Beaufort History Museum will present its third
annual Living History Encampment on Saturday, March 24, 2018 from 9 am – 5 pm
in the Arsenal courtyard. The Beaufort County Library is a co-sponsor and BDC staff will be on hand to share information about the Civil War and Reconstruction periods with visitors throughout the day. At 1:00 PM, we'll cross the street and head to the Beaufort Branch Meeting Room (311 Scott Street) to host Dr. McKinley's lecture on the industry that saved Beaufort District after the Civil War.
This year, the popular Encampment event will include displays of
South Carolina militia from 1860 – 1861 and describe the militia’s role in
defending the Port Royal Harbor, and subsequently in defending the mainland
against the Federal forces. Also featured will be military impressions of the Union
infantry, marine and naval forces that used Beaufort as a base of operations during
the Civil War after the Battle of Port Royal Sound on Nov. 7, 1861. In
addition, the role of civilian abolitionists and teachers involved in the Port
Royal Experiment will be presented, along with the early transitions of
Freedmen in this area.
Activities in the Arsenal will occur on a rotating and continuous basis and re-enactors love to interact with visitors.
As mentioned above, the story of Beaufort District is quite unlike the story in the rest of the South. While much of the South was suffering economic and social collapse in the aftermath of the Civil War, Beaufort prospered in the 1870s and 1880s and into the 1890s on account of the rich deposits of phosphate oar on land as well as along the bottom of some of our waterways. Phosphates were a necessary ingredient in fertilizers. In the 1870s, 50% of the phosphate mined in the United States was mined in South Carolina and 50% of South Carolina's ore was mined in Beaufort County.
This year, the popular Encampment event will include displays of
South Carolina militia from 1860 – 1861 and describe the militia’s role in
defending the Port Royal Harbor, and subsequently in defending the mainland
against the Federal forces. Also featured will be military impressions of the Union
infantry, marine and naval forces that used Beaufort as a base of operations during
the Civil War after the Battle of Port Royal Sound on Nov. 7, 1861. In
addition, the role of civilian abolitionists and teachers involved in the Port
Royal Experiment will be presented, along with the early transitions of
Freedmen in this area. Activities in the Arsenal will occur on a rotating and continuous basis and re-enactors love to interact with visitors.
As mentioned above, the story of Beaufort District is quite unlike the story in the rest of the South. While much of the South was suffering economic and social collapse in the aftermath of the Civil War, Beaufort prospered in the 1870s and 1880s and into the 1890s on account of the rich deposits of phosphate oar on land as well as along the bottom of some of our waterways. Phosphates were a necessary ingredient in fertilizers. In the 1870s, 50% of the phosphate mined in the United States was mined in South Carolina and 50% of South Carolina's ore was mined in Beaufort County.
"History
of Phosphate Mining" program Sat., March 24 | BDC@ Beaufort Branch
Meeting Room, 311 Scott Street, 1st floor| 1 pm First come; first served
Come hear about the industry that saved Beaufort with Dr.
Shepherd McKinley, Senior Lecturer at the University of North Carolina
Charlotte who will present Stinking Stones and Rocks of Gold: Phosphate, Fertilizer, and Industrialization in Postbellum
South Carolina, 2014. Dr.
McKinley won the South Carolina Historical Society's George C. Rogers, Jr. award for the best book of South Carolina history in
2013. The University of Florida Press
recently released the book in paperback in case you'd like to purchase and get
a copy autographed at the conclusion of the program.
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