Beaufort, SC – June 15, 2016 – Do you love history? Come learn about and share the incredible 500-year history of this area at the Beaufort History Museum (BHM). We are recruiting the Summer 2016 class of volunteer docents to lead tours and serve as community liaisons. The museum displays artifacts, photos and special exhibits to help our volunteers bring Beaufort’s history to life for visitors. Learn how Beaufort shaped America—from its settlement by Europeans to its involvement in the Revolutionary War, to it’s dramatic roles during the Civil War and Reconstruction Era, and its current-day prominence as the site of military training and defense.

The museum’s training curriculum will cover all aspects of history relating to the Beaufort District and educators will provide knowledge of the museum’s collections, history and mission. Once docents have completed the training process they will be asked to serve up to four shifts per month and will commit to a one-year period of service to the museum. Space is limited and those interested in attending the five-week session are encouraged to register early.

An information session is planned for Wednesday, June 29 at 9:00 AM and will follow immediately by the first scheduled class.  All sessions will be held at the Beaufort History Museum, which is located on the second floor of the Arsenal at 713 Craven Street in Beaufort’s historic district.

The Summer Docent Class Schedule:

Wed. – June 29            9:00 -10:00 AM – informational/orientation class immediately followed by class #1 from 10:00 AM – Noon

Wed.  – July 13           9:30 -11:30 AM  – Class #2

Wed.  – July 20           9:30 -11:30 AM  – Class #3

Wed.  – July 27            9:30 – Noon           Class #4

Wed.  – August 3         9:30 -11:30 AM  – Class #5

No class will be held the week of July 4. A makeup class will be offered if necessary.

For more information on the docent program, or other volunteer opportunities with the museum, contact Lorrie Burleyknoles, Volunteer Committee Co-Chairperson and Docent Educator, at beauforthistorymuseum.com or call 559-362-3237.

Beaufort History Museum has evolved to focus specifically on the history of the Beaufort District. It strives to manage and display artifacts and documents held by the City of Beaufort, telling the compelling stories of this area from the early 16th Century until modern times.

The Arsenal address is 713 Craven Street. BHM’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. A donation of $5.00 per visitor ($4.00 for Seniors) is required.  Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit the website or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

Beaufort History Museum will present Girls Raised In The South (GRITS), a tea party and performance celebrating strong Lowcountry women who changed history. The principal fundraiser for the Museum, this delectable event is planned for Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at Dataw Island Club, in the beautiful Carolina Room, starting at 1:30 PM with a reception featuring live music by Horizon and a cash bar, followed at 2:00 PM by the tea party and program.

Tickets are currently available at by clicking here.  Prices for BHM members are $35; non-members are $45 (may sign up for BHM membership and pay the lower price); a table for ten is $350. Proceeds benefit the Beaufort History Museum.

The tea party features scrumptious traditional fare; a performance in full period dress by acclaimed re-enactor, Kim Poovey, based on her Civil War-era novel, Truer Words, and the stories of four outstanding Lowcountry women who influenced the unfolding history of the Beaufort District.

Mayor Billy Keyserling will talk about his mother, Harriet Keyserling, and her achievements and contributions to Beaufort and South Carolina as a County Council Woman, State Legislator, and advocate of the arts. Andrea Allen, a Museum Board Member, will describe how Harriet Tubman, who was born a slave, changed the history of both the Lowcountry and the nation.

Native Beaufortonian Anne Christensen Pollitzer will recount how her great-grandmother Abbie Holmes Christensen, made a lasting impact on Beaufort through her educational, business and civic contributions. Ingrid Owens of Penn Center will introduce Mrs. Ercell Brown Holmes, a 1947 graduate of Penn School and lifelong resident of St. Helena Island, and will describe her many contributions to Beaufort and her Sea Island community. Mrs. Holmes will also attend the tea.

Beaufort History Museum has evolved to focus specifically on the history of the Beaufort District. It strives to manage and display artifacts and documents held by the City of Beaufort, telling the compelling stories of this area from the early 16th Century until modern times. Docent classes are conducted on an ongoing basis.

