What to Expect in May 2026

We have 3 local history programs set up this month to educate and entertain you: 

• About the political party politics of the Reconstruction Era with National Park Service Historian Eric Ellis on Thursday, May 14 at Beaufort Branch at 11 AM. This lecture is part of the joint BDC and Beaufort County Historical Society "Historically Speaking" series.
• About a forgotten colonial industry. Dr. Randy James, AKA "Dr. Dirt," will discuss the economic value and history of the cochineal beetle on Tuesday, May 19 at St. Helena Branch at 2 PM. This lecture ends Season 9 of the joint Beaufort County Library and Beaufort History Museum local history series coordinated by the BDC. 
• About a rather unknown intrepid Spaniard of the 16th century who was named Juan Pardo. Pardo  left Santa Elena - twice - to explore areas in the hinterland and their Native American inhabitants Archaeologist Dr. David Moore will discuss in particular Fort San Juan built by Pardo's troops that he has studied for many years. Please note: This session will be held at the Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head Island at 11 AM on Thursday May 28. This lecture ends season 7 of the "Historically Speaking" series brought to you by the BDC and Beaufort County Historical Society.

And of course, you can sort of create a local history program of your own by participating in our Revealing the Revolution Challenge. There's an in-library or in-bookmobile version and a more deluxe version that allows you to travel throughout Beaufort County and Jasper County to see and learn about the American Revolution as it transpired in Beaufort District via historic markers placed along our roadways. Deadline to enter is July 2, 2026 so you still have plenty of time to play and learn.

Cassandra and I will be sitting down with representatives of the BCHS and BHM later this month to map out those respective series offerings for July 2026 - June 2027. There are a lot of moving parts and personalities involved with setting up a local history program, but even more when setting up a series of local history programs with partners. But we do it year after year because 1) we love learning about aspects of local history ourselves and 2) you keep attending our sessions year after year. (Thank you!) And we do have the results of the Library system's strategic plan survey that shows that at least 3100 Library users and non-users think that the system should have more evening and weekend programs and longer hours of operation. We will take those results into consideration as well - though to be perfectly honest, it has been our recent experience that we get far fewer people to attend our evening programs than our 11 AM or 2 PM ones. On the other hand, the evening and Saturday programs attract a different clientele which allows us to be a bit more creative. And sometimes, for us at least, it's less about butts in seats than being transparent about what the BDC has and does so that the public is adequately apprised of the full spectrum of BDC programs and services.     

We cannot do much with the topics on the Library's Marketing Calendar this month though Beaufort District has an interesting history regarding Memorial Day and later this month we'll provide you with some "Local History Books to Read in One Sitting." Instead we'll just emphasize our usual history related themes in May, mostly via our almost daily Facebook posts. For example, we'll finish National [Materials] Preservation Week on Saturday, May 2. (BTW: It's MayDay, the date upon which we cultural heritage professionals focus on emergency preparedness.) We feature National Postcard Week, May 3 - 9 on Facebook with Sydney's picks. You can also revisit her 2025 May display write-up about some of the postcards we have in the Research Room as a way of acknowledgement of the popular format. Cassi and I will highlight some historic structures during National [Historic] Preservation Month on Facebook as well. 

I hope to be able to get at least one of my long languishing posts finished and uploaded for you. At the moment it's a toss up whether that post will be the Reverend George Whitefield's visits to Beaufort in the 1700s or the remarkable journalism career of a child who was born out on Coosaw Island in the 1890s. I think that both topics are in the words of Laugh-In's Arte Johnson's "very interesting." I hope you will too. 

The only scheduled closure of the Library system this month will be Monday, May 25 for Memorial Day. As we get closer to the start of Hurricane Season 2026 on June 1 that could indeed change, though I have my fingers and toes crossed that I will retire without ever having to do any serious Hurricane Recovery activities.  

New (and New-to-Us) Materials in the Research Room, 1st Quarter 2026

We are running a bit behind posting what has arrived in the Research Room from January through March this year. Below Sydney and Cassi share information about some new (and new-to-us) materials we have acquired recently.  -- gmc

New Materials on Display

Library Materials 

Blessed Experience: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black by James Clyburn, 2014. 

