Daufuskie Island Author Book Talk

Arcadia Press specializes in visual treatments of local historical topics. It is issuing its first hardback book for Sallie Ann Robinson and Jenny Hersch's Daufuskie Island. The book released on Sunday, July 8th and the authors will be at Beaufort Branch in the early evening of July 25th to share their research, images, and stories of life on the Island. At the conclusion of the program, books will be available for purchase and autographing by the authors.

The program is free for anyone who'd like to know more about the history of Beaufort County.

Wed., July 25 | BDC@ Beaufort Branch, 311 Scott Street | 5:30 pm

From the publisher's press release: 
Daufuskie, a Muscogee word meaning “sharp feather” or “land with a point,” is an island located between Hilton Head and Savannah, bounded by the Calibogue Sound and the Cooper River. With no bridge to the mainland, the island maintains a distinct allure. Home to Native American tribes, a paradise for pirates, and a strategic military outpost, Daufuskie held enslaved Africans brought by plantation owners as chattel to build their wealth. After the Civil War and occupation by Union soldiers, freed slaves from the Sea Islands and surrounding states settled on Daufuskie as landowners and sharecroppers. Daufuskie's population fluctuated in keeping with local industries, and those who stayed often relied on farming, hunting, and fishing to survive. Electricity was brought to the island in the early 1950s, and the first telephone rang in 1972. Today, historic sites, restaurants, outdoor recreation, and scenic beauty draw visitors and residents to this unique community. Daufuskie Island is part of the National Park Service's Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.


Jenny Hersch first visited Daufuskie in 2000 and has called the island home since 2013. Sallie Ann Robinson is a sixth-generation Daufuskie native, cookbook author, celebrity chef, and certified nursing assistant. She is known as “Ethel” in Pat Conroy's memoir The Water Is Wide. Together, they have done extensive research and gathered stories and photographs from island residents, visitors, libraries, and archives - including some from us here in the Beaufort District Collection.  

There is no charge for attending any BDC@ The Branches local history programs. Anyone over age 12 interested in the program topic are welcomed to attend.

If you cannot make this session, there will be a reprise on Wed., Sept. 19 at Hilton Head Branch, 11 Beach City  Road at 11 am.