What to Expect in August 2026

Monthly Overview for August: The BDC has two local history programs scheduled this month. Chris Allen will share his passions for maps and the 16th century in “Beaufort Before Britain” at Hilton Head Branch Library on Thursday, August 20 at 11 AM. A few days later we jump forward several centuries with Dr. Chanda Powell's research about the “Historic Black Businesses of Beaufort” at Beaufort Branch Library on Monday, August 24 at 2 PM.

The Summer Reading Program and the BDC's role in the "Revealing the Revolution" challenge ended at 5 PM yesterday. We offer our thanks to all who participated in the BDC/Beaufort County Historical Society/ Beaufort County 250th challenge. Prizes should be in the mail from the BCHS to those who earned one very soon for the latest completers. We hope that you had a good time learning about this area's history during the War of Independence. Just please keep in mind that South Carolina's commemoration will not officially end until 2033 so there will likely be more Revolutionary War history in store for you through the BDC in the future.

Beginning mid-month the Research Room will be short-handed for a time. I have full faith that Cassandra and Sydney will keep sharing its wonders with you.

Digitizing History : Unique Collections Online

I’ve been thinking a lot about the consequences of decisions made during my career as head of the Beaufort District Collection. One of my greatest professional satisfactions comes from the successful partnership built with the South Carolina Digital Library (SCDL) and its regional hub, the Lowcountry Digital Library (LCDL), over the years.

When Kate Boyd (SCDL) called to ask me way back in the early 2000s if the Beaufort County Library had any materials for a pilot project aimed to include rare and unique collections cared for by public libraries in the SCDL, I said “yes” -- with a decidedly “deer in the headlights” look on my face which luckily, she couldn’t see over a landline. (Greenville County Public Library agreed to participate as well.)

I selected the Donner Collection for the pilot project. The Donner Collection includes 548 unique, fragile and exceptional photographs of rural life and the phosphate mining industry in northern Beaufort County at the turn of the 20^th century. The photographs have great research value to scholars and are visually compelling. I reasoned that even if the pilot project failed, the original images would be better protected with less handling, and the material could be shared with anyone anywhere in the world. With my supervisor Hillary Barnwell’s encouragement, work soon began – and continued … and continued … but ultimately became a roaring success that set the stage for all our future collaborations with SCDL and LCDL.  

We have nine digital collections on the LCDL at present: five are photographic collections; two are manuscripts; a postcard collection and one is a very rare, printed publication about what happened during the Great Sea Island Hurricane of 1893. These materials are hosted online both for the convenience and accessibility of researchers, and to prevent excess handling of fragile materials. We hope that you will explore each digital collection in depth:

• "'Phosphate, Farms and Family:' The Donner Collection" (2007)
• "The Lucille Hasell Culp Collection: A Celebration of Beaufort, South Carolina" (2011)
• "Beaufort Hurricane of 1893 Photograph Collection" (2015)
• "Storm Swept Coast by Rachel M. Mather, 1894" (2015) 
• "Russell J. Arnsberger Postcard Collection" (2017)
• "Civil War and Reconstruction Stereoscopes" (2018)
• "L.A. Hall Civil War and Reconstruction Eras Stereoscopic images" (2018)
• "Richard L. Johnson Medical Record Book, 1863-1864, 1867-1883" (2019)
• "Susan M. L. Wales Travel Journal, 1887-1895" (2024) 

All LCDL content is harvested and fully searchable within the South Carolina Digital Library and the Digital Public Library of America, which brings the BCL’s digital collections to the national and international stage. LCDL is also indexed by Google and all other major search engines. This increased visibility, coupled with LCDL's complimentary digital preservation services, facilitates the sustainability, accessibility, and public engagement of our digital collections with people across the globe.

Leah Worthington and Heather Gilbert at LCDL shared their perspectives about our long collaboration this way:

“The Beaufort County Library has been a steadfast partner whose unique digitized collections have continued to expand public knowledge and learning about the South Carolina Lowcountry. Their distinctive historical collections provide Beaufort County residents, South Carolinians, and people from all across the country an opportunity to learn about and engage with archival collections found nowhere else. The Lowcountry Digital Library is proud to have partnered with the Beaufort County Library from the very beginning. The digitized collections will continue to draw attention to the valuable resources available from the Beaufort County Library and enrich people’s understanding of the South Carolina Lowcountry.”

