History Museum, with visitors from 49 of the 50 states between January and December, and visitors from the 50th state (North Dakota) in January. Congratulations to Tom Kelley and all the docents for the best year ever!

Join us as singers from one of the world's--and America's--best known theatrical venues perform a medley of songs from some of Broadway's biggest hits with a historical theme.  Song selection will consist of Americana music and hits from such well-known productions as "Hamilton", "Porgy and Bess", "New York, New York", "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Ragtime", and others.  

The group will be led by Beaufort native Lenora Eve who holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in music and vocal performance and is currently the Executive Artistic Director at Opera Breve in New York City where she is a vocal instructor and accompanist/coach.  Lenora has sung nationally and internationally in operatic and musical theater roles including eight roles with Amato Opera in New York City; Broadway national tour of The Sound of Music with Richard Chamberlain; and State Fair with John Davidson. In addition, she was in the International Tour of The Sound of Music with Marie Osmond traveling to Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul, Korea.  One of her most memorable moments remains performance as the alto soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass at Carnegie Hall in New York.

After traveling internationally for several years in musical events, Lenora relocated to New York City where she has been a director of numerous operas and musical productions.  

Lenora is an established and acclaimed teacher and coach. Her vocal studio boasts an eclectic variety of students, including those from the world of Broadway and opera--several of whom you will see and hear perform at this event.

Make sure you save the date for this truly one-of-a-kind event for Beaufort. Registration/tickets go on sale for Museum members 3 June 2023.  Admission price for those with an active Museum membership and their guests will be $35.  Registration and ticketing for all others will commence 10 June 2023 at a cost of $40.  Online registration/ticketing is required.  Seating will be on a first come, first served basis.  

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BEAUFORT, SC – A free public symposium to discuss the Search for Stuarts Town, the project to look for evidence of the lost Scottish colony, will be held on Saturday, February 4, from 1-4 p.m. at the USCB Center for the Arts Auditorium.

In August of 2022, a team of archaeologists from the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology (SCIAA) and the University of Florida spent a week doing an exploratory dig in The Point neighborhood of Beaufort – searching for the lost 17thC Scottish colony of Stuarts Town. All of the collected materials have been at the SCIAA laboratories in Columbia where, for these past few months, they have been meticulously cleaned, examined, and catalogued.

The symposium on February 4, 2023, will be the first public presentation of what was found, what it may (or may not) mean, and future plans for The Search for Stuarts Town project.

The symposium will include presentations on the history of Stuarts Town, the archaeological search for its remains, the history of the Yamasee Indians who were allies of the Stuarts Town colonists, and the archaeology of the nearby Yamasee town of Pocotaligo -- where the 1715 Yamasee War began.

Participating from the University of South Carolina are Dr. Chester DePratter and Dr. Larry Rowland, from the University of Florida is Dr. Charles Cobb, from the University of Texas is Dr. Peter Moore, from the University of North Florida is Dr. Denise Bossy, and from the University of Michigan is doctoral candidate Hannah Hoover.

Learn about the findings, future plans, and the latest scholarship regarding both Stuarts Town and the Yamasee Indians. Afterwards, take the opportunity to meet the speakers and purchase a signed copy of Dr. Moore’s new book, Carolina's Lost Colony: Stuarts Town and the Struggle for Survival in Early South Carolina.

Lobby doors open to the public at 12:30, and seating begins at 12:45 on a first-come first-served basis.

Sent out by the City of Beaufort, SC on behalf of the: Stuarts Town Action Group, Dr. Chester DePratter, StuartsTownActionGroup@gmail.com, www.stuartstown.com

The Beaufort History Museum is pleased to announce that a new exhibit will soon be available for public viewing in its main exhibit hall.   The new exhibit has been made possible due in large part to a $15,000 Growth Grant awarded by the South Carolina Humanities with funds provided through the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARP).  The grant will comprise approximately 30 percent of the total cost of the project, with the remainder provided by the Beaufort History Museum’s funds.  The new exhibit is part is part of a larger planned expansion of the Museum’s exhibition hall intended to improve the historic interpretation experience for our visitors.  The Phase IIA installation will be completed and the exhibit available for public viewing by Friday, 20 January 2023. 

Phase IIA will provide visitors with background information and displays on the geology, geography and historical timeline of Port Royal Sound and the surrounding area. The exhibit’s two, large (height 8’, width 11’, thickness 8”), free standing and walk-around walls will serve as the primary welcoming point for museum visitors.  The graphic below shows the planned placement for the new exhibit.

Planned Placement of Exhibit IIA in Exhibit Hall

Upon entry into the main exhibit hall, museum visitors will immediately notice the custom designed, panoramic mural representing the major periods across our 500 years plus of history.

Wall 1, Entrance. Historical Panorama, Mural (pre-production).
Shaping America’s History for 500 Years

Visitors can then step inside the space between the two walls and learn about the significance and role our deep harbor, high tides and mild climate have played in our history as well as providing the habitat and environment for our abundant coastal wildlife.

Wall 1, Interior. Unique Features of Port Royal Sound (pre-production)

Turn around and do a deeper dive into the unique aspects of our South Carolina Lowcountry maritime geography and environment and discover more about the land, the natural resources, and the crops that have had such an influence on our development, culture, and history.

Wall 2, Interior. Beautiful Beaufort County (pre-production)

Then take a short walk around the Beautiful Beaufort County wall shown above to view our historical timeline.  The timeline is divided into sections that are labeled with identifying links to the currently installed Phase I panels where you can learn more about that period of our history.  

Wall 2, Exterior. Historical Timeline (pre-production)

A new, interactive kiosk is planned to be located close to Exhibit IIA and provide access to an even more comprehensive timeline for those visitors requiring more detailed information about our history.  There was only so much room on the new displays, and we did not want to leave anything out.

History Workshop (HW) Exhibits, of Mt. Pleasant, SC, produced the exhibit and displays. They also created and installed graphic exhibits for the extensive renovation of the Museum in 2018 (Phase I).  

The preparation of the narrative and texts for the displays is a result of the museum’s Exhibits Committee and expert assistance provided by historians Dr. Lawrence Rowland, Professor Emeritus of USCB and author of the definitive history of Beaufort County, and Dr. Stephen Wise, Director of the MCRD Parris Island Museum and Cultural Resource Manager for the Marine Corps facility and the author of several books about local and South Carolina history.  The Exhibits Committee is also grateful to Dr. Chris Marsh, former Director of the Lowcountry Institute (now Director Emeritus of the Lowcountry Institute) for his expertise and contributions regarding our local marine ecology and maritime environment.

The completion of the new exhibit space and displays will provide an opportunity for the Museum to let both area residents and visitors to Beaufort feel assured that not only have we recovered from the COVID pandemic but that we are moving ahead for a better future for our community and our Museum.  

Want a closer look?  You’ll have to wait a bit longer until the exhibit is installed but, in the meantime, click here to get a little bit closer look (enlarged) of what you can expect.   

Make sure your plans include a visit to the Beaufort History Museum where admission is always free for Museum members. Not a member?  Click here to see our different membership subscription levels and join online.  Membership lapsed?  Click here to renew your membership.  Just interested in making sure you receive the latest information on our events and lectures?  Click here to receive advance e-mail notification of all our activities.     

The Beaufort History Museum, which was founded in 1939, has evolved to focus specifically on the deep and rich history of the Beaufort District. It strives to manage and display artifacts and documents held by the City of Beaufort, telling compelling stories of this area, from the early 16th century until modern times. For information on all the Museum events, click here to visit our website.  Click here and follow us on Facebook.