Blessed Experience

U.S. Congressman James E. Clyburn tells the extraordinary story of his journey from growing up as a young African American boy in Jim Crow-era South to becoming the third highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives. Both Clyburn and his parents knew he was destined for civil rights leadership at the age of twelve when he became president of his National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) youth chapter. All of his efforts and experiences have made him the leader that he is today, which Blessed Experiences does an outstanding job of emphasizing.

Homecoming: The Pyrography of Reverend Johnnie Simmons, February 1 - May 1, 2025 by Johnnie Simmons, 2025. 

Reverend Johnnie F. Simmons was raised on St. Helena Island and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969. He served in the Vietnam War until 1972 when he returned to St. Helena and held a variety of jobs. He retired as a preacher in 2003. With time to focus on himself, Reverend Simmons was enrolled into a program for managing PTSD where he began to explore his more artistic side through art workshops, including pyrography. Pyrography is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks created by a heated tool. Simmons would draw a design on a piece of wood with pencil, burn the design into the slab, and finish by painting his desired work. Homecoming includes nine of Reverend Johnnie F. Simmons’s woodburning folk art images. 

True Crime Stories of the Lowcountry by Cathy Pickens, 2025. 

A South Carolina native, Cathy Pickens is known for her loves of the Palmetto State, crime, and mystery. True Crime Stories of the Lowcountry dips into the scandals and transgressions that have occurred in and around the area. From bootlegging to poisonings, serial killers to swamp creatures, you are bound to learn something new (and gnarly) about the Lowcountry.  

Indigenous Carolinians: A History from Original Peoples to Present-Day Tribes

Indigenous Carolinians
by David R. Webb

 by David Rahahe-tih Webb, 2025. 

From the Rappahannock River of current day Virginia to the Edisto River of South Carolina, David Rahahe-tih Webb explores the histories and cultures of this region's First Peoples. The author weaves oral tradition, language, archaeology, and ethnography into a narrative that uplifts four diverse ethnolinguistic cultures in such a way as to challenge long-held colonial assumptions about the First Peoples of the southeastern seaboard. Indigenous Carolinians is an in-depth history of the reclamation of heritage by a valiant group of people who refused to allow their tribal identities to fade any longer.  

Social Roots: Lowcountry Foodways, Reconnecting the Landscape by Sarah V. Ross, 2024. 

In many ways, "you are what you eat." Social Roots is an interdisciplinary anthology that explores the relationships between nature and culture as expressed in the foodways of the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. There are invisible threads that connect the land to its people through the food that is harvested and shared among the population. Looking across time and geography, this book interweaves fundamental ecological principles as it honors three early cultures: Native American, European, and African.  People have always relied on the land for life, and that is something that will always keep us connected.  

Datha by Rev. James Julius Sams, n/d. 

Datha is a manuscript by Reverend James Julius Sams that focuses primarily on the genealogy of the Sams family as well as the people, places, structures, and agriculture of Dataw Island. This is an interesting source because it is quite rare to find such detailed accounts of what it was like to have grown up on Dataw in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Reverend Sams had very strong feelings about the Civil War which he wrote about in his memoir. He also wrote of anger and forgiveness, feelings that are often difficult for people to express.  

Sankofa Shadow Work: Diaries of a Diasporic Diviner by Sara Makeba Daise, 2025.

Sankofa Shadow Work
by Sara Makeba Daise

Sara Makeba Daise is a Gullah Geechee author, cultural worker, and public historian that specializes in Black History and medicine through a variety of mediums. Sankofa Shadow Work is a cultivation of her experiences as an interpreter, living historian, and tour guide, all of which included considerable amounts of multidimensional interaction with other people as well as the land below her. This mixture of memoir and public history explores many realms, including conjuring, healing, rebirth, and spirituality, with special attention to their origins from native Africana and Indigenous communities.

The History of Dorchester County South Carolina by The Dorchester County Historical South Carolina, 2023.  

The BDC accessions South Carolina county histories as general reference works though our collection does not include every county history ever written. This 566 page volume begins with some topical chapters about history, plantations, transportation, medical development and politics. Chapters 7 - 15 emphasize the people, government officials, schools, churches, cemeteries, businesses, structures, etc. of certain communities. These chapters include useful biographical sketches, genealogical information and chronologies relating to ownership and organizational histories. Coverage ranges from the explorations of De Soto in 1540 into the 2020s. 