Three more BDC/BCL-LCDL digital collections are on the horizon - another Civil War collection of photographs, a slide collection, and an unpublished typescript of land genealogies. These are almost ready for LCDL to work its magic and upload the final products.   

As I told Leah last week, agreeing to let the Donner Collection be a guinea pig for digitization on the SCDL was the second-best decision of my career. (I'll let you in the first-best decision in my farewell note here on Connections on my last day of employment).

BDC's Programs & Outreach: Past & Upcoming

We just received our latest promotional device - the yard sign shown to the right that says "Beaufort District Collection Local History Program Beaufort County Library Event Today!" -- which has reminded me to share some statistics with you about this past season and to share some information about upcoming BDC local history programs. Going forward, be sure to look for this sign at the location where a BDC Local History Program is occurring.

Before I retire I want to state categorically and without any reservations that I have enjoyed crafting many seasons of local history programs over the years - perhaps too much at times. Because program planning and coordination is hard and very time consuming, doing so much of it did indeed come at a cost to other necessary BDC tasks. I hope that from your vantage point, it has looked easy. But trust me on this: A lot of behind-the-scenes coordination has to take place to create and deliver meaningful local history library-based programs to you.

FY 2026 : July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2026

First here are some statistics related to our most recent program and outreach efforts. For the past several years, I've said that the BDC has outdone itself with programs and outreach efforts. And I'll say it again for FY 2026: The BDC staff outdid ourselves for the July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 period!

The BDC sponsored 34 programs inside a library facility. We are thankful for the time and talents of Ted Panayotoff, Mike Reynolds, Dr. George B. "Barney" Forsythe, Dr. Raul Galvan, Leah Roche, Dr. Jon Leader, Peggy Pickett, Tom Vaselopulos, Neil Baxley, Rich Thomas, Dr. Brenda Litchfield, Dr. Mollie Barnes, John Fisher, Katie Epps, Eric Ellis and Dr. Randy James. Nor could we have done these programs without the assistance of our partners, viz. Beaufort County Historical Society, Beaufort History Museum, Beaufort County 250th Committee, Friends of Fort Fremont, and the Hilton Head Chapter of the Archaeological Society of South Carolina as co-sponsors.

All BDC programs are designed to deliver the message that the BDC has some "really cool stuff" that you just might want to come review in our Research Room - but particularly so when staff research and present local history and archival programs. We were in a pretty vigorous program presenting mode last year. Cassi presented programs about archival related matters three times. Sydney did her first BDC program about "Poems and Postcards." I did some reprises about the Hurricane of 1893 and introduced three new presentations, one about why Lafayette came to Beaufort in 1825, one a discussion about materials and collections relating to the dead in the BDC and one about the colonial history of Beaufort District. In other words, the BDC staff was stretching our competencies and exposing others to some "really cool stuff" within the BDC that you may not have know about.

I also prepared a "Liberty & Legacy Trivia" three rounds of thirteen questions contest for Bluffton Branch and later in July (and therefore a new fiscal year) for Beaufort Branch as part of the Library's America250 project - mostly because I have to demonstrate that I can be a good team player from time to time. Indeed, it would be fair to say there were some pretty specific questions asked about Beaufort District's role during the American Revolution that arose from our own past Revolutionary War programs and posts to the BDC's social media platforms.

We prepared three orientations and behind-the-scenes tours for college students -- Dr. James Shinn's class at USCB, the Campbell-Wright interns from Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and for the Military Academy cadre from West Point - which unfortunately experienced travel delays so the cadets were unable to attend. We held two orientation and behind-the-scenes tours for Library employees. Each orientation and tour was at least partially specific to the interests of the group members in attendance though some of the basic information about BDC materials and services was the same.

In addition BDC staff in various configurations were active participations at 19 community events that resulted in interactions with 2762 of our community members.

