Historic Beaufort is heart of the Lowcountry - Atlanta Journal Constitution Travel, 10/14/2019, by Cele and Lynn Seldon, for the AJC

BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA — 

South Carolina’s Lowcountry conjures up images of lush marshlands blanketed with spartina grasses, the sounds of oysters and crabs making their homes as the tide rises and falls, and the scent of pluff mud mixed with the briny breeze. There’s also the antebellum architecture, Spanish moss-draped avenues shadowed by massive oaks and magnolias and the clippity-clop of horse hooves along the pavement as the carriage tours share the history of the area. Charleston may be the better known historic city on the South Carolina coast, but no place captures the heart of the Lowcountry quite like Beaufort.

Located on Port Royal Island in the heart of the Sea Islands that stretch from Jacksonville to Charleston, Beaufort is about 20 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, bordered by the Beaufort River and Battery Creek. It is a quintessential small Southern town, home to 13,000 people who were either born here and married to her sultry charms or found their way here for one reason or another and succumbed to her allure.

Early beginnings

Established by the British in 1711, Beaufort (pronounced “Bew-fert,” versus the other Beaufort in the other Carolina, which is pronounced “Bow-fort”) is the second oldest city in South Carolina, behind Charleston. But about 200 years earlier, it was the site of the second European landing in North America and a settlement called Santa Elena, established by the Spanish in 1566, four decades before the English settled Jamestown.

Almost 150 years later, the British established Beaufort, which played key roles in the Civil War and the subsequent Reconstruction era. After Union Army forces occupied the area following the 1861 Battle of Port Royal, slave-holding plantation owners fled and the area became one of the earliest supporters of slave emancipation, including the founding in 1862 of the Penn Center for the education of newly freed Gullah slaves on nearby St. Helena Island. The city continued to flourish after the war and into the early 20th century through phosphate mining, naval operations and the founding of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on nearby Parris Island. The latter half of the 20th century saw the birth of tourism, as visitors came to explore Beaufort’s rich historic legacy, antebellum architecture and waterfront activities.

Preserving history

With this historic pedigree, there are plenty of things to do and see in and around this charming city. It’s best to start at the beginning with an exploration of the Santa Elena History Center and relive America’s first — and mostly lost — century.

Newly established in 2017 by President Barack Obama, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park is currently being developed and is a work in progress. However, there are several ways to explore the history of this era now, starting at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island. Here you can visit the original Penn School at Darrah Hall and the Brick Baptist Church, built in 1855 by enslaved people. Deemed a National Historic Landmark in 1974, the campus not only continues to fulfill its educational mission, but it also features a museum and gift shop, a cultural center and the site where Martin Luther King Jr. penned his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

The Beaufort History Museum gives a glimpse into the role Beaufort played in American history. Located in the historic 1852 arsenal, the building was home to African-American militia units during Reconstruction and was used as the first post-Civil War voting station. Other Reconstruction era sites in the works include the Old Beaufort Firehouse, which will be converted into a National Park Visitor Center.

Beaufort’s charming downtown historic district is filled with a variety of sites, including the Mark Verdier House, circa 1804, a Federal-style mansion that belonged to the wealthy merchant and planter Mark Verdier. On site are a number of exhibits, including a scale model diorama of Bay Street in 1863, Civil War photos and an exhibit devoted to Robert Smalls, who was born into slavery in Beaufort and went on to become a Union naval hero during the Civil War and a South Carolina congressman during the Reconstruction era.

Other attractions

Many of the historic buildings along Bay Street contain shops and restaurants, and one block south lies Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, along the Beaufort River. Featuring an oyster tabby river walk, a bustling marina, swing benches, green space for picnicking and a playground for children, Waterfront Park is a popular gathering place for viewing sunrises and sunsets across the harbor.

The area is also home to the Pat Conroy Literary Center, which showcases the life and writings of the beloved Lowcountry author and hosts a variety of literary events year-round.

Because of Beaufort’s unparalleled beauty, its spectacular houses and waterfront locations have been featured in several major movies, including “The Big Chill,” “The Prince of Tides” and “Forrest Gump.” See them all on one of Beaufort Tours’ walking or van tours. Departing from the downtown marina, tours last from one to three hours, depending on the theme. Options include Civil War and Reconstruction, Pat Conroy’s Beaufort, and Sea Island Plantation and Gullah culture.