The Fishing Co-op Role in the BASF Conflict: May 20, 2014 by Thomas Barnwell, 2014.  

The author donated this transcription of his talk for the series "Hilton Head in the Modern Era" co-sponsored by the Heritage Library and the Coastal Discovery Museum. Barnwell is a Gullah elder and Native Islander resident who was personally involved in the Hilton Head Fishing Cooperative and the Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) conflict of the the early 1970s. Linda Piekut's introduction of Barnwell provides a thoughtful and thorough background of Barnwell's achievements, interests and contributions to the Hilton Head community. After Barnwell's keynote address about the history of the co-op and the BASF controversy, Henry Driessen who had made a film showing the damage a chemical factory in Texas had done on the environment as a cautionary documentary, joined Barnwell for a question and answer session. The final section contains documents about the co-op and BASF.

Yoruba Traditions & African Religious Nationalism by Tracey E. Hucks, 2014. 

Yoruba Traditions &
African Religious Nationalism
by Tracey E. Hucks

Tracey E. Hucks, professor in the Department of Religion at Haverford College, shares her interest and knowledge in the historical development and religious traditions of African-descended populations in the Americas and the Caribbean in this book. She explores the development of Yoruba tradition in the United States, such as the establishment of the Shango Temple in 1959, the Yoruba Temple in 1960, and the Oyotunji African Village in 1970. These spaces allowed for safe practices and transformation of religious expressions for individuals in underrepresented communities. 

Lowcountry Lost and Other Poems for Everyday Life and Port Royal, SC: A Spiritual Place by Moultrie Townsend, 2024. 

Moultrie Townsend, a Charleston native now living in Port Royal, is a writer expresses his love for the Lowcountry through writing both nonfiction and poetry work. The blurb on the back  cover of Lowcountry Lost and Other Poems for Everyday Life  describes the content as "a simple, emotional and gripping poetic look at nature, life and our place in it." Townsend divided his poem into four sections, "Remembrances" that express the love and loss he has experienced in the Lowcountry; "Beaches"; "Mountains"; and "Sundries." Port Royal, SC: A Spiritual Place is a tribute to his current home that mentions all of the best historic and social spots in Port Royal. 

South Carolina Provincials: Loyalists in British Service during the American Revolution by Jim Piecuch, 2023. 

This is the first published comprehensive history of the known South Carolinian Loyalists and their actions in support of the British during the American Revolution. Based on primary source research including records rarely consulted, the result provides a much clearer picture of the Revolutionary War at the local level in southeastern states. South Carolinians living in the backcountry were often far away from government administration and affiliation with the Patriotic cause. The backcountry Royalist troops experienced varying degrees of success. In 1781, the troops withdrew from the backcountry into British held Charleston, then to British East Florida. From there some relocated to Canada or other British colonies to begin new lives after the conclusion of hostilities.   

Paper Heroines: Women Writers in Conversation and Community Across the Sea Islands, 1838–1902 by Mollie Barnes, 2026. 

Paper Heroines: 
by Mollie Barnes

Mollie Barnes, Associate Professor of English at the University of South Carolina Beaufort, specializes in Nineteenth-century U.S. literature. Paper Heroines is a deep dive into how women reformers documented their everyday lives and their work. This book concentrates on women reformers that traveled to the Sea Islands to provide relief work. She compares and contrasts the contributions and efforts made by both Black and white women in this area. This is an interesting title that is not afraid to point out the flaws and tensions from past texts and approach them with current insights.  

The Inner Passage: An Untold Story of Black Resistance Along a Southern Waterway by Virginia McGee Richards, 2026. 

The Inner Passage is a route of canals and waterways that were constructed during colonial times by enslaved people to facilitate water travel through the South Carolina Lowcountry. Virginia Richards, a photographer, historian, and environmental lawyer, captures these forgotten landscapes in her book. View sixty stunning photographs and read her essay depicting and describing what it is like for one to journey through the Inner Passage. Immerse yourself in the photos of witness trees, praise houses, hurricane damage, and narratives. 

South Carolina's County Courthouses: An Illustrated History by W. Clay Young and Rita Williams Livingston, 2025. 

Have you ever wanted to learn more about the history of South Carolina’s many county courthouses? Look no further! Learn more about the architecture, origins, and technological advances of the 46 county courthouses that make up the state of South Carolina. You will find more than 700 photographs of the exterior of Palmetto State courthouses, original floor plans of select buildings, centuries old, uncovered artifacts, and so much more. 