• We bookended our fiscal year at artistic performances. We began in July 2025 by tabling at both performances of "Da Gullah American Revolutionary Experience" and ended it at USCB Chamber Music's "South Carolina and the Road to Independence," a combined lecture and concert commemorating the state's Revolutionary War history on June 6, 2026 where Leah Roche (Beaufort County Historical Society) and I promoted the "Revealing the Revolution" scavenger hunt challenge.
• We met a group for a BDC coordinated guided tour of the Beaufort National Cemetery with Bonnie Mucia.
• We tabled at two military re-enactments, one about the American Revolution and the other about the Civil War at the Beaufort History Museum.
• I spoke at Palmetto Bluff, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute North and May River Landing Senior Living Facility, each time using BDC materials as the base for the presentations. Unfortunately, illness prevented me from presenting a genealogy session at the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era this year - which made me sad but hacking deeply through a presentation would not have benefited anyone.
• We tabled at our first ever "Fort Fremont Fall Festival" and Sun City's "Discovering the South Carolina Lowcountry Day" events.
• With our partners we also participated in lectures held off-site at Coastal Discovery Museum (Thank you Dr. David Moore) and at St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Thank you West Point cadets) with our friends of the Beaufort County Historical Society and Friends of Fort Fremont.
• We attended meetings of the Beaufort Female Benevolent Society and Clover Club to share BDC news and notes.
• We promoted the BDC materials and services relating to the local seafood industry at the Friends of the Beaufort Library's Books Sandwiched In series.

Now can you understand why I wrote that the BDC staff has outdone ourselves yet again?

FY 2027: July 1, 2026 - June 30, 2027

Active planning for this year's local history programs has long been underway. We've kept a running list of suggestions from folks attending our programs, brainstormed topics and potential speakers, held meetings with our series and one-off partners to discuss what we can do jointly, decided what we should do separately, and what more may be needed to maintain the quality of what we sponsor so that you will keep coming back to learn about the depth and scope of Beaufort District's long and storied history.

As Connections readers may recall, I assigned Cassandra the logistics of one program start to finish in Fall 2025 to wet her feet in the realm of library programming. She honed her teeth doing the logistics for all the Spring sessions in 2026 - where she definitely learned the complexity of planning local history programs around the various tax volunteer sessions at the branch libraries, the challenges and benefits of partners, the issues that can arise with presenting local history programs for the public, etc.

At least three months out, the BDC finishes all the Library meeting room reservations, creates and distributes marketing pieces, and gets the program posted to the Library system calendar. This includes the nitty-gritty logistics of program titles, blurbs, and speaker biographies and photos - the securing of which can prove a bit problematic from time to time. Then there are the reminders we send to you via the Local History Newsletter and The Current monthly newsletter and other parties strategically involved for a particular program, a final check of the A-V equipment a few days ahead of the scheduled event and then comes a whole lot of finger-crossing that all goes as planned without any surprises. 

Cassi crafted the BDC's FY 2027 roster - since the "show must go on" regardless of who becomes my successor. Since July 1 is the start of Fiscal Year 2027 for the Library and for the BDC, we started our FY 2027 local history program offerings earlier this month:

• "Liberty & Legacy Trivia" session 2 at Beaufort Branch on July 1
• "Travel Narratives about the Gullah-Geechee" with Dr. Malik Raymond on July 7 (Thank you, Dr. Raymond).

As has been our practice, we try for a mix of time periods, topics, and locations to address the different segments of the BDC's history nerds base. With the 500th anniversary of Spain's presence in the New World (and in Beaufort) drawing nigh, two programs highlight 16th century history. If by chance we were to neglect the Civil War and Reconstruction eras we'd likely be pilloried so there are two programs for those time periods on the upcoming roster. The BDC's archival resources are the focus in October for Archives Month. We revisit the American Revolution in November focusing on the military career of one Continental Officer. We offer a little architectural history about a beloved site in December. Topics-wise: We'll cover cartographic, economic, military, genealogical, and architectural history as well as folklore and archival resources in the first half. Locations-wise: The BDC will hold programs at four of the six branch libraries during this segment of the roster with three of the programs being offered south of the Broad River.

Cassandra has posted the programs for August through December on the Library system calendar and clicked the "Program type" for "Local History" check box so that you will know that the following are local history programs sponsored by the BDC are being offered.

Thursday, August 20, 2026 - "Beaufort Before Britain : How Beaufort was placed on European World Maps" with Chris Allen | BDC@ Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road | 2 PM | No registration required. Seating begins at 1:30 PM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort County Historical Society

Monday, August 24, 2026 - "Historic Black Businesses of Beaufort" with Dr. Chanda Powell, National Park Service | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | 2 PM | No registration required. Seating begins at 1:30 PM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026 - "The Gonzalez-Elliott Family of Beaufort District" with Dr. Raul Galvan | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | 2 PM | No registration required. Seating begins at 1:30 PM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort History Museum.