Beaufort doesn’t have a beach, but 15 miles south is beautiful Hunting Island State Park. With five miles of pristine Atlantic Ocean beaches, thousands of acres of marshland and maritime forest, plenty of wildlife and the state’s only accessible lighthouse, Hunting Island makes for a great outing. That is, if you can pull yourself away from the charms of Beaufort, heart of the Lowcountry.

IF YOU GO

Beaufort, South Carolina, is 260 miles southeast of Atlanta.

WHAT TO DO

Santa Elena History Center. Explore the first European colonial capital in the New World. 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. 1501 Bay St. $5-$10. 843-379-1550, www.santa-elena.org

Penn Center. Established as a school for freed slaves in 1862, it continues to serve as a source of education and history. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. $5-$7. 38 Penn Center Circle West, St. Helena Island. 843-838-2474, www.penncenter.com.

Beaufort History Museum. A museum displaying the history of Beaufort in an 1852 arsenal. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. $7. 713 Craven St. 843-379-3079, www.beauforthistorymuseum.com.

Mark Verdier House. An architectural example of Beaufort’s moneyed class, along with several exhibits reflecting Beaufort’s history. 10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Guided tours every hour on the half hour. Free. 801 Bay St. 843-379-6335, www.historicbeaufort.org/verdier-house.

Pat Conroy Literary Center. A cultural center dedicated to the life and works of author Pat Conroy. Noon-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Free. 905 Port Republic St. 843-379-7025, www.patconroyliterarycenter.org.

Beaufort Tours. Walking and van tours of many of Beaufort’s attractions. $10-$60. 1006 Bay St. 843-838-2746, www.beauforttoursllc.com.

Hunting Island State Park. $3-$5. 2555 Sea Island Parkway, Hunting Island. 843-838-2011, www.southcarolinaparks.com/hunting-island

Beaufort History Museum Lecture Scheduled for September 17

            Beaufort, SC – September 3, 2019 - Noted teacher and historian Margaret Pickett will present a lecture titled “The history of Indigo in Beaufort’s Sea Islands” at 2:00 PM on Tuesday, September 17, at the Beaufort Branch Library, located at 311 Scott Street.  This is the first lecture in the Beaufort History Museum/Beaufort County Library 2019 Fall Local History Series. 

 

           Admission to the lecture is free.  A donation of $5 is suggested and reservations are required.  Registration, which opens on September 2nd, can be found by clicking here.  Please print out the ticket and bring to the event.  Registration is currently open.    (Lectures sell out.  Those with tickets will be admitted first.)  Funds collected will be used to support ongoing Museum programs and the Phase II renovation of the Exhibit Hall currently underway. Phase I of the renovation opened last year.

            Margaret (Peggy) Pickett is the co-director of Pickett Educational Resources, an independent researcher, author and living history presenter.  In addition to developing and presenting history programs for schools, she has researched and created programs in which she portrays women of the past.

             Her current portrayals include Eliza Lucas Pinckney, Dorothy Sinkler Richardson and Rebecca Motte.  She is the co-author of The European Struggle to Settle North America 1521 – 1608 and the author of Eliza Lucas Pinckney Colonial Plantation Manager and Mother of American Patriots, 1722 – 1793. 

            At the lecture she will talk about the history of indigo in South Carolina and how it affected the sea islands around Beaufort. Indigo was a very important and lucrative crop because the blue dye extracted from the plants was in high demand. In 1744 Eliza Lucas Pinckney sent a sample of indigo she had developed on her father’s plantation to England where it was said to be as good as the indigo produced by the French in their island colonies in the West Indies.  Indigo soon became a valuable export for Carolina planters. Its cultivation and processing as dye produced one-third the total value of the colony's exports before the Revolutionary War. Manager of three plantations, Pinckney had a major influence on the colonial economy.

            The Beaufort County Library System is a free and accessible center of ideas, information, and resources that foster learning, community, and literacy. The Library provides open and guided access to a wide variety of media and programs to inform, inspire, and empower people in their pursuit of lifelong learning, personal enrichment, and cultural understanding.

