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/

Beaufort County Records in the BDC and on the Web

Note:  I added more detailed information regarding our holdings of the County Council Minutes in late January 2022 due to a customer reference inquiry. As frequent readers of Connections have learned, customers often fuel what I write about in this blog. Please refer to the Connections post of 30 January 2022 for details. - Grace Cordial

This is the fourth installment of a series about accessing government records in the BDC Research Room and major portals to government records posted to the Internet. As a reminder, the working definition I am using for "government records" is borrowed from the Canadians: "Government records are defined as recorded information in any form, created or received in the conduct of government business and kept as evidence of activities and transactions." Today's topic is Beaufort County (SC) government records. Next week's topic concludes this series with a discussion of  municipal records for the City of Beaufort, the Town of Port Royal, the Town of Bluffton, and the Town of Hilton Head Island. - Grace Cordial

 It often sometimes comes as a surprise to researchers that Beaufort County has not always been “Beaufort County.” One needs to know how government functions were administered in the past and under what names that administration occurred to adequately discover and access relevant county records. So, how did Beaufort County become Beaufort County? Here's a summary of a rather long history:

The English competed with the Spaniards and French for possession of North America. In 1663 King Charles II of Great Britain rewarded eight of his staunchest supporters with land in North America occupied by Native Americans and a few peripatetic Europeans, that is, all the land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans south of Virginia (present-day 36 degrees north latitude) to north of the Spanish settlements in Florida (approximately 31 degrees north latitude). 

SCDAH http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/propco.htm

The English set up three counties in 1665 in what later becomes South Carolina: Craven; Berkeley; and Colleton, each one named for a Lords Proprietor. 20 years later, in 1685, Granville County is drawn in the wilderness. Granville County is named for another Lords Proprietor, John Carteret, the Earl of Granville. 

As in England, the parish system is set up to administer many facets of government in the American colony. In the beginning, there was only one Granville County parish: St. Helena's parish founded in 1712. As more settlers arrive and churches are built in other parts of district, the original St. Helena's Parish was subdivided into three additional parishes: Prince William's Parish (1745), St. Peter's Parish (1747) and St. Luke's Parish (1767).

SCDAH http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/parishes.htm

But the designations of other political and administrative divisions have applied at different periods of time during the past. In addition to the names you may have heard such as St. Helena Parish, St. Luke's Parish, and (now) Granville County, parts of the district were called Hilton County, Shrewsbury County, Lincoln County [and not for Abraham Lincoln either], etc. at various times. When you are doing historical or genealogical research, you must become acquainted with the periods when other administrative names may apply.

Due to population increases and settler disgruntlement, in 1769 the Crown decided to set up courts in 7 regions around the colony. Previous to this year, all courts were held in Charleston, then the capitol city of the colony. This is why the County seal says "1769" on it, though technically it was not a county as yet.  From 1769 to 1868, Beaufort District was a judicial district covering approximately 1920 square miles. 

SCDAH http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1769.htm

Many Beaufort County-related probate records were destroyed when the records of the Beaufort District Courthouse in Gillisonville were destroyed in the waning days of the Civil War, so many in fact that Beaufort County is considered a "burned county" by the State Archives.  However, some residents of Beaufort District may have filed wills or abstracts of their wills in other jurisdictions.   After the Civil War, the 1868 South Carolina State Constitution declared that "Judicial Districts shall hereafter be designated as Counties."  As a practical rule-of-thumb, use 1868 as the starting date for most Beaufort County records.

SCDAH http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/guide/CountyRecords/1868.html 

From time to time, new counties were created in South Carolina. In 1878, Beaufort County was split into Beaufort County and Hampton County.

BDC Map

In 1912, both Beaufort County and Hampton County gave up territory to carve Jasper County within their midst. The most recent adjustment to Beaufort County's boundaries occurred in 1951 when Hardeeville and the Levy-Limehouse areas east of the Charleston & Savannah Railroad track voted to join Jasper County. 

(For more, watch the Beaufort County History Moments Boundaries video segment about how our county boundaries have shifted through time or consult the Atlas of Historical CountyBoundaries, a web-based project of the William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture at The Newberry Library in Chicago.)

Now that you have some background about the administrative history of Beaufort County, who is responsible for keeping track of County records? First let's discuss State Law:

A primary function of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History is to work in partnership with state agency and local government officials in the proper management of their records, and to identify and preserve for public access those of historical/archival value.

The statutory basis for the Archives’ records management program is contained in the Public Records Act (Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976, as amended, Sections 30-1-10 through 30-1-170).

In carrying out this function, the Archives’ staff provides advisory services on all major aspects of records management, including microfilm and digital and computer media as well as traditional paper filing systems and records for counties and municipalities.

Beaufort County's organizational chart from April 2018 indicates the units for which the records retention schedules may apply.

Beaufort County Government http://www.bcgov.net/about/documents/Organization-Chart-2018.pdf

Active records are maintained within the various units of county government and those records on the retention schedules may be picked up from time to time as state statutes require by the Beaufort County's Records Management department. According to its web pages, the Beaufort County Records Management department's primary functions is to: 1. Work in partnership with county departments in the proper management of their inactive and historical records as required by the Public Records Act. (Code of Laws of South Carolina 1976, as amended, section 30-1-10 through 30-1-170.). The Records Management department also takes care of Freedom of Information Act requests in addition to daily pickup  and delivery of interoffice correspondence and U.S. mail.

