Moo-Fort, Mermaids, and More​: Public Art Programs in Beaufort County by Cassandra Knoppel

Nearly 25 years ago, Beaufort County started a trend that continues into the present: community-wide public art projects. After being inspired by a growing number of successful public art events in other cities, Beaufort decided to get in on the action to increase the community's access to art and to enhance our public spaces. What started as a short "vacation" for non-local art became multiple community-wide efforts to create our own permanent public art pieces. Here at the BDC, we have collected a quite a few resources which help to create a timeline of some of the most fun and impactful public art projects in Beaufort County's recent history.

Cows on Vacation

We recently finished processing a small photograph collection on one of, if not THE, very first public art projects in Beaufort: "Cows on Vacation." According to materials found in a BDC Vertical File on the topic, "Cows on Vacation" was a Beaufort County-wide public art event held in 2000. The 28 painted fiberglass cows originated as part of a Chicago public art project of 1999, called “Cows on Parade,” where over 300 fiberglass cows were created and placed throughout the city that summer. Chicago was inspired by a similar Art Cow program in Zurich, Switzerland. 

Following the success of the Chicago project, the Arts Council of Beaufort County (ACBC) and the Lowcountry National Bank partnered with the City of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs to loan the cows for display in the Lowcountry. The effort was financially supported by numerous local businesses, organizations and families. A blank cow was gifted by the City of Chicago as an addition to the “vacationing” collection, becoming the “Cowolina (from Moofort)” by local artist Del Holt. A miniature of one of the cows, “Merci Henri” by Joyce Martin Perz, was gifted to Beaufort as well and remains at the Beaufort County Library Beaufort Branch. Staff often dress this little guy up for the seasons, so stop by and see him some time!

When I first moved into Beaufort from Ridgeland, my mother told me to keep an eye out for the cows - but we were a bit too late to see them! The cows only vacationed in Beaufort from April to July of 2000, but could have been found all across the County. While most were located within the City of Beaufort, some could be spotted on St. Helena and even as far as Point South.

Excited locals began writing into the Beaufort Gazette with their experiences of road tripping to see every cow, taking photographs at each stop and enjoying the excursion with their family and friends. While the cows are long-gone these days, you can recreate the excitement by visiting the BDC and taking a look at our archival collection of photographs, exploring the clippings in our vertical file, or examining one of the two posters we have on the Cows.

As a complimentary project, Beaufort County Schools in partnership with the Arts Council of Beaufort County, along with assistance from Art & Soul Gallery and Beaufort Art Supply, launched the "Surf and Turf" project. Students decorated plywood shrimp to display publicly, first at Waterfront Park and then in local businesses. The plan was to send some of the shrimp to Walterboro for display while others were to be sent back with the Art Cows to Chicago, later to be auctioned off. A photograph of one of the shrimp can be found in the Cows on Vacation Photograph Collection, and more information is available in our newly created vertical file on the subject.

River of Art

Have you ever heard of the "Nightmare Witch?" Or of "Zephyr," the "Heisman Medusa," or the Port Royal mermaid? All of these names refer to the same metal-and-rubber sculpture of a warrior woman who once stood watch over the intersection of Paris Avenue and Ribaut Road behind the main "Port Royal" sign. Many locals, myself included, had no idea where she came from or what she symbolized as she towered over the entrance sign. The sculpture, officially named "Mother of the Rubber Trees" by artist Dessa Kirk, actually depicts a forest spirit who is said to protect the Amazon's rubber trees from greedy harvesters. She came to Port Royal from Chicago through another public art exhibit program in the Spring of 2001.

After seeing the community excitement of the "Cows on Vacation" project, the Town of Port Royal and ACBC partnered to bring over a dozen sculptures, mosaics, and paintings to their public spaces. The art selected had been part of the "River of Art" exhibit which also hailed from Chicago, this time coming from the city's Shedd Aquarium and depicting aspects of the Amazon River and Rainforest. Mike Lash, the director of Chicago's Public Art Program, was quoted in a Carolina Morning News article (dated April 18, 2000) referring to Beaufort as Chicago's "unofficial cultural sister city" due to the success of "Cows on Vacation" and was eager to continue the relationship through the installation of the "River of Art" exhibit in the Lowcountry. However, unlike "Cows on Vacation," the 16 pieces were to permanently remain in Port Royal after being paid for by the town with the help of ACBC and community sponsors. A brochure within our River of Art vertical file gives details on the conception and creation of each piece, along with their original locations in Port Royal.

As I flipped through the brochure, I was able to recognize some of the art - though they had moved over the years. Sensing the potential for a low-stakes adventure, I strong-armed Sydney into spending an evening with me to try to find as many of the remaining pieces as we could. One of the pieces was "Mother of the Rubber Trees," which was first placed in front of the Shed Center for the Arts in 2001 before being relocated to the intersection, eventually being moved again in 2021 to make way for the display of historic flags that now greets visitors to the town. According to a 2021 Island Packet news article, she is now housed in a town storage building while a decision is made as to where she will be displayed next. I called the City of Port Royal to confirm the locations of the art pieces but have received no response. 