Thursday, October 8, 2026 - "16th Century Explorations and Settlements in Port Royal Sound" with Peggy Pickett | BDC@ Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way | 11 AM | No registration required. Seating begins at 10:30 AM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort County Historical Society.

Monday, October 19, 2026 - "Tales from the Crypt : Ghosts of Beaufort's Past" with Cassandra Knoppel | BDC@ Port Royal Branch Library, 1408 Paris Avenue | 5:30 PM | Registration required. Seating begins at 5 PM.

Friday, October 23, 2026 - "Tales from the Crypt : Death in the Archives" with Cassandra Knoppel | BDC@ Hilton Head Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road | 11 AM | No registration required. Seating begins at 10:30 AM.

Thursday, November 5, 2026 - "Revolutionary Colonel William Harden" with Dik Daso | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | 11 AM | No registration required. Seating begins at 10:30 AM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort County Historical Society.

Tuesday, December 8, 2026 - "History of the Arsenal" with Amelie Cromer and Brenda Litchfield | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | 2 PM | No registration required. Seating begins at 1:30 PM | Co-sponsored by the BDC and Beaufort History Museum.

The January - June 2027 roster has yet to be finalized as of this writing. For a full schedule of library events, please visit the Library calendar. If you filter the program type to "Local History" you'll get to see the full schedule for BDC programs and events as 2027 programs are made available.

Please note well: Sometimes, though thankfully not often, there are unexpected circumstances that can cause a postponement or cancellation of a local history program close to or even on program day. The Library calendar is your go-to for such circumstances. This is more likely to happen in September and October as we enter the statistically highest and traditional period for hurricanes in this area. Be sure to check it close to the date of a scheduled program for any updates. 

Words to the wise: BDC staff will do what we can within room and equipment limitations to make the experience enlightening and comfortable for you but equipment fails. Please bring a sweater to one of our local history programs just in case the room is too cool for you and/or wear your hearing aids (should you have them) in case all goes cattywampus on program day.

There's a lot of hard work, logistical challenges, and relationship building involved with each and every BDC local history program. We have to do the same amount of preparation and logistical steps whether we get one attendee or 100 attendees. Please know that BDC staff are very grateful when you take your valuable time to attend any BDC program to learn more about any facet of Beaufort District's long and storied history. Thank you for your support across all the years.

Dig into Archaeology in the BDC by Sydney Whiteside

The Beaufort District Collection’s holdings and programs center on a few different key themes, such as local history, genealogy, Gullah culture, natural history, and — vital to this year's summer reading program — archaeology.

This year's summer reading theme is Unearth a Story; a concept that connects adventure, imagination, archaeology, and paleontology. Both children and adults alike are encouraged to dig into a good book for twenty minutes a day in order to win some pretty rawr-some prizes. You can read all about the special events, the Super Reader Bonus Round, the three tiers of rewards, and even download your game board all in one place: Summer Reading 2026: Unearth a Story.

Old White Church Ruins from the
Russell J. Arnsberger Postcard Collection.

The BDC holds two special types of archaeological texts: investigations and cultural resources surveys. To the average person, the spiral bound pages look nearly identical and would seem to contain relatively the same information. This is mostly true, but there are indeed some key differences that would lead a researcher to request an archaeological investigation over a cultural resource survey or vice versa. 

A Cultural Resource Survey is a broad identification process that is conducted in order to evaluate an areas archaeological, architectural, cultural, and historical significance. Archaeologists and historians will utilize archives to identify potentially culturally significant sites in conjunction with limited sub-surface testing that only locates possible buried sites. Any findings are then tested against the Area of Potential Effect (APE) which measures the cultural or historical value of the property that is being surveyed. If cultural or historic resources are found, the property may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Each of these steps along with any historical research conducted along the way can be found documented in a cultural resources survey. 

An Archaeological Investigation is an intensive, scientific process in which the main objective is the uncovering and studying of a sites architecture, artifacts, and environmental data through analysis, excavation, and surveys. Light historical background is completed prior to initial site surveys which attempt to locate potential resources. If the preliminary survey proves to be productive, more intensive excavations can move forward with findings eventually being sent to the laboratory for thorough investigation. Every step of this process is comprehensively outlined inside of a specified site's archaeological investigation. 