The Arsenal address is 713 Craven Street. BHM’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. A donation of $5.00 per visitor ($4.00 for Seniors) is required. Children and active military are admitted free of charge. Please visit the website or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

         Inspire. Enrich. Engage. These are the stirring words summoning the promise of entertainment, learning and community interaction at the South Carolina Humanities Festival, due to unfold at many locations throughout Beaufort County June 9 – 11.    Arts, cultural and educational organizations from Beaufort to Bluffton and Hilton Head will participate, presenting a wide variety of special events including lectures, films, tours, art shows, exhibits, performances and much more, around the theme of community collaboration, to demonstrate a sense of place. 

        Beaufort residents and visitors will sample and savor the area’s rich and diverse art, history and culture from numerous interesting perspectives. The Festival kicks off at the USCB Center for the Arts on Thursday, June 9 with a preview of event activities, a “meet and greet” reception with refreshments and a concert.

        The first Humanities Festival was held in 1993 in Beaufort to honor the Humanities Council’s 20^th Anniversary, and was originated under the leadership of Harriet Keyserling and Betty Ann Mead.  The event has since been held in eighteen different South Carolina cities.  Each festival celebrates the local history and culture of the host community, enabling partnerships between cultural organization and community groups.

        Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling, chairman of the Humanities Festival Committee, is working with community leaders to insure that the event will continue the great tradition of success initiated by his mother and Mead.

        “The event is open to residents and visitors supporting the SC Humanities from across the state and region to join us in discovering and exploring Beaufort County’s unique history and culture,” Keyserling said.  “Using the bridge as part of the logo demonstrates that we want residents of Beaufort to cross the river to explore Hilton Head Island and Bluffton and we want residents of Bluffton and Hilton Head to come out and learn more about us,” Keyserling said.

        “This is perhaps the first and largest collaboration of organizations working together to share our sense of place.  We have a story to share with our visitors and our residents,” he said.

        Each of the venues that will open their doors to showcase Beaufort Country and portray the area’s heritage are representations of the best cultural organizations in the county and will portray the area’s heritage in a very positive light.

        “We are extending the invitation to everyone to join in discovering and exploring Beaufort’s unique history and culture,” Keyserling said.   “We have a great representation of the best cultural organizations in the county. The Festival will showcase Beaufort County and portray the area’s heritage in a very positive light

      Participating organizations include Beaufort Arts Council, Beaufort County       Historical Society, Beaufort County Library, Beaufort Film Society, Beaufort History Museum, Beaufort Mass Choir, Coastal Discovery Museum, Friends of Fort Fremont, Friends of Hunting Island State Park, Gullah Geechee Consortium, Heritage Library, Historic Beaufort Foundation, Historic Port Royal Foundation, Mitchelville Preservation Project, Parris Island Historical and Museum Society, Penn Center, Port Royal Sound Foundation, Maritime Center,  Santa Elena History Center and  the USCB Center for the Arts.

 The complete schedule of events will be detailed in a SC Humanities Festival    schedule and available on the website at www.beauforthumanitiesfestival.com.

Beaufort, SC – March 15, 2016 –The weather was perfect and that was a good thing! It was an ideal setting for two dozen re-enactors portraying the Pennsylvania 50^thInfantry regiment, Union Troops, that occupied the Beaufort Arsenal in 1862, who marched into town for an action-packed weekend encampment at the Arsenal, where they slept, ate and lived for three days.

Click here for a photo album of the event.

               The event featured military drills, a parade down Bay Street, authentic meals cooked over open fires and served in the traditional manner, Sutlers plying their wares, classes taught to Freedmen, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Cemetery. 

               The living history encampment attracted 1,000 visitors who enjoyed interacting with the troops and learning about the time in the early 1860s, when Union troops had vanquished Confederate forces just after the Battle of Port Royal (November, 1861), the local population had left Beaufort and 10,000 slaves on the sea islands were freed and left to their own devices.  Abolitionists came to the area and established the first schools for Freedmen.  Hospitals were set up in the antebellum homes for injured Union forces.  Commerce included traveling Sutlers who sold goods to the troops.