Sydney and I were able to find two other sculptures while driving around Port Royal and another one by walking through the Naval Heritage Park. The adorable "Concrete Catfish" by the Town Hall is still standing, along with the abstract "Source of Life" sculpture at 1613 Paris Avenue. The rusted metal sculpture "High River," which shows a tangle of river and forest creatures hidden in and amongst each other, was once in front of the Port Royal Fire Station but now calls the Naval Heritage Park home. 

The Big Pig Gig

That same year, another farm animal invaded the Lowcountry - the pig! Cincinnati, Ohio's art pigs first debuted in the Summer of 2000 thanks to ArtWorks, a public art nonprofit from the city. A poster from their original run in Ohio can be found in the BDC, depicting twenty of the original 400+ art pigs that rendezvoused in Cincinnati and even crossed the Ohio River to invade parts of Kentucky. Thirty members of this herd of pigs were brought to the market Beaufort, Jasper, and Colleton Counties in the Summer of 2001 thanks to ACBC, local governments, and community sponsors. The BDC has preserved one of the promotional brochures for the "Big Pig Gig" in our vertical files. It lists all of the pigs on display with accompanying photos and a map of where they could have been found. 

The art pigs included eccentric pieces like the "Ham-leich Maneuver" (a pig choking on an apple by Lynn Judd), the "Big Nutcracker Boy" (a pig dressed in a traditional nutcracker doll outfit by Chris Payne), and ~my personal favorite~, the "Cured Ham Sandwich" (a pig pinned between two giant slices of bread by Steven McGowan). Others were even more avantgarde, taking the form of a pig and merging it with buildings and even boats, like GBBN Architects' "Swinescraper" and Chris Reiff's "Paddle Squealer." Additional pigs were made and decorated by locals, including the "T.I.G. Pig" at the Triangle Ice & Gas Co. made by local artist Del Holt, and the "Dirty in Art" pig designed in part by Lady's Island Elementary School Art Campers.

The Big Pig Jig street party took place on Labor Day weekend in Port Royal, ending the pig's summer vacation with a night of dancing before the little piggies were sent all the way back home.

The Big Swim

There was a brief pause following the local public art craze of the early aughts, but the activities resumed in the Fall of 2006 when ACBC began planning their next big public art project. But, unlike the others, this one was completely homegrown! In the Fall 2006 issue of ACBC's quarterly magazine Art News, it was revealed that "The Big Swim" was a fundraiser for ACBC but was also "...an opportunity for artists to show off, for non-artists to test their skills, for neighbors to see art in public spaces, and for organizations to contribute to Beaufort's vital cultural tourism." BTW: We have a few issues of Art News in our holdings.

"The Big Swim" Mermaids began their earth-side occupation of Beaufort in the Fall of 2006, after a summer spent designing, assembling and decorating their forms. ACBC outlined the process in ART News. According to the Fall and Winter Art News issues of 2006 and 2007, the form of the mermaids was designed by Kevin Palmer and manufactured in his Ridgeland studio, with each fiberglass mermaid arriving at ACBC's office split in half. Volunteers then spent over 10 hours per mermaid, bonding them together with "expandable foam," attaching a support pole or base, and then smoothing the seams with bondo, fiberglass cloth, and resin. After all of that, the 31 assembled mermaids were finally ready to be bedecked, bedazzled, bejeweled, and beloved by local artists and the community. 

I had the opportunity to participate in creating a mermaid as a second grader at Port Royal Elementary School. That year, we were brought into our art class, led by Mrs. Merchant, and asked to glue a button onto the mermaid sculpture our school was submitting as part of the project. This mermaid became the "Cute as a Button" mermaid. Another personal favorite was the "Miss Beaufort" mermaid, a beauty queen with auburn hair, an unamused expression, and multicolored jewels adorning her tail. Miss Beaufort was created by local artists and sisters Charlene Perry-Dohmann and Lee Perry, who uploaded photographs of the creation of the mermaid and her original installation at Bellamy Curve to their blog, Miss Beaufort Mermaid. In October of 2007, the mermaids were auctioned off, with some even being sold on Ebay, though many remained in public spaces. 

Slowly, the mermaid sculptures began to disappear from Beaufort's public spaces, some with cause and others under mysterious circumstances. In 2007, shortly after the mermaids were installed around town, the Sea Island Quilters' "Sadie the Sea Quilter" mermaid statue was stolen from Bay Street, though she was quickly located and the culprit charged for the theft. Clippings of this kidnapping can be found in the Sea Island Quilters Records collection housed in the BDC. While she was initially "retired," after her theft, Sadie was placed in Morrall Park on Craven Street where she can be seen standing tall amidst the boxwoods and dogwoods that make up the first stretch of the Beaufort Tree Walk. 

It appears that Sadie took the place of another mermaid named "Auntie Bellum" who had mysteriously disappeared from Craven Street circa 2014. Then, in January of 2015, the "Mermaid de Libert" [sic] sculpture went missing from its residency at Logan Park. This statue actually has a Library connection - long-time cataloger Brenda Beasley-Forrest (and a Statue of Liberty aficionado) was the artist who created the statue using stamps, fishnets, and shells. Unfortunately, these two mermaids were not recovered.

Public Art Fund of Hilton Head Island

Now is a good time to take a quick break and discuss one of the big issues of public art: funding. 