Yearbooks 

Our collection of school yearbooks in the Beaufort District Collection has come from donations through time. This means that our coverage of schools is completely dependent on donations.

A request: If you happen to have a yearbook from schools within Beaufort, Jasper or Hampton counties, South Carolina, please contact the BDC at (843) 255-6468, we would love to have first dibs on "those old yearbooks."

• Battery Creek High School: Delphis, 2007. 
• Beaufort High School: Beaufortonian, 1958. 
• Beaufort High School: Beaufortonian, 1959. 

 

Posters 

• Hilton Head Choral Society: Celebrate Unity: September 26, 2025 • 7:00 pm from the Hilton Head Choral Society, 2025. 
• Author Chat Book Signing: Local Hilton Head Author, Michael Wayne Wojcik from Emry's Bookshop, 2025. 
• The Roommate: Lean Ensemble Theater [Hilton Head Island], October 30 - November 9, 2025 from the Lean Ensemble Theater, 2025.  
• Go Green with Valentina Palacio of Public Works: Beaufort County Library: [Fall 2025] from Beaufort County Public Works, 2025.  
• For God and Country: Saturday, October 18: 6:30 P.M.: St. Peter's Church, Beaufort, SC from the United Methodist Church of Hilton Head, 2025. 
• The Bluffton Tour of Homes: Presented by Historic Bluffton Foundation: Saturday, October 4, 2025 from the Historic Bluffton Foundation, 2025.  
• Lowcountry Pride: Sunday, October 19th [2025] Live Oaks Park in Port Royal from the Lowcountry Pride, 2025.  
• Italian American Club Presents Wines of the World: A Premiere Wine Tasting Event: September 23, 2025 from Italian American Club, 2025.  
• Broadway (Off Paris!): Musical Extravaganza!: St. Mark's Episcopal Church: Sunday, February 15 [2026] 3:00 PM from St. Mark's Episcopal Church Choir, 2026. 
• Prom Boutique: Saturday, February 21 [2026]: Holy Trinity Classical Christian School from the Junior Service League of Beaufort, 2026. 
• Beaufort Independent Games Conference '26: USCB: Friday 20 February [2026] from the University of South Carolina Beaufort, 2026.  
• 2026 Books Sandwiched In: Mondays 12pm-1pm January 26 through March 2 from the Friends of the Beaufort Library, 2026.  
• Dementia 101: The Basics: Learn the Basics of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias, and the Support Resources Available in South Carolina: [Beaufort County Library Branches] February 11 - March 16 [2026] from the South Carolina Department on Aging, 2026.  
• Dedicated to Dvořák: The Beaufort Symphony Orchestra is Celebrating its 40th Season!: March 22, 2026 from the Beaufort Symphony Orchestra, 2026. 
• Kidfest: MCCS at Laurel Bay: Saturday 28 March [2026] from Marine Corps Community Services South Carolina, 2026.  
• Art with Intention: with Genni Lib Threet: [Beaufort County Libraries]: March 4 - April 2 [2026] from Beaufort County Library, 2026.  
• Flying Frog Frog Fest [sic]: Supporting Operation Patriots FOB (opfob.org): Saturday April 18, 2026: Frogmore "Intranational" Airport from Operation Patriots Forward Operating Base, 2026.  

New Archival Collections

George Waterhouse Collection, 1869-1905 
George Waterhouse (1838-1894) was a local businessman who operated a storefront, warehouses, and a wharf on Bay Street. The George Waterhouse Collection contains documents, letters, and photographs related to his life and the impact of the Hurricane of 1893 on his business. 
 
John J. Dale Correspondence Collection, 1893, Undated 
John J. Dale (1844-1896) was a Beaufort businessman at the time of the Sea Island Hurricane in 1893. Following the devastating hurricane, he advocated for relief efforts for affected Sea Islanders and was appointed to the Sea Island Relief Committee by Governor Benjamin Tillman. This collection of correspondence from the fall of 1893 is believed to have been written by Dale. 

The Revolutionary War themed shelf on our New (and New-to-Us) bookcase.

If you are interested in any of the materials we have shared today or wish to explore our collection for yourself: appointments are encouraged, and walk-ins are sometimes accepted. 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!