Captain William Hilton Espies A Promontory

Today marks a significant date in Beaufort District's history. On 28 September 1663 a sea captain named William Hilton sailed along the coast of what became South Carolina and saw a a headland in the ocean. He named it after himself. 

You can read Hilton's account of his Voyage to the Carolina Coast (1664) in our Research Room or borrow one of the reprint copies from the SCLENDS catalog. It's also available as "A Relation of Discovery" by William Hilton (1664) in Narratives of Early Carolina, 1650-1708 edited by A.S. Salley. We have a physical copy in the Research Room or you can borrow printed copies from one or more of the SCLENDS libraries.

Dwayne Pickett, a living historian who in the past has appeared at BDC's programs in the guise of Captain Hilton, recently wrote a book about the English explorer. The book Captain William Hilton and the Founding of Hilton Head Island is available in the BDC Research Room and through the SCLENDS catalog. It is also available as an e-book through the Library's subscription to Hoopla. All you need is a valid Beaufort County Library card to check out the physical or electronic copies. 

Beaufort County Library issues free cards to Beaufort County residents and property owners, USCB & TCL students, members of the military and their dependents, and all Beaufort County Government and School District employees.With that card, you get access to almost 3 million books, dvds, recordings, etc. - the vast majority of which you can borrow to use outside the library -- plus access to electronic products that include movies, tv shows, music, audio books, ebooks, journals, magazines, and newspapers, book selection guides, test preparation materials, investment resources, books for the blind, and a host of materials for children. 

That's why a free library card is hands down the best deal in town! And when you get one - and keep it renewed - it tells our funding agency, Beaufort County Council, that you appreciate the Beaufort County Library's collections, services, staff and programs. 
 

We encourage you to get one today!

Heads up: All units of the Library system will be closed on Wednesday, October 2, 2019 for Staff Work Day. Regular hours will resume on Thursday, October 3, 2019.

Local History Programs in June 2018

We had such a good time in Hilton Head Branch talking with authors Nelle Smith and Ora Smith that we're going to do it again! On Tuesday, June 26th join us at Beaufort Branch to learn more about what life was like on Hilton Head Island from the early 1960s into the mid-1990s. 

Two days later, we celebrate the survival of Fort Moultrie with a Carolina Day lecture by the Executive Director of the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, Douglas Bostick. Learn about the course of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina from this fine historian and author.

And two days after that, (Saturday, June 30, 2018) it's free Liberty Week Super Museums Saturday at at least 10 area museums. Please watch local media for details.

BDC@ Hilton Head Branch Paradise Author Talk

Program reminder:

All units of the Beaufort County Library will be closed to commemorate Memorial Day on Monday, May 28, 2018. Regular hours resume on Tuesday, May 29th.

Deming on Archaeological Diving - May 21st

The Archaeology Society of SC/Hilton Head Chapter is pleased to have Ashley M. Deming Manager, The Sport Diver Archaeology Management Program, Maritime Research Division, South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology of the University of South Carolina.   


Deming, a popular speaker in our area will speak about the SCIAA Outreach and certification program on Hilton Head Tuesday, May 21st at Discovery House, Coastal Discovery Museum on Honey Horn Plantation starting at 2:00 PM.  All ASSC/HH meetings are free and open to the public.

Deming  will discuss the upcoming Underwater Diver's SC State certification class  "Our field training course comes in two parts. The first part (class and pond) is set for sometime in June. The second part (diving on a wreck near Hilton Head) is set for July, tentatively the 17th through 22nd.   For further information: Dwayne Pickett dwayne.pickett@gmail.com. 

Captain Hilton Docks on Saturday

 

Captain William Hilton (as channeled through living historian Dwayne Pickett) drops anchor at Beaufort Branch Library Saturday afternoon. Join us at this BDC@ The Branches local history program.  All ages are invited to learn about his explorations along the South Carolina coast 350 years ago at this free program.

Other ports of call: Sat., June 15th at Lobeco Branch, 1 - 2 pm; and, Wed., June 26th at Bluffton Branch, 2 - 3 pm. 

SCAD at Baynard Mausoleum

Image courtesy of Heritage Library

A news notice from Linda Piekut, Executive Director of the Heritage Library Foundation: 

 

The Heritage Library History & Genealogy Center has signed a collaborative with the Savannah College of Art and Design for a structural study of the Baynard Mausoleum in the Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery.  The SCAD historic preservation program emphasizes applied learning and research with preservation partners and hands-on revitalization initiatives.  Dr. Thomas Taylor, Professor of Historic Preservation is leading the classes, HIPR 446 Cemetery Preservation and HIPR 747 Conservation in Cemeteries in the spring term that began in March.  The students will be on-site at the mausoleum on Friday and Saturday May 17 and 18 performing their hands-on analysis of the structure.  