Funding for public art, either large-scale projects or one-off pieces, can come from community organizations, sponsorships by local businesses, grants, and more. However, some community governments have established public art ordinances to fund the operations. An anonymous opinion piece from July of 2000 that ran in the Beaufort Gazette raises the issue of funding public art projects and makes the case for doing so through ordinances, something which no city in South Carolina had done at the time but was seen as successful in cities elsewhere. The author states that "good public policy and public art can go hand in hand. The dividends could be a more rewarding cultural scene...." According to an Island Packet article from 2015, there was a short-lived Public Art Commission for the City of Beaufort that was created in 2003, wherein "...1 percent of any capital-project cost would be allocated for public art," but that has since ended. While I could not find a specific public art ordinance on the books for Beaufort County in the present, it does appear that many of the public art projects I touch on from Beaufort did have at least partial funding from county or city government, many through ATAX grants. [Competitive ATAX grant monies are based on the collection of accommodation taxes each year by the county and respective municipalities.] Hilton Head, however, has had an arts funding mechanism for nearly twenty years.

Hilton Head established the Public Art Fund with the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry in 2006, which, according to the program's website, was designed to "...[host] a biennial exhibition, [commission] sculptures and [work] with donors to permanently install large scale sculptures on Hilton Head Island." The Public Art Fund was able to install 11 unique sculptures around the Island by 2020, as well as hosting 4 public art exhibitions over the 14 years it operated. 

I was able to find an article and advertisements for the public art exhibition in the November 2018 issue of Hilton Head Island & Bluffton Local Life magazine we have in our collection. The article details the process of organizing that year's Public Art Exhibition, including the creation of a committee a year in advance, and the selection of the art based on criteria like thematic connection, relation to their mission, and logistics. Similar to prior public art programs in the County, the 2018 Public Art Exhibition would last only through the winter, before all but one of the 20 pieces of art would be sent back. The one remaining piece would be purchased by the Public Art Fund for permanent display in Hilton Head. While the exhibition does have a general theme, there is not a required subject or form like in prior public art projects in Beaufort County, and the artists who created the sculptures are not always local artists; some of the artists are from as far away as California, Illinois, and New York. Much of the art though could be considered abstract or avant-garde.

In 2020, the Office of Cultural Affairs for the Town of Hilton Head, led by Natalie Harvey, took full responsibility for supporting public art on the Island from the Community Foundation after working jointly since 2017. The Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) took this role seriously, including a Public Art Master Plan in their strategic plan for 2022-2024. Their plan includes a 6-point selection criteria for future art along with a statement on their funding source: "Base funding shall be included in the Town general operating budget..." and any additional funds coming from the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry (p.27). Since then, they've added more sculptures to their collection and opened the Shelter Cove Sculpture Trail which features both permanent and temporary works of art for the community to view. Outside of the trial, their sculptures can be found all over the island; the OCA has a map of cultural sites on their website with public art marked in yellow. The OCA has also partnered with the Island Writers Network to launch the Poetry Trail of Hilton Head Island, where some of the Island's sculptures (and other viewscapes) have been paired with poems, readable by scanning a QR code at each location. 

The Lowcountry Oyster Trail's Shell Art Trail

In the summer of 2018, Bluffton artists began making 4-foot tall sculptures of oyster shells, painting or otherwise emblazoning them with images of the Lowcountry's natural environment, nearby businesses, and beyond. This effort was organized by the Lowcountry Oyster Trail to celebrate one of the most important cultural and environmental features of our coast - the mighty little oyster. The Lowcountry Oyster Trail (LOT) was launched in 2017, according to a blog post on their website, and was created to "highlight the region’s famous oysters, and their growing role in the red-hot “sea-to-fork” culinary movement." Inspired by the Virginia Oyster Trail, the creators of LOT wanted to celebrate the quality of oysters in our region and encourage visitors to immerse themselves in our coastal culture through "packages" and other experiences offered by participating local businesses. The LOT Shell Art Trail was formed as part of this mission.

In another blog post titled "heART of the Lowcountry: How Being a Part of the LOT Shell Art Trail Can Bring People, and Business, Right to Your Front Door," LOT encouraged local businesses and community organizations to sponsor a fiberglass oyster sculpture for $670. LOT would then have the oyster decorated by a local artist, then installed in a location near the business to encourage art viewers to stop into the business as well. To encourage participants, a scavenger-hunt style model is used, where the chance to win prizes is offered as an incentive for those who take a photo with each shell sculpture and post it online with their hashtag. In total, 21 oyster sculptures were commissioned and placed in front of a local business or other community buildings and the trail was officially unveiled at the Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival in October of 2018.

Art Benches

If you were here and able to get out a little bit during the Pandemic, you may have noticed painted benches popping up in Downtown Beaufort in 2020. The Art Benches were created as part of an effort to merge two interests: adding more public seating areas in the city and increasing public interest in local art and cultural history. This is art you can sit on! The project, managed by the City's Cultural District Advisory Board, brought together members of the community in the creation of these art pieces. With the help of local organizations and business sponsoring the project, Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity built the benches while local artists painted them with identifiable Lowcountry motifs. The first round of the project brought twelve benches to the streets of Beaufort in 2020, and the second round added five more in 2022.