               It was an unsettled moment but an era that set Reconstruction in motion, an important time that will be an ongoing story told at the Beaufort History Museum in coming months.  The encampment provided an unique opportunity for people of all ages, but especially for the many children who attended; to learn first hand how life was lived in Beaufort during the Civil War. 

               “We were so encouraged, seeing hundreds of people enjoying the encampment, that we are hoping to make it an annual event,” said Carol Lauvray, Beaufort History Museum Board President.  “The re-enactors, organized by Daniel Gidick of Charleston, came from as far away as Buffalo and Chicago.  Their knowledge and dedication to authenticity was an inspiration. In a word, they were wonderful.”

Click here for the Island News story.

Click here for the Eat, Sleep, Play Beaufort story.

Click here for the Island Packet story with video.

Beaufort, SC  - March 1, 2016 - The bark of officers mustering troops for review.  The resounding clack of marching boots. Crackling fires. Bubbling cook pots. Mail call.  These are just a sample of the sights and sounds that will accompany Union troops as they occupy Beaufort at a Living History Encampment presented by the Beaufort History Museum.

             The 50^th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, Union forces that occupied Beaufort in 1862 during the Civil War, will be brought to life by more than 30 re-enactors, who will stage the encampment in the Arsenal Courtyard, March 11-13. A complete schedule of the weekend’s many entertaining events and demonstrations is available on the Museum website at www.beauforthistorymuseum.com. Admission is free.

            The encampment will provide a fascinating look at everyday life in Beaufort that followed in the wake of the Battle of Port Royal (November, 1861), when Confederate forces were rapidly defeated, local residents fled, and Union troops moved in. The re-enactors, who are coming from as far away as New England and Pennsylvania, will camp out in the Arsenal’s walled courtyard space, dividing into a “4 corners” focus.   On display will be Brigade Headquarters, a commissary and Army Sutlers (traveling tradesmen who supplied the troops); infantry life and equipment; Northern Missionaries and Abolitionists; Freedmen; and the 1st South Carolina Regiment, which was comprised of soldiers of African American descent.

            Activities will include cooking over open fires, an infantry drill, a class in session at a Freedmen school, a march through town to a bay-front park, and a visit to the National Cemetery for a wreath laying ceremony.  Prominent historians Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland, authors of Rebellion, Reconstruction, and Redemption, 1861-1893, will be at a book signing at the Beaufort Public Library Saturday morning, March 12.

            “This is truly an exciting time for the Museum because the Living History Encampment offers us an opportunity to experience much of life as it was in Beaufort during an important time in our history,” said BHM Board President, Carol Lauvray. “It helps us tell the story of the early days of the Reconstruction era here, which began during the Civil War. We are very grateful to encampment organizer Daniel Gidick of Charleston and to our partners, Penn Center and the Beaufort Pubic Library, for their efforts in creating this educational event.”

“The Living History Encampment also serves as a exciting way to preview our upcoming Special Exhibit on Reconstruction in Beaufort, opening in June when the Museum will participate in the South Carolina Humanities Festival with many other arts, cultural and historic organizations throughout Beaufort County. BHM’s Reconstruction Exhibit will be on display at the Museum for at least one year, so those who live in and visit Beaufort can experience it firsthand.”

            Beaufort History Museum has evolved to focus specifically on the history of the Beaufort District. It strives to manage and display artifacts and documents held by the City of Beaufort, telling the compelling stories of this area from the early 16^th Century until modern times.  Docent classes are conducted on an ongoing basis.

For information on becoming a Docent, contact Lorrie Burleyknoles at lburleyknoles@beauforthistorymuseum.com or (559) 362-3237.