            Beaufort History Museum, located in the historic Arsenal at 713 Craven Street, 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.  The Museum’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday.   Information on other events, Docent Training classes, volunteer opportunities and membership may be found on the website and by visiting the Museum’s Facebook page.

            Beaufort, SC – May 13,2019  - Beaufort History Museum’s fifth annual Tea, “Pearls of Wisdom”, held May 7 at Dataw Island Club, was a resounding success attracting 150 guests and raising funds to support the renovation of the museum’s exhibit hall.  

            Patrons of the event, the organization’s principal fundraiser, sipped tea, savored delicious traditional tea delicacies, met authors and had books signed, bid on auction items and listened to speakers who described their heritage and topics from their books.

           Nationally known author Kristy Woodson Harvey used the occasion to unveil her latest book The Southern Side of Paradise (Simon and Schuster) and spoke about her North Carolina roots, launching her career and her popular book series.

           Local writer Patricia Bee (Mama’s Pearls) was on hand to sign books and was a featured speaker.

            The Museum also recognized Mary Rivers Legree, Information Specialist at the Beaufort Visitor’s Center, recipient of the South Carolina Hospitality Employee of the Year Award, and Scott Teodorski, Supervisor of the National Park Services Reconstruction Era National Park in Beaufort.

            Larry Koolkin, Co-chairman of the Museum’s Exhibit Committee, talked about the success of Phase I of the new exhibit hall, which opened earlier this year, and the progress in developing Phase II.  He said that funds raised at the Tea would help toward paying the $200,000 price tag for completing the project and the ongoing need for sponsors and supporters.

            The Tea Committee comprised Co-chairs Stuart Heath and Carla Marsh, Carol Lauvray, Kathy Mixon, Larry Koolkin, Jeff Kidd and Steve Guida.  Sponsors included Modern Jewelers, Merrill Lynch Bank of America Corporation, The Clark-Troutman Group Wealth Management, Lady’s Island Oyster Company, Fernwell Florals, Hairplay, Bay Street Outfitters, Eat Local (Hearth Wood Fired Pizza, Plum’s and Saltus River Grill restaurants), Hand and Tanner, Rossignol’s, MacDonald’s Marketplace, Kilwins, and Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix.

            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 to the modern era.  

            The Museum’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. Admission is $7.00 per visitor ($6.00 for Seniors). Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit www.beauforthistorymuseum.com or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

The Fifth Annual Beaufort History Museum Tea is Tuesday, May 7, at Dataw Island Club in the Carolina Room.

Sneak Peek at “Pearls of Wisdom” Beaufort History Museum Tea Auction Items:

Antique Mikimoto Pearl Necklace and Lady’s Island Oyster Roast Featured

While there will be many opportunities to take home interesting prizes from the 5^th Annual Beaufort History Museum there are two very special auction items that are sure to be popular and sell quickly.  We are offering an opportunity for our patrons to preview these items so that they can plan their bidding.   

Auction Item #1.  -  Antique Mikimoto Pearl Necklace  - Opening Bid    $1,400

Nature's
Purest Gem

Presented at auction is an antique, double-strand, Mikimoto pearl necklace offered at opening bid for $ 1,400.   You can buy this item at the Tea by bidding the top offer or you can close it out immediately by paying the stated value of $2,800.  (Note: a similar necklace is currently listed on Mikimoto’s website at $ 4,500.)

A note about Mikimoto: 

From the mysterious birth of a pearl to the painstaking care in harvesting, sorting and matching, the creation of Mikimoto jewelry requires the utmost technical skill and artistry at every phase

Over 20 years after Kokichi Mikimoto succeeded in cultivating the world's first cultured pearl, he then established his first Black South Sea pearl farm in 1914, thereby revolutionizing the pearl industry forever.

Auction Item # 2 – All The Single Ladies!