On my way into work, I often pass the Art Bench on the corner of Craven and Scott Streets depicting the "Second Founding of America," the Reconstruction era, in Beaufort. Created by Ginger Noah Wareham, the bench depicts a group of men, women and children standing in a tidal creek in front of a background of red and blue stripes, likely rejoicing over their new-found freedom. There are other benches that I see when I am out-and-about too. Linda Silk Sviland painted the facade of a typical hall-and-parlor style house alongside a blueprint layout and bushes of red camellias on a bench which stands at the entrance to the Waterfront Park by the Marina. Reverend Johnnie Smith's bench at Tabernacle Baptist Church depicts places of deep spiritual meaning to Gullah people, including the Tabernacle Church, a river baptism, and a praise house. There's even a Forrest Gump-themed bench in the Arsenal's yard, which shows snippets from the movie along with the iconic quote "Life is like a box of chocolates...." And there are over a dozen more to find around town! 

In 2025, the City's Cultural District Advisory Board began discussions on how the Art Benches could be repaired, as the wind and rain has led to the fading of some of the paint. This may be why, as of late May 2025, the "Second Founding of America" bench is missing from its usual spot, though the informational placard still remains. You can come to the BDC in the meantime to take a look at the newly-created Art Benches vertical file, which includes photos of some of the benches, as well as news articles. I even found an article in one of our original issues of the Lowcountry Weekly which discusses the creation and placement of the Art Benches!

Watermen’s Wave Lowcountry Boot Trail

For those of you who live in Beaufort, you may have seen the most recent Public Art initiative gracing the cover of the Spring 2025 issue of The Beacon, the city's biennial newsletter. Or perhaps you've been to Moe's or the Cypress Wetlands and noticed them - them being the giant, painted fisherman boots. The 11 boots make up the Watermen’s Wave Lowcountry Boot Trail, the product of a partnership between the Beaufort Area Hospitality Association, local artists and businesses. The intent of the project is to celebrate Beaufort's historical ties to the seafood industry, bringing greater attention to artists within our community who decorated the sculptures, while also encouraging tourism and the support of local businesses who sponsored and placed these boots near their businesses.

This recent batch of public art sculptures are a bit different from many prior projects but are indicative of a new style of public art emerging locally: like the Art Benches, they are fully interactive! The intent is for people to not just admire the boots, but to step into them and "wear" them. And like the Shell Art Trail, visitors are encouraged to take a photo and share the art online with their promotional hashtag. Once the visitor has taken and posted a photo with each set of boots, they can return to the Beaufort Visitors Center to receive a prize. 

The boots debuted in January of 2024 during the Beaufort Oyster Festival and can now be found as far north and west as the KOA Holiday Campground off of I-95, east as Hunting Island, and south as Shellring Aleworks, but the largest concentration of them is in Downtown Beaufort. You can often spot tourists wearing the boots while posing for pictures, and Sydney and I recently snapped a picture together in the boots (though we both agreed that it was a bit too unflattering to post here). I even used the "Beaufort" boots as a stop for my niece's Flat Stanley assignment earlier this year, and she and her classmates apparently found the "too big boots" hilarious on her little paper man! The boots have clearly become a well-loved symbol of Beaufort.

You can come to the in-person live presentation of "Moo-fort" at the Beaufort Branch on Monday, July 28 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM. It's free! We do so hope to see you there! - gmc

References:

Angst, M. (2017, November 1). We’re getting a Lowcountry Oyster Trail and here’s what you should know about it. The Island Packet. https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/article182027126.html

Arts Council of Beaufort County. (2000). Cows on Vacation [brochure]. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Arts Council of Beaufort County. (2000, Spring/Summer). Holy cow: Beaufort hosts a herd of historic heifers April 15 through early July 2000. ArtNews, 4–8. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Arts Council of Beaufort County. (2001). Big Pig Gig summer vacation [brochure]. Found in SC Vertical File BIG PIG GIG, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Artworks. (2013, August 7). Big pig gig. Artworks; Wayback Machine. https://web.archive.org/web/20130807005353/http://www.artworkscincinnati.org/publicart/bigpiggig.shtml

Barnwell, H. S. (2000, June 9). ["Shrimp" email to Beaufort County Library staff]. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Beaufort’s Big Swim. (2007, April 21). The Lowcountry Weekly, 11. Found in SC Vertical File BIG SWIM, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Big pig gig. (2025). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Pig_Gig&oldid=1281991263

Boddie, T. M. (2018, July 9). Sure, Lowcountry oysters are delicious. But did you know they’ll soon be works of art? The Island Packet. https://www.islandpacket.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article214556460.html

City of Beaufort. (2025, February 19). Cultural District Advisory Board meeting minutes February 19, 2025 2:00 PM. https://www.cityofbeaufort.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02192025-1826

City of Beaufort. (2025, February 19). [Cultural District Advisory Board agenda for February 19, 2025]. https://www.cityofbeaufort.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_02192025-1826

City of Beaufort. (2025, May 21). [Cultural District Advisory Board agenda for May 21, 2025]. https://www.cityofbeaufort.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_05212025-1896

Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. (n.d.). Public art. Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://cf-lowcountry.org/impact-initiatives/public-art

