Beaufort SC HISTORIC SITES

George Elliott House, circa 1840
1001 Bay Street
Purchased before the Civil War by Dr. W. A. Jenkins. It has been fully restored as a house museum and is no longer open to the public.

John Mark Verdier House Museum, circa 1790
This Federal-style home was used as a headquarters by Union officers during the Civil War.
Open Monday - Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Admission $6 Adults, $3 Students

Lewis Reeve Sams House, circa 1852
601 East Bay Street
This house was used as a hospital by Union troops in the closing days of the Civil War.

William Waterhouse House, circa 1898
212 New Street
Built as a wedding gift to his wife, Isabelle Richmond

Thomas Hepworth House, circa 1717
214 New Street
The oldest house in Beaufort boasts a seven-foot-square chimney built to give the appearance of four chimneys.

Joseph Johnson House (The Castle), circa 1850
411 Craven Street
This house, one of the most photographed in America, occupies an entire city block and is surrounded by lush gardens and two olive trees from the Mount of Olives in the Holy Land.

William Fripp House (Tidewater), circa 1830
302 Federal Street
This house with its two story portico faces the Beaufort River. It was built by one of the richest planters in the area.

James Robert Verdier House (Marshlands), circa 1814
501 Pinckney Street
Set high off the ground and supported by arches, this house blends Barbadian plantation architecture with more formal Adam features. An outstanding feature is the porch which runs across the front and down each side to connect the back rooms.

Edward Means House, circa 1853
604 Pinckney Street
The interior of this house is noted for its spacious quality, fine woodwork and a floating spiral staircase.

Paul Hamilton House (The Oaks), circa 1856
100 Laurens Street
This Italianate style home features a wide porch running across the front and two sides. Inside are unusually carved mantles that wrap around the sides of the chimneys.

Berners Barnwell Sams House, circa 1852
201 Laurens Street
Massive brick Doris pillars support the flat roof and second floor veranda. The grounds include a blacksmith shop, a cook house, laundry and rooms for the household servants.

Edgar Fripp House (Tidalholm), circa 1856
1 Laurens Street
Built by Edgar Fripp, a wealthy landowner, for use as a summer home. This home has been the location of a number of major motion pictures.

Elizabeth Hext House (Riverview), circa 1720
207 Hancock Street
Set well back from the street and built on a tabby foundation, this ~ one of the oldest houses in Beaufort In 1864, it was sold for $640 by the U.S. Tax Commission.

Reverend Thomas Ledbetter House, circa early 1800s
This Beaufort-style house has a magnificent view of the river from its second-story veranda

Henry McKee House, circa 1834
A large frame house with two-story portico, this house has several design features aimed at making it unusually sturdy.

First African Baptist Church, circa 1865
601 New Street
Built by freed slaves in 1865 and given to other freed slaves.

William Wigg Barnwell House, circa 1816
501 King Street
Originally built at the corner of Prince and Scott streets, it was saved from demolition by the Historic Beaufort Foundation and moved to its current location.

The Beaufort Arsenal Museum
713 Craven Street
Built in 1798 of brick and tabby and rebuilt in 1852. It was home of the Beaufort Volunteer Army. Today the museum houses many artifacts of nature, war and industry. Open Mon-Sat 11-4. Admission Adults and Children over 6 $3. 843-379-3331.

Beaufort College Building
Located in historic downtown Beaufort, the University traces its origins to Beaufort College, founded in 1795. Though the state's second oldest college closed during the Civil War, Beaufort College remained in use as the Freedmen's Bureau. The college reopened following the war, but became the site of an elementary school until the University of South' Carolina Beaufort opened on the site in 1959.

Baptist Church of Beaufort, circa 1844
600 Charles Street
The church was organized in 1804 and this Greek Revival building was constructed in 1844

Thomas Rhett House, circa 1820.
1009 Craven Street
This excellently proportioned house has two-story wrap-around piazzas and transom-lighted doorways.

St Helena's Episcopal Church
St Helena's Parish was organized in 1712 and construction began in 1724. The church was used as a hospital during the Civil War and its flat tombstone became operating tables.

Milton Maxey House (Secession House)
Built around 1813 on a tabby foundation dating to 1743, it became known as "Secession House" after the first meeting favoring secession was held here.

John A. Cuthbert House, circa 1810.
Today known as Cuthbert House Inn.

Thomas Fuller House (Tabby Manse), circa 1786
1211 Bay Street
One of the finest early houses in Beaufort, the house has 12-inch-thick hand-hewn structural timbers that span the entire 45-foot depth of the house. The tabby exterior walls are two feet thick.

Leverett House, Pre-revolutionary
1301 Bay Street
Originally built on St Helena Island, the house was moved to its current location in 1850. The front door still has its original lock and the door can be further locked from inside with a large wooden bar.

John Joyner Smith House, circa 1811
400 Wilmington Street
This house has a false front door facing the river and a real entrance on Wilmington Street. The lower parts of the windows on the first floor open like doors to provide access to the porch.

Edward Barnwell House, circa 1785
1405 Bay Street
During the Civil War federal officers used this house as quarters. They flattened the top of one of the chimneys and erected a platform from which the signal officer could signal to ships down the river.

William Elliott House (The Anchorage), circa 1800
1103 Bay Street
This three-story tabby house was constructed before the Revolutionary War. Threatened by demolition, "The Anchorage" was saved by Historic Beaufort Foundation, which, with the aid of a small group of friends, purchased the property.

John Cross Tavern, circa late 1700s
807-813 Bay Street
The tavern occupied two buildings flanking a driveway leading to the John Cross Dock with an overhead walkway connecting the building.

The Lipton House, circa 1870.

Lucius Cuthbert House, circa 1820
915 Port Republic Street
The Cuthbert family fled to Aiken, SC when Beaufort was occupied and never returned to Beaufort. F.W Scheper bought the house in 1876 and made numerous changes, including the fence which bears the Scheper name.

Penn Center
This African-American cultural center and museum was the first school for freed slaves in the South. It was home for Martin Luther King retreats during the 60s.

Visitors Center, circa 1870
Built as a family residence, this building was originally called Conant House. Later it became Bellamy Inn and in later years served as a funeral parlor, antique shop and real estate office. In 1997 it was purchased and restored by the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce as a center for visitors.

Keyserling Home, circa 1917
1705 Bay Street
Beaufort's premier example of Neoclassic Revival Style architecture and only U S Dept of Interior Certified, 1917 Historic Building.

Parris Island
Originally the site of Spanish forts, Paris Island became a Naval Station in 1876 and a prison in 1906. In 1915 the island became the recruit training station for the U.S. Marines. A military museum is open to the public on the base.