Oyster Roast by Acclaimed Lady’s Island Oyster Company - Opening bid $ 400

Gather your friends, savor and enjoy an Oyster Roast staring “Single Ladies”, the most prized of South Carolina oysters, at Lady’s Island Oyster Company in Seabrook, where oysters are grown in pristine waters.   These are the oysters sought out by some of the best chefs in the southeast to feature in their restaurants.  Now you can experience a delicious and fun event and the Oyster Company will do all the work. As an attractive bonus you will also experience a tour of the oyster-growing process given by innovative owner and oyster mariculture expert, Frank Roberts. Value of auction item: $800

Single Lady Oysters Story (from their website):

Single Lady Oysters are grown in the clean, crisp waters of the South Carolina Lowcountry.  The estuaries that nature our oysters are filled with pure salt water flowing directly from the Atlantic.  These waters give our Single Lady Oysters a smooth briny start with a sweet clean finish.

We take great pride in nurturing our oysters from hatchery through to harvest.  What we do is called mariculture and it removes pressure from our wild oyster resources as well as providing valuable ecosystem services that benefit our coastal waters.

Thank You for Your Generosity:

Beaufort History Museum thanks you for your generous support.  All proceeds of the Auction and the Tea will be used to help fund Phase II of the Museum’s Exhibit Hall renovation, which is currently underway.  (Phase I was completed last year and am currently open to the public.)

            Beaufort History Museum will present its fifth annual Tea on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 from 1 – 4 PM at Dataw Island Club.  The popular event, the Museum’s principal fundraiser, will showcase national best selling author Kristy Woodson Harvey, who is using the occasion to launch her newest book, The Southern Side of Paradise. Local author Patricia Bee and her book, Mama’s Pearls, will also be featured.   Both women will talk about their books and the importance of family, heritage and communal traditions to southern culture.

            The Tea will be set in Dataw Island Club’s beautiful Carolina Room, which offers sweeping views of Jenkins Creek and surrounding marshland.  In addition to delicious traditional formal tea delicacies there will also be a cocktail reception with a cash bar, an auction and an exciting raffle.  Auction items include a double strand antique Mikimoto cultured akoya pearl necklace offered by Modern Jewelers and an Oyster Roast by Lady’s Island Oysters featuring acclaimed Single Lady Oysters.  

            Reservations may be made by credit card on the Museum’s website beginning April 1, 2019 by clicking here.  Ticket prices, which include a copy of Harvey’s book, are $60/per person or $500 for a table of 10.  (Those buying a table are asked to use a single credit card for the reservation and to list the names of guests to facilitate seating at the Tea).

            Kristy Woodson Harvey is a born-and-bred North Carolina girl who loves all four seasons—especially fall in Chapel Hill where she attended college, and summer in Beaufort, NC, where she and her family spend every free moment. She is the author of The Southern Side of Paradise, The Secret of Southern Charm, Slightly South of Simple, Dear Carolina, and Lies and Other Acts of Love.

           Publisher Simon & Schuster provided this preview of the book launch: “For the last two summers, ‘one of the hottest new Southern writers’ (Parade) Kristy Woodson Harvey has captivated readers with her beloved Peachtree Bluff series and the resilient Murphy women. This May, readers travel back to the picturesque Southern town of Peachtree Bluff with the third stand-alone novel in the series, The Southern Side of Paradise (Gallery Books; on-sale May 7, 2019; Trade Paperback Original), when a long-held family secret threatens the tight-knit bond between the trio of sisters and their mother”.

            Patricia Bee, a Beaufort, SC native, is a retired educator with 28 years experience in the public school system.  She graduated from Beaufort High School and earned a B.A in Elementary Education from the University of South Carolina and a Masters in Public Administration from Iowa State University.

            Bee describes Mama’s Pearls as a book of poetry that captures “the essence of Gullah culture as priceless words of wisdom emanate from a grandmother’s heart and unfold a roadmap for life’s journey.”

            The BHM Annual Tea fundraiser enjoys wide community support. This edition’s sponsors include Modern Jewelers, Merrill Lynch Bank of America Corporation, The Clark-Troutman Group Wealth Management, Lady’s Island Oyster Company, Fernwell Florals, Hairplay, Bay Street Outfitters, Eat Local (Hearth Wood Fired Pizza, Plum’s and Saltus River Grill restaurants), Hand and Tanner, Rossignol’s, MacDonald’s Marketplace, Kilwins, and Seaside Grown Bloody Mary Mix.