Community Foundation of the Lowcountry. (n.d.). Public Art on Hilton Head Island collection as of January 2020. https://d33cksekc092z.cloudfront.net/images/Public-Art-Collection-as-of-January-2020.pdf

Dailey, J. (2007, September 13). Beaufort’s mermaids on sale. WTOC11. https://www.wtoc.com/story/7066300/beauforts-mermaids-on-sale

Explore Beaufort. (2022, October 19). New benches around town tell some of Beaufort’s cultural history. Explore Beaufort SC. https://explorebeaufortsc.com/new-benches-around-town-tell-some-of-beauforts-cultural-history/ 

Ferguson, L. (2020, January 25). Looking for a spot to sit, relax in Beaufort? Check out these locally painted benches. The Island Packet. https://www.islandpacket.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article239637138.html

Ford, O. (2001, September 2). Port Royal reunites friends, kin. Beaufort Gazette, 1. Found in SC Vertical File BIG PIG GIG, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Gigante, J. (2000, August 10). “Mini Merci” represents life-size cow reborn as “Backdraft.” Beaufort Gazette, 6A. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Hager, T. (2007, May 6). Mermaids splash into Beaufort. Beaufort Gazette, 1–C. Found in SC Vertical File BIG SWIM, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Harley, C. C. (2000, August 6). Outdoor art: Sponsors, artists needed to raise shrimp colony. Beaufort Gazette, 1C. Beaufort Gazette, 6A. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Island Writers Network. (2023, March 31). Poetry trail. Island Writers Network. https://islandwritersnetworkhhi.org/home/poetry-trail-hhi/

Lowcountry Oyster Trail. (n.d.). Oyster Shell Art Trail [form]. https://lowcountryoystertrail.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/LOTOysterShellArtTrailFormvFILLABLE.pdf

Lowcountry Oyster Trail. (n.d.). Shell art trail – a public art display. Lowcountry Oyster Trail. Retrieved June 6, 2025, from https://lowcountryoystertrail.org/shell-art-trail-a-public-art-display/

lucyrosen. (2018, June 18). Heart of the lowcountry: How being a part of the lot shell art trail can bring people, and business, right to your front door. Lowcountry Oyster Trail. https://lowcountryoystertrail.org/2018/06/heart-of-the-lowcountry/

lucyrosen. (2018, October 17). Lowcountry Oyster Trail set for fall launch. Lowcountry Oyster Trail. https://lowcountryoystertrail.org/2017/08/lowcountry-oyster-trail-set-for-fall-launch/

lucyrosen. (2018, October 17). Shell art trail in Bluffton features giant oyster sculptures painted by local artists. Lowcountry Oyster Trail. https://lowcountryoystertrail.org/2018/10/shell-art-trail-in-bluffton/

Males, C. (2018, November). The 2018 public art exhibition: A stroll through Hilton Head Island’s magical open air art gallery. Hilton Head Island & Bluffton Local Life, 2(11), 138–141.

McNab, M. (2015, April 24). The lady vanishes! Mermaid statue missing from Beaufort park. The Island Packet. https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article33645612.html

Puckett, K. (2021, July 9). Port Royal’s ‘Nightmare Witch’ has disappeared. How the town plans to replace her. The Island Packet. https://amp.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article252641243.html

Reynolds, J. (2025, March 4). Watermen’s wave Lowcountry boot trail. Beaufort Lifestyle. https://www.beaufortlifestyle.com/2025/03/04/watermens-wave-lowcountry-boot-trail/

Robinson, K. (2021, May 13). New Beaufort benches add flair! South Carolina Lowcountry. https://southcarolinalowcountry.com/beaufort-benches-add-flair/

Smith, K. (2000, June 14). Student public art project successful. Beaufort Gazette, 4A. Beaufort Gazette, 6A. Found in SC Vertical File COWS ON VACATION, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library, SC.

Town of Hilton Head Island Office of Cultural Affairs. (2021). Town of Hilton Head Island Office of Cultural Affairs strategic plan FY22—FY24. https://hiltonheadislandsc.gov/plans/OCAStrategicPlan.pdf

Town of Hilton Head Island Office of Cultural Affairs. (2025, June 6). Hilton Head Island’s public art. Culture HHI. https://culturehhi.org/hilton-head-islands-public-art/

Town of Hilton Head Island Office of Cultural Affairs. (2025, June 6). Public art. Culture HHI. https://culturehhi.org/portfolio/public-art/

BDC Facebook Page Re-cap: Posts, May 16 - June 30, 2025

I'm going to put 6 weeks worth of Facebook posts into this re-cap to finish Fiscal Year 2025. As per usual I will omit any references to announcements for programs and holidays that have already occurred. I will leave some of the "This Week in the BDC" posts. - gmc

May 16, 2025 - Today's "Finding Aid Friday" post fits beautifully with "National Preservation Month" because it's about one of Beaufort's most famous historic houses, "The Castle." John Staelin and Elizabeth Locke, former owners of Beaufort's "Castle," donated this collection of materials related to the history of their former home. This collection details the house's rich history, architecture, and community impact and includes a report by Penelope Holmes Parker.

