Both Beaufort County
and its county seat of Beaufort were
named for Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. The district was formed
in 1769 from the parishes of Prince William, St. Luke, St. Helena, and St.
Peter. It remained relatively unchanged in size until 1878, when a large portion
was removed to form Hampton County. French explorers visited this area long
before the English arrived. They established a fort in 1562, as did the Spanish
in 1566; neither of these settlements survived, however. Beaufort, the second
oldest town in South Carolina, was founded in 1710. In the years before the
Civil War, rice and sea island cotton plantations brought great wealth to the
region. Federal troops occupied Beaufort in December 1861, and the first school
in the South for freed slaves was established during the Civil War at what is
now Penn Center
on St. Helena Island. The United States Marine Corps began training recruits at
Parris Island
in 1915, and later in the twentieth century Hilton Head Island
and neighboring sea islands have become popular resort and retirement
destinations. Some famous residents of Beaufort County are naturalists Alexander
Garden (ca. 1730-1791) and Stephen Elliott (1771-1830);
Robert Smalls
(1839-1915), a former slave who became a United States Congressman; boxer Joe Frazier;
and writer
Pat Conroy.
By: SC State Library/Mary Morgan
All webpages that are being made
available for your viewing & use, are not copyrighted. It's
believed that the usage of any
original work submittals contained within these webpages such as
articles, compiling, photographs or graphics, conform to
Fair Use Doctrine & Copyright guidelines.
COPYRIGHT: (1) Works published
before 1923, are considered to be public-domain. (2) Works published
1923-1977 without a copyright notice, are considered to be public-domain.
(3) Unpublished non-copyrighted works will have Author permission for
public-domain. Facts (names, dates & places) & data can not be
copyrighted. Narration, compilations and creative works can be
copyrighted. Copyright law in the U.S. does not protect facts or data,
just the presentation of this data.