            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 to the modern era.  

            The Museum’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. Admission is $7.00 per visitor ($6.00 for Seniors). Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit www.beauforthistorymuseum.com or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

Beaufort, SC – March 21, 2019 - Beaufort History Museum, in partnership with the Beaufort Branch of Beaufort County Library, will present a lecture titled “History and Tales of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department and Coroner’s Office”.  The lecture is scheduled for 2 PM Tuesday, April 9, at the First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall located at the corner of North and Church Streets in Beaufort. Speakers will be Ed Allen, Beaufort County Coroner and Lieutenant Colonel Neil Baxley, Emergency Management Director of the Beaufort County Sherriff’s Office.

         Admission to the lecture is free.  A donation of $5 is suggested and reservations are required.  Registration opens March 26th - click here to register!  Please print  the ticket and bring to the event.     (Lectures sell out.  Those with tickets will be admitted first.)  Funds collected will be used to support ongoing Museum programs and the renovation of the Exhibit Hall currently underway. Phase I of the renovation is now open and planning for Phase II has begun.

            A Beaufort, SC native, Ed Allen graduated from Robert Smalls High School and received his degree in Mortuary Science from Cincinnati College. He became the first Beaufort County Director of Emergency Medical Services, a position in which he served for 33 years.  He was Deputy Coroner of Beaufort County for 28 years prior to being sworn in as Coroner, his first elected position, January 1, 2009. Allen is active in numerous local boards, committees, associations and civic organizations including South Carolina’s Coroner’s Association; Beaufort Jasper, Hampton Comprehensive Health Services; Salvation Army and the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce.

            Neil Baxley joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1983 after a four-year stint in the United States Marine Corps. In 2013 he became the third Emergency Management Director in the history of Beaufort County after the Sheriff’s Office absorbed the Emergency Management Division. As Emergency Management Director he oversees the 911-phone system, the communications system for all emergency responders in Beaufort County, the Central Dispatch Center, the Traffic Management Center and the Beaufort County Hazardous Materials Program.

            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 to the modern era.  

            The Museum’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. Admission is $7.00 per visitor ($6.00 for Seniors). Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit www.beauforthistorymuseum.com or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

Beaufort History Museum Announces Spring Docent Training

Classes begin March 6, 2019

            Beaufort, SC –February 16, 2019 – Beaufort History Museum is offering Docent Classes to train volunteers who lead Museum tours and serve as community liaisons. In the classes, directed by Docent Educator Lorrie Burleyknoles, participants learn how Beaufort shaped America from the early European settlements to current times.

Classes will be held at the historic Arsenal at 713 Craven Street. Space in the class is limited and those interested in attending the five-week session are encouraged to register early. For more information on the Docent program, or other volunteer opportunities with the Museum, contact  lburleyknoles@beauforthistorymuseum.com or call 559-362-3237.

Spring Docent Training classes are scheduled from 9-11 AM on March 6, 13, 20, 27 and April 3, 2019 (all Wednesdays) in the first floor conference room of the Arsenal. To earn Docent certification all five classes must be completed.           

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 to the modern era.   

The Museum’s hours of operation are 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday – Saturday. Docents are on duty to provide information and conduct tours. Admission is $7.00 per visitor ($6.00 for Seniors). Children and active military are admitted free of charge.  Please visit www.beauforthistorymuseum.com or BHM’s Facebook page for updates and news from the Museum.

Beaufort History Museum Announces Living History Encampment

Union Troops to Occupy the Beaufort Arsenal March 9

Beaufort, SC – February 15, 2019 - Beaufort History Museum will present its fourth annual Living History Encampment on Saturday, March 9, 2019 from 9 AM – 5 PM in the Arsenal courtyard. Re-enactors coming to Beaufort from several states will portray Union troops from the Department of the South who were garrisoned in the Lowcountry and occupied the Beaufort Arsenal during the Civil War. The re-enactors will set up camp in the walled Arsenal courtyard and provide a unique educational opportunity for visitors of all ages, who will be able to interact with the soldiers to learn firsthand how life was lived in Beaufort during the Civil War years. A Civil War era cannon also will be on display in the Arsenal courtyard the day of the event.

