More Local History Programs in May 2023 ... and beyond

Updated 22 May 2023 - gmc. 

Although we were gobsmacked at the speed by which the registration for Jackpot closed and thankful that so many were interested in scandal and true crime, there are two other opportunities this month to learn more about Beaufort District through a BDC sponsored local history program. 

We turn our attention back more than 200 years to "The Liberty Trail in Beaufort District" with Bill Davies. At the present time, he is Vice-Chair of South Carolina's 250th Committee and President of the South Carolina Historical Society. 

A graduate of The Citadel, he was a US Army JAG attorney for 5 years and a member of the Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough Law Firm for 37 years.  His Board credentials related to the history and cultural heritage fields are long. He is on the boards of the Liberty Trail, SC Archives and History Foundation, Santa Elena Advisory Board at Coastal Discovery Museum, Friends of Honey Hill Battlefield, Palmetto State Military History Foundation and others. He is a member of the SC Battleground Preservation Trust, Sons of the American Revolution,  the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the American Battlefield Trust, the American Friends of Lafayette, the Blue and Gray Educational Society, the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, the Morris Center for Lowcountry Heritage, the SC Military History Club, the Anglo Zulu War Historical Society, the Historical Societies for Beaufort, Colleton, Edgefield, Greenwood, and Kershaw Counties among others.

Please check the Beaufort County Historical Society's website for any remaining seats. Everyone with a ticket can enjoy the free lecture being held in the Fellowship Hall of First Presbyterian Church, 1201 North Street in downtown Beaufort.  As a reminder: Only members of the BCHS can vote during the business portion of the meeting. 

Our final local history program this month covers the late 18th up through the late 19th century. 

Settling matters of honor according to accepted practice was an important part of being a gentleman in the 18th and 19th centuries. The practice involved issuing a challenge to fight another male person of equal social rank according to a prescribed process for an alleged slight or slander to one’s self or family member. 

Come learn about some of the little known duels held in Beaufort District South Carolina from law enforcement professional and historian Neil Baxley in a BDC@ The Branches local history program being held at the Bluffton Branch Library on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. We've changed this into a "First Come; First Seated; Doors open 30 minutes before Program start time" local history learning opportunity. 

But wait there's more local history programs coming up in June, July and August that you may want to attend. 

Saturday, June 24, 2023 - "African Presence in the Lowcountry" with Meldon Hollis, Professor of African American History | 10 AM - Noon | BDC@ Bluffton Branch Library, 120 Palmetto Way. | Debra is already taking registration at 843-255-6503 but with 120 seats available registration is not necessary.

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - "Waving the Red Shirts of Redemption: Reconstruction Era Politics and the South Carolina Election of 1876" with Nathan Betcher, Historian for the National Park Service | 2:00 - 3:30 PM | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Library, 311 Scott Street | First come; first seated; No registration process. Doors open 30 minutes before program start time.  

Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - "Tide of Death: The Hurricane of 1893" with Grace Cordial | 1:00 PM | BDC@ Hilton Head Island Branch Library, 11 Beach City Road | First come; first seated; No registration process. Doors open 30 minutes before program start time.  

Join us for one - or more - or even better yet, all these upcoming free local history programs!