The Arsenal address is 713 Craven Street. BHM’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. A donation of $5.00 per visitor ($4.00 for Seniors) is required.  Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit the website or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

SIDEBAR:    If you go:

Living History Encampment

Date:              March 11-13, 2016

Site:                Beaufort History Museum

                        The Arsenal

                        713 Craven Street

                        Beaufort, SC

Schedule of Events:

Friday:

·       2 – 5 PM Arrival of event re-enactors

·       Setting up of camp with "4 corners" focus: 1) Brigade HQ, commissary & Army Sutlers; 2) infantry life & equipment, 3) Northern Missionaries & Abolitionists, 4) Freedmen & the 1st South Carolina Regiment of African descent

·       Ongoing demonstrations at each of the stations

Saturday:

·       7:30 AM Breakfast Call - oatmeal & molasses  

·       8:00 AM Camp opens to the public 

·       9:00 – 11:00 AM – Book signing by Stephen Wise & Lawrence Rowland at the Beaufort Public Library

·       9:30 AM Infantry Drill - Facings and Manual of Arms 

·       11:00 AM Freedmen School session

·       Noon Dinner Call - Rice, peas, bacon & collards 

·       12:30 PM Mail Call - letters and boxes from home

·       1:30 PM Inspection of Infantry Company followed by a brief march down Scott Street to the park on Bay St. in the Point

·       3:00 PM Freedmen School session

·       4:00 PM Infantry Drill

·       5:30 PM Visit to the Beaufort National Cemetery for a brief wreath laying ceremony; camp closes to the public.

Sunday

·       7:00 AM Breakfast Call

·       8:00 AM Camp opens to the public; Cleaning of barracks

·       9:00 AM Infantry Drill

·       9:30 AM Freedman school

·       10:00 AM Dismissal of formation

·       11:00 AM Arsenal closes to the public

Admission:             Free   (Donations accepted)

Presented by:        Beaufort History Museum             

Partners:               Beaufort Public Library

                               Penn Center

The Beaufort History Museum held it’s annual meeting on Tuesday, January 26, at the museum’s main hall. Nearly fifty museum members and guests attended.

Board President Carol Lauvray presided over the meeting.  She reported on the progress the Museum has made over the past year, citing the growth in membership, the dramatic increase in the number of visitors and many successful new exhibits and events presented during the fall of 2015, including the popular Hoodoo exhibit and Pat Conroy’s 70^th Birthday celebration.

 “We are extremely grateful to our Docents, volunteers and members, who have participated with great enthusiasm and energy.  Our Docents are the lifeblood of the Museum and have volunteered more than 2,000 hours of their time to welcome and educate visitors over the past year.  I’d also like to thank our Board of Directors, who are providing excellent leadership and contributing their diverse talents and many hours of time to help the Museum reach it’s goals.” Lauvray said. 

She also provided a preview of events that will take place at the Museum in the coming months.  Featured are:

·      March 11 – 13, 2016: A weekend-long Living History Encampment in the Arsenal Courtyard, featuring re-enactors portraying a Union Army company from Pennsylvania stationed in Beaufort during the Civil War, as well as freed men and women, abolitionists, missionaries and tradesmen.  “We are excited about presenting this interactive educational event and pleased that the Beaufort County Library, Penn Center and Historic Beaufort Foundation are partnering with us to make this period of history come to life over the weekend,” Lauvray said.

·      May 3, 2016: The second annual Beaufort History Museum Tea: The Fundraiser will feature local historic re-enactor Kim Poovy and for the second year will be held at the Dataw Island Club.

·      June 10 – 11, 2016: The South Carolina Humanities Festival, showcasing Beaufort County’s culture, arts, and history. The Museum plans to unveil an important new exhibit on the Reconstruction Period in Beaufort, which began early during the Civil War.

Among the other business conducted at the annual meeting, four members were elected to the Board of Directors: Andrea Allen, Steve Guida, Stuart Heath and Larry Koolkin. Guida, Heath and Koolkin were previously appointed to the BHM Board to fill vacant Board positions with unexpired terms. Andrea Allen, who is a Licensed Master Social Worker and recently retired from Coastal Empire Community Mental Health Center, has served on the Boards for a variety of nonprofit and for profit organizations, and fills a newly open position on the Museum’s Board. In addition, Beaufort native Major General (retired) H. L. “Mitch” Mitchell and Ingrid Owens, Director of History, Arts and Culture at Penn Center, Inc., were recently appointed to fulfill unexpired Museum Board Member terms.