This year for the Encampment, the Museum is partnering with the National Park Service (NPS) and its Reconstruction Era National Monument visitors center, located in the old Firehouse building on Craven Street across from the Arsenal. The Museum’s highly acclaimed exhibit Reconstruction Beaufort is on display at NPS’ visitors center, which will be open the day of the Encampment. Beaufort is the place where Reconstruction first began, during the early years of the Civil War. The National Park Service plans special activities the day of the Encampment event for kids who want to earn their Junior Ranger badges.

 “Our annual Living History Encampment is one of the Museum’s most popular events, attracting hundreds of visitors in a single day”, said Carol Lauvray, BHM Board of Directors President. “We are very grateful to the encampment organizer, Lou Evans, to the other re-enactors, and to Scott Teodorski, Superintendent of the Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Monument, for partnering with the Museum to make this remarkable event available to the public.” 

Admission is free to the Encampment in the Arsenal courtyard, however donations to support the Museum are much appreciated. On the day of the Encampment event, admission to the Museum’s newly renovated Exhibition Hall on the second floor of the Arsenal will be specially priced at $5.00 per visitor ($4.00 for Seniors). Museum members, children, and active military and their families are admitted to the Museum free of charge at all times. Admission is free to the National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Monument visitors center.

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.

Beaufort History Museum and Beaufort County Historical Society, both celebrating their 80th Anniversaries, are collaborating with the historic Tabernacle Baptist Church and Beaufort County Library to present a lecture by University of South Carolina Professor W. Lewis Burke.

The lecture titled “William J. Whipper and Jonathan Jasper Wright: Beaufort and South Carolina’s first Civil Rights Lawyers”, will take place at 6:00 PM on February 7, 2019 at Tabernacle Baptist Church, located at 907 Craven Street. The cost is $10 for an on-line reservation and $15 at the door. Registration is currently open by clicking here.

Burke’s current book, All for Civil Rights: African American Lawyers in South Carolina 1868-1968, will be available for purchase at a book signing and reception following his talk at the discounted price of $45. In addition, the Beaufort District Collection (BDC) of Beaufort County Library will present a slideshow of items from its holdings about lawyers William J. Whipper and Jonathan Jasper Wright, as well as about the Beaufort County Historical Society and Beaufort History Museum.

In his book Burke writes, “The history of the black lawyer in South Carolina is one of the most significant untold stories of the long and troubled struggle for equal rights in the state.” Beginning in Reconstruction and continuing to the modern civil rights era, 168 black lawyers were admitted to the South Carolina bar. All for Civil Rights is the first book-length study devoted to those lawyers’ struggles and achievements in the state that had the largest black population in the country, by percentage, until 1930—and that was a majority black state through 1920.

Burke is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of South Carolina School of Law. He also wrote At Freedom’s Door: African American Founding Fathers and Lawyers in Reconstruction South Carolina.

This talk is a collaborative presentation by Beaufort County Historical Society, Beaufort History Museum and Tabernacle Baptist Church, in cooperation with Beaufort County Library. Beaufort History Museum, located in the historic Arsenal on Craven Street, was founded in 1939 and 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. For more information visit the Museum’s website or Facebook page.

Featured in Beaufort Lifestyle Magazine

Story by Carol Lauvray
Photos by Susan DeLoach

President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on January 12, 2017 establishing the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The monument is a unit of the National Park Service consisting of historic sites from the Reconstruction Era—Penn Center’s Darrah Hall and Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena Island and the Camp Saxton site in Port Royal—along with the Old Beaufort Firehouse in the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District in downtown Beaufort.

If you’ve passed the old firehouse on Craven Street, you may have noticed it’s now the Reconstruction Era National Monument visitor center, which has been closed much of the time. That will change beginning in January when Scott Teodorski, the NPS’ newly appointed permanent superintendent of the national monument, opens the visitor center on a more regular basis to tell the story of how the Reconstruction Era started right here in Beaufort!

