A BRIEF HISTORY OF BEAUFORT, SOUTH CAROLINA

“The Queen of the Carolina Sea Islands”, Beaufort was established in 1711, and is the second oldest city in South Carolina after Charleston. Beginning a mere 22 years after Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, ten flags have flown over the Beaufort area. Capt. Pedro de Salaza of Hispanola landed here on St. Helena’s Day in 1514, becoming only the second European in history to set foot on North American soil (Ponce de Leon had landed in St. Augustine one year earlier). Capt. de Salaza named the area “St. Helena”.

In 1562, after exploring the southern coast from Florida to South Carolina, Capt. Jean Ribaut of France landed in Beaufort and named the large harbor “Port Royal”, a name which has been in continuous use for over 400 years. Capt. Ribaut built “Charlesfort” (the ruins of which are a National Historic Landmark) on what is now Parris Island; thereafter, the Spanish, French, Scots, Swiss, and English fought each other, Native Americans, disease, and terrible conditions to colonize this area of the New World.

When the English arrived in 1670, they were warned that the threat from the nearby Indians and Spaniards was too great to contest; therefore, they moved up the coast to Charleston, where they established the first permanent settlement in South Carolina. By the early 1700′s, English planters and traders had established a foothold in the Beaufort area, and the Lords Proprietors (landlords) of the Carolina Colony – later divided into North Carolina and South Carolina - founded a seaport town here. Named for one of its founders, Lord Proprietor Henry Somerset, 2^nd Duke of Beaufort, the town was originally laid out similarly to the “Grand Modell of Charles Towne”, which had been used 40 years earlier in Charleston. It was comprised of 397 lots and a public square, and became the center of S. C.’s elite, aristocratic antebellum Lowcountry Planter Society.

Beaufort’s location afforded it a position of great strategic importance, with the town playing a part in and witnessing many of the fledgling nation’s most significant events. The town fathers met in The Secession House (1113 Craven St.), and decided to join the secessionist movement in Charleston; ultimately South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Before the Civil War, the growing of indigo, cotton, and rice made South Carolina the wealthiest colony in America (even wealthier than New York), and allowed many Lowcountry planters to accumulate large tracts of land for planting and leisure activities – thus the southern plantation was born. These successful Lowcountry planters (and the merchants who sold their goods) built the grand and beautiful mansions you see in Beaufort’s National Historic Landmark District as “summer homes” to announce their arrival to the elite “Beaufort Planter Society”. During the Civil War, Beaufort was occupied by Union naval forces without a single shot being fired, which thankfully spared the many beautiful houses and buildings from burning.

Through a serendipitous twist of fate, three of the most popular and celebrated films in Hollywood history were filmed in and around Beaufort:  “The Big Chill” (1983), “The Prince of Tides” (1989), and “Forrest Gump” (2001). These films all went on to become huge box office hits and integral elements of the 20^th century American cultural lexicon; their unprecedented success, universal appeal, and breathtaking location photography made Beaufort herself a star and favored travel destination for history-minded travelers. Also filmed in and around Beaufort were “The Great Santini”, The Lords of Discipline”, “The Jungle Book”, “White Squall” (a scene from which was filmed on The Rhett House Inn’s veranda), “Something to Talk About”, “Forces of Nature”, and many others. Today, Beaufort is a major military center, with three Marine Corp bases; and a major tourist destination as a result of the sublimely beautiful Lowcountry setting and sheer number and variety of beautifully preserved houses and buildings, which form a virtual encyclopedia of southern architectural styles of the 18^th, 19^th, and early 20^th centuries. For more information on Beaufort’s colorful 500-year history, see Beaufort, South Carolina: A History by Alexia Jones Helsley or The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina:  1514 – 1861 by Lawrence S. Rowland. The map below shows an early representation of surveys of the Carolina Colony - its major ports, cities, and landmarks.