Following the Museum’s annual meeting many of the members and guests left the Arsenal and walked the short distance to the Beaufort Inn to extend the convivial spirit of the event and to enjoy a delicious prearranged dinner.

The Beaufort History Museum has evolved to focus specifically on the history of the Beaufort District.     It strives to manage and display artifacts and documents held by the City of Beaufort, telling the compelling stories of this area from the early 16^thCentury until modern times.  Docent classes are conducted on an ongoing basis.

 

Good evening, I’m Carol Lauvray, Board President of Beaufort History Museum, and it’s my pleasure to welcome all of you to this Annual Meeting and to share with you the Museum’s accomplishments over the past year and the exciting events and exhibits planned for 2016.

2015 was a pivotal year for Beaufort History Museum:

• It marked the first full year of operations in the Arsenal since the Museum moved back after a long absence. 2015 also marked a dramatic increase in the number of visitors to the Museum and in resulting revenues, which our treasurer Steve Guida will discuss shortly. During 2015, 3,360 people visited the Museum at the Arsenal, coming from as far away as Switzerland, Tasmania, Brazil and South Africa.
• Over the past year, our Docent Education staff conducted 3 sets of training classes for 15 new Docents, who lead tours of the Museum. Currently, the Museum has 34 Docents who volunteered 2,000 hours of their time to welcome and educate visitors during 2015. 
• In September, to fill positions that became vacant during the year, the Board appointed four additional Board members—Norm Campbell, Steve Guida, Stuart Heath and Larry Koolkin. Shortly, you’ll be voting on a slate of Board members that includes Steve, Stuart and Larry to begin new, 3-year terms on the Board.
• In addition, the Board has nominated Andrea Allen to become a new member of the BHM Board. She is nominated to fill the seat on the Board that is opening because Jeff Kidd’s 3-year term has ended. On behalf of everyone at Beaufort History Museum, I’d like to thank Jeff for his service on the Board. Earlier this month, the Board also appointed General Mitch Mitchell to fill an unexpired term on the BHM Board. I’d like to welcome Norm, Steve, Stuart, Larry, Andrea and Mitch to the Board of Directors and acknowledge Jeff for his work on the Board. Would all of you please stand to be recognized.
• During 2015, the Museum produced a number of successful, high-profile special events and exhibits that promoted BHM within the community and drew new members:
• • The Museum’s first temporary exhibit at the Arsenal, “What They Wore: Fashion and Finery of the Victorian and Edwardian Eras” opened at the beginning of May with a Sunday afternoon party featuring historic re-enactors in period clothing.
  • BHM’s first Annual Victorian Tea at Dataw Island Club was held on May 12^th and was a resounding success with 150 guests attending and which resulted in adding many new Museum members.
  • In September, the Museum partnered with Santa Elena Foundation to welcome to the Arsenal, Spanish Count Alvaro Armada, the descendant of Pedro Menendez de Aviles.
  • An exciting exhibit “Doctuh Buzzard’s Hoodoo Awakening,” sponsored by The Beaufort Gazette and The Island Packet, opened at the beginning of October with an evening preview party, with nearly 100 guests attending.
  • On October 31^st, the Museum celebrated Pat Conroy’s 70^th Birthday in style in the Arsenal Courtyard with 350 guests on hand to wish Beaufort’s own celebrity author a “Happy Birthday.”
  • In late November, our current exhibit, “A Place Called Home” opened, featuring striking photographs of St. Helena Island and Beaufort as they were over a hundred years ago and through the mid-20^th century. It reflects the life-long work of Sonny Bishop and his daughter, Elizabeth Bishop Later.
• During 2015, the Museum was awarded a total of $17,500.00 in Accommodations Tax money to fund the development of a new Reconstruction exhibit and to enhance its website.
• The last half of the year saw significant revamping of the Museum’s electronic infrastructure and administrative processes to improve efficiency and reduce expenses.
• In December, we welcomed our new, part-time administrative assistant, Katja Burnett. As an added bonus, Katja is a professional graphic designer and is assisting with the creation of the Museum’s new website!
• Throughout the year, the Museum has been developing ongoing partnerships with many Beaufort County organizations to advance our respective missions. These include: the City of Beaufort, the Beaufort county Historical Society, the Beaufort County Library, FirstShore, the Friends of Fort Fremont, Historic Beaufort Foundation, Penn Center and Santa Elena Foundation.
• During 2015, the Museum produced a number of successful, high-profile special events and exhibits that promoted BHM within the community and drew new members:

All of the Museum’s 2015 accomplishments, events, and exhibits were made possible only through the thousands of hours that our dedicated Docents and Board members volunteered to Beaufort History Museum last year.

Now I’d like to give you just a brief overview of some of the exciting things planned for 2016 at Beaufort History Museum:

• February will see the launch of our new website developed on a membership management platform. The new website will be easier to navigate and display on mobile devices and will allow us to better manage the Museum’s membership, events and reservations. Larry Koolkin will be telling you a bit more about that in a few minutes.
• On March 11^th – 13^th, the Museum will host a weekend-long living history encampment in the Arsenal Courtyard, featuring re-enactors who will portray: a Union Army company from Pennsylvania that was stationed in Beaufort during the Civil War; freed men and women; abolitionists; and missionaries. To plan the weekend’s educational events, the Museum is partnering with the Beaufort District Collection of the Beaufort County Library, Penn Center, and Historic Beaufort Foundation.
• The Museum also will be participating in a Spring Tour of historic sites and organizations the last week of April in celebration of the 450^th anniversary of Santa Elena’s founding and the grand opening of the Santa Elena History Center in the former courthouse on Bay Street.
• On May 3^rd, the second annual Beaufort History Museum Tea will again be held at the Dataw Island Club.
• On June 10^th – 11^th,  the Museum will participate in The South Carolina Humanities Festival, which will showcase Beaufort County’s culture, arts, and history. We plan to unveil a new exhibit on the Reconstruction Period in Beaufort to coincide with the Festival. Larry Koolkin, our Board member who chairs the Exhibits Committee will be saying a few words about plans for the Reconstruction exhibit.

As volunteers and members of Beaufort History Museum, everyone in this room shares a common bond—our passion for the deep, rich history of Beaufort, and for telling the story of how all American history began right here, to paraphrase USCB Professor Emeritus, Dr. Lawrence Rowland.

I’d like to thank you all for being here tonight to celebrate how far Beaufort History Museum has come and to look forward to all that’s in store for the Museum in the coming year. As I close, I’d like to ask all of our Docents and Board Members—both past and present—here this evening to stand to be recognized for your contributions to the Museum! Thank you!

Respectfully submitted by

Carol Lauvray,

Beaufort History Museum Board President

            Beaufort, SC – January 5, 2016 - Museum members and the public are invited to attend the Annual Meeting of the Beaufort History Museum (BHM) on Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 6:00 PM in the museum’s main hall on the second floor of The Arsenal, located at 713 Craven St.

At the meeting, milestones of the past year will be celebrated and plans for 2016 will be revealed. Current museum members will also vote on a slate of new Board of Directors candidates, which will have been presented to them in advance via email.

Board President, Carol Lauvray announced the meeting and also provided a preview of events that will take place at the Museum in the coming months.  Included are:

·      March 11 – 13, 2016: A weekend-long living history encampment in the Arsenal Courtyard, featuring re-enactors portraying: a Union Army company from Pennsylvania stationed in Beaufort during the Civil War; freed men and women; abolitionists; and missionaries.

·      May 3, 2016: The second annual Beaufort History Museum Tea, a fundraiser, to be held at the Dataw Island Club.

·      June 10 – 11, 2016: The South Carolina Humanities Festival, showcasing Beaufort County’s culture, arts, and history. The Museum plans to unveil a new exhibit on the Reconstruction Period in Beaufort.