May 17, 2025 - Happy Armed Forces Day. Armed Forces Day honors and recognizes those service men and women who are currently serving in the United States military. This photo is from our Digital Culp Collection hosted by the Lowcountry Digital Library.

May 18, 2025 - "This Week in the BDC" we have is a Local Author Book Talk on tap on Wednesday afternoon at Beaufort Branch. Longtime local resident Annelore Harrell shares some of her award-winning newspaper columns from Bluffton Today, Carolina Morning News, Bluffton Sun and Hilton Head Sun in the first installment of a planned series of Et Cetera Y'all volumes. Patti Callahan Henry lauds Harrell's writing as "A treasure trove of insight, offering a fresh perspective on the essence of the people, places, and things she has chosen to share." I am going to interview her about her book, life and career to get the program started. Feel free to come with questions of your own to ask her about her book, life and career.

The County is putting down new flooring in most of the 2nd floor, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Access to the BDC Research Room will be restricted until the installers get done. Reminder: The BDC will also be closed on Monday, May 26th for Memorial Day.

May 19, 2025 - Another "Uniquely BDC" vertical file we have is about a ship named for a local military hero.

USS Pinckney (DDG-91) is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer in the United States Navy. The ship is named for African American Officer's Cook First Class William Pinckney (1915–1976), a native of the Dale community in Beaufort, South Carolina, who won the Navy’s second-highest honor, the Navy Cross, for saving the life of a shipmate, James Raymond Bagwell during a Japanese attack on the carrier Enterprise in 1942.

Dr. Eleanor I. Barnwell attended the christening of the ship in 2002 recounting the event and remarks made by Bagwell's son: "It wasn't a matter of two strangers, one Black, one white, ... it was just two sailors in deep trouble, and thank God one of them had the courage and the strength to save the other....[Pinckney] carried him [his father] up several decks even though he was burned himself.... I believe my dad was blessed with a guardian angel, and that angel's name was William Pinckney."

Mr. Pinckney died on July 21, 1976 aged 61 years old. He is buried in the Beaufort National Cemetery in SECTION 33 SITE 81.

May 20, 2025 - May is Jewish American Heritage Month. The online Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities has a substantive overview of the people of Jewish ancestry in Beaufort since colonial days into the 2020s.

May 21, 2025 - "Black History Note:" We have one of the largest collections of research materials about Gullah Culture in the South. Gullah culture has a past, is present all around us, and is ever evolving. You can experience the vibrant spirit of the Gullah people at the Original Gullah Festival of South Carolina being held this weekend. The festival celebrates the unique language, heritage, and contributions of the Gullah community, offering a deep dive into their vibrant culture. Just search for "Original Gullah Festival" in your browser for details about this year's celebration. You can also use the QR code in the photos to find out more about the research materials the BDC shares.

May 22, 2025 - South Carolina was unique among the British North American colonies in that persons of Jewish lineage were welcomed to settle in the colony. The 1669 charter of the Carolina Colony (the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina), drawn up by the 1st Earl of Shaftesbury and his secretary John Locke, granted liberty of conscience to all settlers, including "Jews, heathens, and dissenters".

May 23, 2025 - "Finding Aid Friday": Because Deloris Nevils was part of the original planning group for the Original Gullah Festival, today is a great day to highlight a small archival collection of her personal papers. Ms. Nevils donated the collection to the BDC in 2019.

May 29, 2025 - Thanks to the generosity of researcher Stanley Farbstein, we have a lot of biographical information about and obituaries for the people buried in the Beth Israel Cemetery at 906 Bladen Street. The cemetery was purchased in 1910 and the first burial was of Bessie Katzif on March 13, 1912. The listing of interments goes up to 2008.

May 30, 2025 - “Finding Aid Friday” in National [Historic] Preservation Month - Architect and architectural photographer Charles Bayless captured exteriors and interiors of historic buildings in Beaufort County as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey in the late 1970s. You can see most of his images online in the massive HABS/HAER/HALS Collection at the Library of Congress – or you can make an appointment to see the photographic prints in our Research Room: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

May 30, 2025 - It's neck and neck re: the people's favorite Beaufort County historic site. Want to help break a(n almost) tie? The poll [ URL deleted ] will close tomorrow, May 31st, at 11:59 PM. BTW: The ultimate winner was Old Sheldon Church. Penn Center was a close second in the polling.

May 31, 2025 - There's lots of activity at the branch libraries today for the Kick Off of the 2025 Summer Reading Program "Color Our World." Here in the BDC we are taking a more subdued approach. Expect to often read about how the BDC "Colors Our World with History" before the end of SRP on July 31st.

June 2, 2025 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" in SRP "Color Our World" - Sydney recommends Vivid: Living Life in Full Color: Images and Writings from Around the World, Passionately Explored by Jeffrey Keefer (2019) to you. Keefer is known for his "eye-popping" placement of color in his photography. One of his favorite places, Hilton Head Island, is frequently featured in this book - including the front cover. The BDC is the only library in SCLENDS to have a copy of this title.

June 3, 2025 - In honor of World Bicycle Day: According to the Palmetto Post newspaper of 4 October 1900, [p.2]: "It is estimated that there are 500 bicycles in Beaufort, and only one first class repair shop. The business ought to pay handsomely." I wonder if the business made a profit. BTW: I just love the Palmetto Post's slogan: "Worms can't affect it."