As of 21 July 2018, the Beaufort County Records Management department provides oversight of 1917 record series created by County government units based on state retention schedules for the various entitites of government. Records management is primarily concerned protecting the most important records until they are eligible for transfer into the State Archives.

Yet there is another level of County government accountability: open government or "government in the sunshine" in order that citizens can feel empowered to participate in and understand government activities, goals, and operations at all levels. With this in mind, the Beaufort County Government website includes access to a lot of current and some important documents of the past; videos of government meetings courtesy of the County Channel; County Council Minutes; and local County ordinances.  (Caution: The Beaufort County SC website is quite large so it may take you awhile to get the hang of how it's organized and categorized. I think that the tab "I want to ... " is the most useful overview of County services. Please explore.)

You can get an idea of the online content on the Beaufort County website by searching "Archives" to discover links to all the online departmental archives. For example, behind the Airports Archives landing page are documents relating to grants, reports, studies and agreements, and work authorizations for the Lady's Island and Hilton Head Island County airports. 

Beaufort County government website, http://www.bcgov.net/archives/county-government/airports/

Our customers tend to be most interested in Probate Court records and Land related records.

One can search Beaufort County Probate Court records for Estate, Guardianship, and Marriage records but the digital images of the documents are not posted. The dates covered seem to vary by the type of record. I saw some estates from the 1920s indexed but the earliest marriage record indexed online for Beaufort County seemed to be from the 1960s. (I wish that the Probate Court Search screen would indicate the scope of the each county's probate court records particularly since one cannot limit by year.)  If you need help search Beaufort County Probate Court records, you should ask for assistance from the Beaufort County Probate Court staff.

Similarly, one can search some of the records maintained by the Register of Deeds but there is no scope statement regarding what years are covered by the index. The indexes appear rather complex so if you have questions you should address those questions to Register of Deeds staff.

Beaufort County Government Records in the Beaufort District Collection

While the Library system has no legal obligation to share and preserve County records, we try to preserve some county records when those records are in formats that we are able to take proper care of and are the types of records that support genealogical and historical research into the people, places, and events of Beaufort District. With this goal in mind, we collect and provide access to some published and microfilmed county records here in the Research Room.

Some of the Beaufort County government records held in the Research Room are listed in the SCLENDS catalog. For example, all our Beaufort County government records preserved on microfilm are listed in the SCLENDS catalog including:

Council Minutes, 1888-2001
Council Resolutions and Proclamations, 1974-2000
Council Ordinances, 1970-2000
Register of Physicians & Surgeons, 1882-1992
Equity Decree Book, 1867-1876
Confederate Veterans Enrollment, 1919-1921
Voter Registration Book and List, 1957-1962
Calendar File Book (Common Pleas), 1974-1977
Bonds of Public Officials, 1984-2002
Register of County Offices, 1866-2002
Coroner’s Inquisition Books, 1888-1898, 1932-1951

We also have selected record series from the Beaufort County School District about accounts payable and construction expenses over specific ranges of time:

Superintendent Ledgers, 1911-1928; 1933-1934; 1935-1950
Superintendent Ledgers, Check and Payroll Registers, 1950-1953, 1953-1954
Unidentifiable Correspondence & County Audit Correspondence, 1895-1897
Teacher Certificate Register, 1897-1945
School Taxes, Cash Ledger, Claims Audited, 1890-1936
School Census, 1919-1920; Statistics
Salaries, 1943-1944
Cash Books, 1934-1954
Construction Funds, 1953-1961
Expenditures, 1937-1959
Payroll Form – Retirement, 1945-1946
Receipts, 1964-1970
State Revenue, 1957-1967

Please note:  Although it would be ever so much fun to see Great Grandpa's report card, none of the School District records that we have include any information about individual students and very limited information about teachers. None of the records are indexed so one must just read page by page in hopes of discovering the information one seeks.

There was a period from approximately 2007 - 2012 when Beaufort County Broadcast Services recorded a large number of County government meetings and created DVDs to be checked out through the branch libraries. The ones we have are listed in the SCLENDS catalog. The catalog points you to such riveting meetings as those of the Beaufort County Joint Finance, Public Facilities & Public Safety Committee, July 19, 2010 - August 4, 2010 and Stormwater Utility Management Meetings, 2008 - 2012 among others. Or come view special presentations such as the Grand Ceremony honoring the 150th Anniversary of the Hunting Island Lighthouse recorded live on 18 October 2009 and the Dedication Ceremony of the Harriet Tubman Bridge (2008) (for which the Library still has copies to check out from the branch libraries).  

Over time, most of the County DVDs have been removed from circulation though the BDC Research Room has kept one copy of each of the DVDs for permanent retention. Some can also be streamed live through the County Channel's Beaufort County Streaming Media Archive.

We also have some published print materials authored by Beaufort County governmental entities. A search in the SCLENDS catalog using "Beaufort County" as the author results in more than 100 hits within the Beaufort County Library system. For example, the BDC purchases the yearly Beaufort County Calendar; we have a copy of Vigilant Guard: 21-23 April 2008: A Disaster Response Exercise scrapbook; and even a document from the school children entitled Beaufort Flashbacks in which 5th and 6th graders interviewed senior citizens about what life was like in the earlier years of the 20th century. 

Because of remodeling in Beaufort Branch last year, the BDC received plenty of GoDocs yet to review, some of which are County documents. Amanda has created a spreadsheet of what came upstairs to the BDC to be evaluated for permanent retention or discard so there will be additional County documents likely to be cataloged. We hope to have that backlog cleared by the end of this year.