The Reconstruction Era National Monument—Decades In The Making
Reconstruction is a story that began nearly 160 years ago in the Sea Islands of the Lowcountry in the early months of the Civil War. The story of the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort has unfolded over the past two decades, with the support of hundreds of people within this community and nationally.

“The National Park Service’s involvement in creating the Reconstruction Era National Monument goes back to 2000, when former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt recognized that Reconstruction was a large part of this country’s history that was not being told by the Park Service,” Superintendent Teodorski says. “There’s not a better place than Beaufort to use as a platform to tell the story of Reconstruction.”

Upon the President’s January 2017 proclamation establishing the Reconstruction Era National Monument in Beaufort, U.S. Representative James E. Clyburn released a statement reinforcing why Beaufort was chosen for the monument:

… Reconstruction had some of its earliest and most significant impact in Beaufort County, South Carolina. For the last two decades, many communities in Beaufort County have worked to recognize and preserve their Reconstruction heritage and to create a unit of the National Park Service linking these historic sites together. Today’s announcement is a great tribute to their years of work and sacrifice on this endeavor.
Penn Center, originally called Penn School, was established in 1862 as the first school in the South for former slaves.

The Board of Trustees has donated Darrah Hall, the oldest building on Penn Center’s campus, to the National Park Service to be used as an interpretive center. I extend my thanks to Chairman Clifford Bush, Executive Director Rodell Lawrence, and the entire Board of Trustees and staff for their contributions to this important cause.

Brick Baptist Church, adjacent to Penn Center, was built in 1855 by slaves.
Before Penn School expanded to its current location, early classes were held in the Brick Baptist Church building, which still stands today. Under the leadership of Rev. Abraham Murray, the church is now part of the national monument, and the congregation donated a historic preservation easement to the National Park Service to ensure this structure will be preserved in perpetuity.

Downtown Beaufort features many historic sites from the era, and the national monument will include the old firehouse building to be used as a visitor center for the many significant Reconstruction Era sites in the area. I want to thank Mayor Billy Keyserling for his family’s donation of the building and for all of his advocacy and efforts to galvanize community support for this designation.

The monument also features the Camp Saxton Site in Port Royal where on January 1, 1863, Union General Rufus Saxton assembled 3,000 slaves from the surrounding Sea Islands to read the Emancipation Proclamation, the first such reading in the South. On the grounds of the U.S. Naval Hospital Beaufort, this site will be opened up to the public once an agreement between the Navy and the National Park Service is finalized …

In his statement, Rep. Clyburn also thanked Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, and the staffs of the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service, as well as former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and the Conservation Lands Foundation, for their support of the Reconstruction Era National Monument.

Community Support For The Reconstruction Era National Monument
During a public meeting held at Brick Church in December 2016, Rep. Clyburn and National Park Service Director Jarvis witnessed unanimous community support for the proposed monument from an overflowing crowd.

Scott Teodorski says, “A big part of what brought me to Beaufort to act as superintendent of the monument is this community. Everyone here is so excited about and supportive of the Reconstruction Era National Monument,” he emphasized. “Mayor Billy Keyserling was on the cutting edge of the efforts to create the monument here and it’s been a community-driven effort from the beginning. The monument is in Beaufort as a result of bi-partisan Congressional support and the amazing efforts of local officials, the Park Service’s community partners, and the Beaufort community.”

Community partners who are making the Reconstruction Era National Monument possible include: Penn Center; Rev. Abraham Murray and the congregation of Brick Church; Port Royal Mayor Sam Murray and the U.S. Naval Hospital Beaufort; and Mayor Billy Keyserling and Paul Keyserling, who donated the Old Beaufort Firehouse for the monument.
Penn Center board chair and acting interim director Marion Burns says Darrah Hall, built in the late 1800s, is the oldest existing building on the Penn Center campus. Superintendent Teodorski emphasized that Penn Center’s donation of Darrah Hall is a “game changer.” Traditionally used as a community center, it will be used by the Park Service as an information and education center for the monument and continue to be available for special events.
Teodorski calls Brick Baptist Church “ground zero” for Reconstruction saying, “It was built by hand by slaves and some of the early classes for freedmen were taught in the church.” The congregation has donated a facade easement, allowing the Park Service to maintain the church’s exterior as well as its grounds, which Rev. Murray says include separate cemeteries for slaves and their white masters.