June 4, 2025 - "Black History Note" during Summer Reading (SRP): Jonathan Green, arguably Beaufort District's most well-known artist, uses lots of color to share his interpretation of Gullah culture and spirituality. He's a master of multiple media platforms: painting, posters, book illustration, opera, ballet, and film. Seeking: Poetry and Prose Inspired by the Art of Jonathan Green shows his ability to inspire poets, too.

June 5, 2025 - It's World Environment Day - which makes it a great day to highlight the fact that hurricane season has come around again. And as they say: "Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now." FEMA has a short guide on how to be ready to "Save Your Family Treasures" in case this area gets hit, directly or indirectly, before the end of November by a tropical event.

June 6, 2025 - Today's featured "Finding Aid Friday" relates to tourism - which from the looks of it is very much in full swing now. Beaufort County has a lot of visitors at the moment.

Jeanne Harman and her husband Harry E. Harman were travel writers based in the Virgin Islands. They wrote travel and relocation guides for the Caribbean and the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia. The materials in this collection relate to their publication, the Hilton Head Island Report.

Also included is correspondence related to the purchase and upkeep of the Harman’s villa in Sea Pines Plantation during the 1970s. We enjoyed learning about all the requirements one needed to meet to stay in the good graces of the property owners association of the day. The checklist was quite specific and extensive.

June 9, 2025 - Today's "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" selection actually has 2 colors in the title: Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold. This book about the 4000 different species of tasty swimming crustaceans was written by Anne Rudloe, a marine biologist, and her husband Jack Rudloe, a naturalist in 2009. From the history of shrimp, to shrimping, and the biology of shrimp, you are sure to learn something new about appealing (and peeling) prawns. (That's Sydney's bad pun, not mine this time). This title is a BDC exclusive.

June 10, 2025 - As BDC Display Case Designer in chief, Sydney wrote about BDC materials she selected to "Color Our World with History."

June 11, 2025 - "Black History Note:" Yesterday the BDC staff was proud to host the 2025 Campbell-Wright HBCU Gullah Geechee Interns cadre. Tendaji Bailey of the Gullah Geechee Futures Project coordinated visits to the BDC and "Research 101" sessions taught by Nathan Betcher, Integrated Resources Program Manager, Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, National Park Service for the college students at the Beaufort Branch Library.

Anyone who's been on a BDC Behind-the-Scenes tour knows that our closed stacks area can't hold many people at once. So we held 2 sessions. We appreciate Nathan and Tendaji's willingness to work with us on the split schedule.

The students came from Benedict College, Claflin University, Clark Atlanta University, Florida A & M, Hampton University, Howard University, Morehouse College, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Savannah State University, Spelman College, and Tennessee State University to learn more about Gullah Geechee history and culture. Cassandra, Sydney and I shared information about some of the many Gullah culture related materials we have, gave the students a tour, and offered some advice about how to use archives more effectively.

June 12, 2025 - The American Historical Association is running another Summer Reading Challenge this year. See some of the local history suggestions we have for you to complete it. BTW: You can read any of the items for 20 minutes and color in one blob of the BCL's palette gameboard for "Color Our World" reading program too.

June 13, 2025 - "Finding Aid Friday:" Cassi recently finished the Finding Aid for some Together for Beaufort County directories to resources for seniors, disabled veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

June 14, 2025 - Happy Flag Day! The delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress decided on June 14, 1777 to select and standardize a flag to indicate the new nation. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson commemorated that decision by declaring June 14th of each year "Flag Day." Most folks - me included until I did a little research preparing this post - don't know that there have been 27 versions of the United States' most recognizable symbol to date.

Here's one of my favorite "Old Glory" images to commemorate the day. The US flag proudly flies in front of the Beaufort Grammar School for white children that opened in the old Beaufort College building in 1909. This postcard is from the Arnsberger Postcard Collection that is hosted online for us by the Lowcountry Digital Library.

And a very happy 250th birthday to the United States Army, too.

June 16, 2025 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday" that "Color[s] Our World" with History: The Red Bird and the Devil is local resident Robert Lanham's historical novel about Henry Woodward's life. It's a novel because so much of Woodward's personal history is a matter of piecing together bits and pieces from a variety of rather scanty source documents. Nevertheless, Lanham provides a fresh look at the origin and first decades of Carolina Colony from the perspective of its first permanent English settler. The BDC has the only copy of this title in the SCLENDS consortium.

June 18, 2025 - "Black History Note" in "Color Our World" [with History] SRP 2025: The Risen Phoenix: Black Politics in the Post-Civil War South by Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego highlights the Reconstruction Era careers of six African American legislators, including Beaufort District's own Robert Smalls. Drawing on a rich combination of traditional political history, gender, Black history, and the history of U.S. foreign relations, the book argues that African American congressmen effectively served their constituents' interests while also navigating their way through a tumultuous post-Civil War Southern political environment.

June 23, 2025 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday:" Sometimes deadly diseases have "colorful" names. Like "Black plague" the color in "Yellow Fever" relates to a symptom of the disease. "Yellow fever" has several other colorful names: yellow plague and bronze john.