Dinner at Southern Graces Bistro in the Beaufort Inn

Following the annual meeting, a dinner will be held at 7:00 PM at Southern Graces Bistro in the Beaufort Inn at 809 Port Republic St.  Selections include Fried Green Tomato Canapé; Signature Popovers; choice of Shrimp Fettuccine or Wine Roasted Chicken and a Trio of Mini Desserts.  The price is  $25.00 per person. Complimentary wine provided by the Museum will be served with dinner. Reservations can be made by clicking here. The first 50 dinner reservations submitted will be accommodated. The deadline for making reservations for the dinner is Monday, January 18.

Those who wish to renew their museum memberships or to become new members, may do so at the meeting or via the museum’s website.

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 the compelling stories of this area from the early 16^th Century until modern times.  

Training to Begin January 20

Beaufort, SC – December 14, 2015 - The Beaufort History Museum (BHM) is recruiting theWinter, 2016 class of volunteer docents to lead tours and serve as community liaisons. BHM Docent Educator Lorrie Burleyknoles announced the new class sessions.

“The training curriculum will cover all aspects of history relating to Beaufort. Our educators will provide docents with knowledge of the museum’s collections, history and mission,” she said. “Once docents have completed the training process, which consists of five classes, they will be asked to serve approximately four shifts per month and will commit to a one-year period of service to the museum.”

Docent Training schedule:

• Wednesday, January 20 - Information session - 9:00 AM to be followed immediately by Class One from 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM
  
• Class Two: Wednesday, January 27 - 9: AM - 11:30 AM
  
• Class Three: Wednesday, February 3 - 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM
  
• Class Four: Wednesday, February 10 - 9:30 AM-11: 30 AM
  
• Class Five: Wednesday, February 24 - 9:30 AM -11:30 AM
  
• Makeup Session: Wednesday, March 2 - 9:30 AM -11:30 AM
  

All sessions will be held at The Beaufort History Museum, which is located in The Arsenal at 713 Craven Street in Beaufort’s historic district. For more information on the docent program, or other volunteer opportunities with the museum, contact Lorrie Burleyknoles at lburleyknoles@beaufortschistorymuseum.com

The Beaufort History Museum 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 the compelling stories of this area from the early 16th Century until modern times. Through community engagement, children’s programs, educational opportunities and social events the Museum provides many services to visitors and local residents. To contact the Museum call 843.379.3079 or info@beauforthistorymuseum.com.

  

The Beaufort History Museum announces a new exhibit comprised of striking, evocative photographs of St. Helena Island and the Beaufort area which portray the historic sea islands as they were over a hundred years ago and through much of the early to mid-20th Century. The exhibit, titled “A Place Called Home,” and based on a book of the same name, features the work of lifelong St. Helena Island residents and authors Sonny Bishop and his daughter, Elizabeth Bishop Later. It tells a story of growth, change, adversity, and the meaning of “home”.

The book opens with the authors offering a glimpse of the special part of the Lowcountry where they grew up. “On a warm, humid, late summer evening, with a gentle southerly sea breeze from Wallace Creek protecting us from the mosquitoes, my father takes me on a little tour of “home”. Once the Robert Fuller Plantation, also called Fuller Place, and later called the Yard Farm (in Gullah – “de Ya’ad”), there is important history here that I want to capture.” And so begins this intimate retrospective. Although the book is replete with personal tales of growing up on St. Helena Island, the images selected from his huge collection of photographs provide incomparable visual impact.

“This is an exhibit of photos that Sonny Bishop has taken and collected on St. Helena and the surrounding area throughout much of the 20th Century, along with text written by his daughter, Elizabeth Bishop Later,” said BHM Board Member Katherine Lang. “ This exhibit will resonate with those who remember when the economy in this area was mainly agricultural. Among other things, it will give people a chance to see Dataw Island before it was developed, to learn about the development of truck farming that was so important to the economy of Beaufort and to know the terror and destruction wrought by Hurricane Gracie, which roared across the area in 1959.”

“A Place Called Home” will run through at least January 31.