The Camp Saxton site on the grounds of the Naval Hospital in Port Royal is not currently open to the public, however, Teodorski says the Park Service is working with the Navy and town to make the site accessible, so visitors can stand where Union troops came ashore at the camp. Mayor Sam Murray shared plans to move the historic Porters Chapel to the Naval Heritage Park to serve as an interpretive center for the monument.

Teodorski also praised Beaufort History Museum, located in the historic Arsenal, for its partnership with the Park Service and its long-term loan of BHM’s Reconstruction Beaufort exhibit, now on display in the NPS visitor center.

Reconstruction Began In Beaufort
President Obama’s Proclamation making Beaufort County the Reconstruction Era National Monument provides insight into why Reconstruction began in Beaufort:

The Reconstruction Era, a period spanning the early Civil War years until the start of Jim Crow racial segregation in the 1890s, was a time of significant transformation in the United States, as the Nation grappled with the challenge of integrating millions of newly freed African Americans into its social, political, and economic life. It was in many ways the Nation’s Second Founding, as Americans abolished slavery and struggled earnestly, if not always successfully, to build a nation of free and equal citizens. During Reconstruction, Congress passed the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth constitutional amendments that abolished slavery, guaranteed due process and equal protection under the law, and gave all males the ability to vote by prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Ultimately, the unmet promises of Reconstruction led to the modern civil rights movement a century later.

The Reconstruction Era began when the first United States soldiers arrived in slaveholding territories, and enslaved people on plantations and farms and in cities escaped from their owners and sought refuge with Union forces or in free states. This happened in November 1861 in the Sea Islands or “Lowcountry” of southeastern South Carolina, and Beaufort County in particular.

Beaufort County became one of the first places in the United States where formerly enslaved people could begin integrating themselves into free society. While the Civil War raged in the background, Beaufort County became the birthplace of Reconstruction … [and] a novel social experiment, known as the Port Royal Experiment, to help former slaves become self-sufficient.

In and around Beaufort County during Reconstruction, the first African Americans enlisted as soldiers, the first African American schools were founded, early efforts to distribute land to former slaves took place, and many of the Reconstruction Era’s most significant African American politicians, including Robert Smalls, came to prominence. African American political influence and land ownership endured there long after setbacks in other regions. In short, events and people from Beaufort County illustrate the most important challenges of Reconstruction—crucial questions related to land, labor, education, and politics after the destruction of slavery—and some early hopeful efforts to address them. The significant historical events that transpired in Beaufort County make it an ideal place to tell stories of experimentation, potential transformation, hope, accomplishment, and disappointment. In Beaufort County, including St. Helena Island, the town of Port Royal, and the city of Beaufort, many existing historic objects demonstrate the transformative effect of emancipation and Reconstruction.

The Future of the Reconstruction Era National Monument
“How to Remember Reconstruction,” an article written by Gregory P. Downs and Kate Masur, authors of the National Historical Landmark Theme Study and Fact Book on Reconstruction, was published in November in The New York Times. In their article, Drs. Downs and Masur called on Congress to pass the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Act. They say the act “would empower the National Park Service to connect Reconstruction sites all around the country; encourage visitors to talk about Reconstruction at local historical sites; and help convey the full story of how America was remade after the Civil War.”

Mayor Keyserling says the legislation, introduced by Rep. James Clyburn and co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Sanford of South Carolina, would: 1) change the name of the monument to the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park; 2) expand the park’s boundaries to encompass the entire downtown Beaufort Historic National Landmark District (including sites like Tabernacle Baptist Church where Robert Smalls is buried and Smalls’ house on Prince Street) and include all of St. Helena Island; and 3) authorize the NPS to launch a national network of Reconstruction Era sites overseen from the national park in Beaufort County.

Scott Teodorski thinks the future of the Reconstruction Era National Monument is bright, with Beaufort’s unrivaled Reconstruction Era sites and history, and the enthusiastic support of this community. “I’m excited about hiring park rangers and staff. My first priority is to open the sites so visitors can experience first-hand the stories of the Reconstruction Era!”