Spread by the bites of mosquitoes, symptoms usually were apparent within 3 to 6 days. Symptoms included fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, back pain and headaches - but these symptoms could describe a lot of illnesses. However, approximately 15% of its victims would suffer a second more virulent return of the fever the following day and go on to develop severe abdominal pain, liver damage resulting in the yellowing of the patient's skin, a risk of bleeding, and kidney damage. Those patients whose skin turned yellow in appearance had a 50-50 chance of surviving the disease. There is no known cure for yellow fever but there is an effective and safe vaccine against the disease.

Beaufort District's most serious outbreak of yellow fever was in 1817 when 7% of the population died and Beaufort College was temporarily shuttered on account of the number of students who perished. Local physician Dr. James Robert Verdier developed a treatment commonly used but ineffective. When Beaufort was a bustling 19th century seaport, there was a quarantine station for merchant sailors and ships on Parris Island.

You can find out even more about how this deadly disease affected Beaufort District history by reviewing the contents of the BDC's "Yellow Fever" vertical file.

June 25, 2025 - "Black History Note" in "Color Our World" [with History] SRP 2025: Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen leads off with a chapter about Beaufort District's own Robert Smalls. The goal of this short-listed Pulitzer Prize in History book by Philip Dray was to view Reconstruction from the perspective of the first Black Congressmen. And he does. There are plenty of copies in the local history sections at the Branch Libraries for you to borrow.

June 26, 2025 - A little known local history fact is that in the aftermath of the Spanish American War, the US government leased property on Daufuskie Island for a yellow fever quarantine station for returning veterans of the Cuban theater of the conflict. Authors Jenny Hersch and Sallie Ann Robinson gathered some great photos of the station from the Theodore Roosevelt Collection at Harvard College and the Burton Historical Collection in the Detroit Public Library for their book Daufuskie Island (2018), pp. 18-22. The BDC and some of the BCL Branch libraries have a copy of this title. You can also borrow the e-book on Hoopla.

June 27, 2025 - Mark your calendars: The BDC is helping bring you 2 free previews of the upcoming "Da' Gullah American Revolution Show" by the Gullah Traveling Theater, Inc. The performance will illuminates the untold stories of the Gullah people and their vital, yet often overlooked, contributions to the American Revolution. You can join us at either - or both - sneak peek showings.

[I've only posted the notice about the Hilton Head Island showing on account of the July 2nd one at USCB in Beaufort was held yesterday afternoon. There's no reason to add that first session here now.]

June 28, 2025 - One month to "Moo-fort, Mermaids, and More" with Cassandra Knoppel.

June 29, 2025 - This Week in the BDC: We have a local history program about the context of Lafayette's brief visit to Beaufort in 1825 on Wednesday after which the BDC Staff will go to the Beaufort session of "Da' Gullah American Revolutionary Experience" at USCB. (In other words, no appointments or walk-ins after 12 PM on Wednesday.) The Library system will be closed on Friday, July 4th for Independence Day.

June 30, 2025 - "Uniquely BDC: Materials Monday": The BDC is the only SCLENDS library to hold An oration delivered before the Philomathean Society and inhabitants of Beaufort, South-Carolina : on Monday, July 4, 1803, in Commemoration of American Independence by Robert Barnwell (1761-1814) that was printed by John J. Evans & Company in Charleston in 1803. As you can see from the images, our copy has water stains.

It can be a tad difficult to read and understand early 19th century oratorical speeches. This one includes lots of flowery subordinate clauses, long s-es [where the letter "f" substitutes for initial "s" and "s" in the middle of a word] and ligatured ct-s - all of which slow down the reading process some. All I can say for certain is that the Senator considered Native Americans as savages, white settlers as tamers of the wilderness and bringers of civilization, and that he held George Washington in the highest regard. You can read the book on Google books.

This Robert Barnwell is referred to as the Senator in The Story of An American Family (1969). He was an ardent Federalist. When he was President of the State Senate, another member described him this way: "a tall, portly, well built man ... of singular gravity and possessed of a great influence in the Senate ... he is considered one of the greatest orators in the State. He has a heavy sonorous voice which completely fills the room. It is somewhat rolling ... smooth and pleasant."

William John Grayson wrote: "His natural powers of elocution, the flowing, copious gift of speech, which no labour can acquire, have been seldom surpassed. He was fond of discussion... During his whole life he maintained a sort of intellectual dictatorship in our society which no one was disposed to dispute.... By his own honest convictions and confident assertions, he impressed his hearers with the most perfect conviction of his sincerity, even if they differed." (pp. 40 - 41) The image of the Senator was painted by renowned painter Charles Fraser and is found on p. 47.

If you decide to read the speech on Google Books, try to imagine the Senator's heavy sonorous, somewhat rolling, smooth and pleasant voice filling the room.

BTW: The word "philomath" is from the Greek meaning a lover of learning. As some of you may know, Beaufort County Library's tagline is "For Learning. For Leisure. For Life." Perhaps we should call our customers and patrons, philomaths in honor of Senator Barnwell. What do you think: Philomaths or customers or patrons?

Don't forget: The Library system will be closed tomorrow, Friday, July 4th to observe the 249th Independence Day.