Now that we have a better understanding of the difference between Archaeological investigations and cultural resource surveys, lets take a look at some archaeology related materials one can discover within the Beaufort District Collection. 

Friendly reminder: the following materials are only available to view within the BDC, *unless stated otherwise. If you wish to view any of the following materials: walk-ins are sometimes accepted, while appointments are always encouraged. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468.

Archaeology related titles available in the BDC.

Archaeological Overviews 

• Archaeology at Santa Elena: Doorway to the Past by Stanley A. South, 1991. *Available for checkout through BCL.
• Archaeology in South Carolina: Exploring the Hidden Heritage of the Palmetto State by Adam King, 2016. 
• Down & Dirty: Archaeology of the South Carolina Lowcountry by Michael Patrick Hendrix, 2006. *Available for checkout through BCL.
• Rice, Rebellion, and Revelations: 2024 Archaeology at the Old House Plantation by Rita Folse Elliott, 2025. 
• Spanish Artifacts from Santa Elena by Stanley A. South, 1998. 
• Uncommon Ground: Archaeology and Early African America, 1650-1800 by Leland G. Ferguson, 1992. *Available for checkout through BCL.

A few archaeological investigations available to view in the BDC.

Archaeological Investigations 

• Archaeological Data Recovery Investigations at 38BU1602/3: An Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Plantation Site at the Cedar Point Development, Beaufort County, South Carolina: Final Report by Thomas G. Whitley, 2001.  
• Archaeological investigations at Haig Point, Webb, and Oak Ridge, Daufuskie Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina by Michael Trinkley and Colin Brooker, 1989.  
• Archaeological investigations of the "Tabby Ruin Site," Laurel Bay Housing area, U.S. Marine Corps Air Station, Beaufort, South Carolina: Draft: August 26, 1994, by John S. Cable, 1994.  
• Phase II Archaeological Testing of Long Island: Palmetto Bluff: Town of Bluffton, Beaufort County South Carolina: Final Report by Mary C. Socci, 2010.  
• Return of the Yamasee: Archaeological Data Recovery at Chechesy Old Field, Beaufort County, South Carolina--Draft Report by Bobby Southerlin, 2001.  

A couple cultural resource surveys available to view in the BDC.

Cultural Resources Surveys 

• Cultural Resources Investigations at Penn Center 2010 by Carl R. Steen, 2011.  
• Cultural Resources Reconnaissance Survey: US Highway 17 improvements: Gardens Corner to Jacksonboro, South Carolina: December 1989 by Eric C. Poplin, 1989. 
• Cultural Resources Survey of the Pine Ridge tract, Beaufort County, South Carolina by Michael Trinkley, 2003.  
• Cultural Resources Survey of the USC Beaufort South Campus Tract, Beaufort and Jasper Counties, South Carolina: Draft report, December 2002 by Michael Patrick Hendrix, 2002. 
• Dataw Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina: Cultural Resources Survey: March 1988 by Larry Lepionka, 1988. 
• Phase I Cultural Resources Survey of the Pinckney Retreat Development Site, Beaufort County, South Carolina: October 11, 2004: Final Report by Mary Elizabeth Gantt, 2004.  

Materials from VF Allendale Paleoindian Expedition.

Archaeology Related Vertical Files

Vertical files hold materials such as clippings, pamphlets, or articles pertaining to the subject of the file. These files act as a gateway; they can provide context that may point researchers to a new path of resources. If you are interested in learning more about the importance and use of these files, check out The Value of Historical (and Permanent) Vertical Files.

• VF Allendale Paleoindian Expedition 
• VF Archaeological Society of South Carolina--Hilton Head Chapter 
• VF Beaufort National Cemetery-Reinterment, 1989 
• VF Festivals--Arkhaios Cultural Heritage and Archaeology Film Festival, 2013-2017 
• VF Indian Hill 
• VF Low Country Gullah Culture Special Resource Study 
• VF Roads--Cross Island Parkway: Hilton Head 
• VF Santa Elena 
• VF Santa Elena Foundation, 2013-2020 
• VF Santa Elena History Center, 2016 - 2020 

From the Russell J. Arnsberger Postcard Collection.

If you are interested in any of the materials I have shared today or wish to explore our collection for yourself: walk-ins are sometimes accepted, while appointments are always encouraged. To make an appointment, send an email to bdc@bcgov.net or give us a call at 843-255-6468. We hope to hear from you soon!