The Baynard Mausoleum was built in 1846 for William Edings Baynard who died at age 49.  Shortly after, in 1854, William’s wife Catherine Adelaide was laid to rest in the mausoleum. Baynard owned the Braddock’s Point Plantation that is now located in Sea Pines Resort.  The mausoleum is the oldest extant structure on the island.

The Heritage Library is seeking funds to help restore the mausoleum and cemetery. Please call 686-6560 for more information.

New Programs on Jackpot

Former Beaufort Gazette reporter, Jason Ryan, has penned his first non-fiction, full length book which comes out on April 20th. Simply entitled Jackpot (with quite interesting cover art) but enticingly subtitled High Times, High Seas, and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs, Ryan's book is getting solid reviews.

Some of the newcomers among us may not be aware of "Operation Jackpot" and the role that some Beaufort and Hilton Head Island area residents played in it. In fact, we've had a BDC vertical file on the topic for quite some time.

There have been two fictional versions of the tale: the loosely based Lowcountry Boil by Carl Smith (2003) and the not-so-loosely based Reefer Moon by Roger Pinckney (2009). (There are plenty of copies of these novels available for checkout through SCLENDS.)

Make plans now to join us on May 3rd to learn more about this lucrative smuggling enterprise and its consequences, locally and globally.

We're doing two BDC@ The Branches sessions on May 3rd. After his presentations, he'll be happy to autograph your copy!

Jason Ryan presents Jackpot: High Times, High Seas, and the Sting that Launched the War on Drugs
BDC@ Hilton Head Branch, May 3rd, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
BDC@ Beaufort Branch, May 3rd, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Another BDC @ The Branches Program

This time the BDC @ The Branches program is at our Hilton Head Branch Library.

Editor Stephen Hoffius will share the tales of lowcountry plantations as written by Chlotilde Martin and their subsequent research updating those tales tomorrow afternoon beginning at 1 pm. (Unfortunately, Mr. Cuthbert is unable to attend as previously planned.)

You can see a small video of part of Mr. Hoffius' presentation at the State Library's Speaker @ The Center on YouTube.

If you had the misfortune to miss their entertaining and informative program last fall at the Beaufort District Collection, here's your chance to focus on learning more about the history of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton area plantations.

Book Recommendations: Tideland Treasure and Woodland Walks

Staff from our Hilton Head Branch Library offered 5 suggestions for summer reading at the beach, including these two book by former HHI resident, Todd Ballantine. While the BDC Research Room is closed, I am borrowing freely from the work of others to keep Connections of interest to our readers.

Tideland Treasure is the ideal book to bring on walks on the beaches of Hilton Head Island and the Southeast coast. This book grew out of a 5-year span of articles that were published in Island Events Magazine. It is charmingly handscripted and replete with his drawings of typically observed plants and animals of the beaches and salt marshes of Hilton Head Island and the Southeast coast. He even offers ecologically friendly tips such as: Beachgoers should leave living sand dollars on the beach and/or in the surf. Once a sand dollar is bleached white by the sun then it is dead. Dead sand dollars can be picked up.

His companion book, Woodland Walks, is an introduction to the ecology of the Southeastern coastal region. The author once served as a resident naturalist for the Sea Pines Plantation. This book will guide visitors on Hilton Head’s parks and nature preserves, and is also recommended to nature lovers.

This is not to say that a book about the ecology of Hilton Head Island doesn't have applicability to the other sea islands in South Carolina. It most certainly does. So, if you're visiting Hunting Island in Northern Beaufort County, bring along either book and you're sure to learn more about the flora and fauna surrounding you.

Beaufort County Library has multiple copies of both titles in our holdings. Visit our catalog to reserve your copy from one of our branch libraries.

Brooker on "Tormenting, Dissatisfied People"

Join us Tuesday, March 2nd for "The Most Tormenting, Dissatisfied People on Earth" with Colin Brooker at the Hilton Head Branch Library from 3:00 pm – 4 pm.

About the Presenter:
Colin H. Brooker, of Brooker Architectural Design Consultants, Beaufort, South Carolina, heads a small consortium of specialists engaged in the excavation, recording, conservation, and publication of historic architectural and archaeological resources. Today, his practice is largely oriented towards historic structures of the southeastern United States and The Bahamas. He has helped preserve tabby-built plantation structures on Dataw, Spring, Daufuskie, Callawassie, and Hilton Head islands and at the c. 1780 Barnwell Gough House in Beaufort.

BDC programs are free and open to anyone over age 12 with an interest in our local history, culture, or environment. Contact Grace Cordial, 470-6525 or gracec@bcgov.net for more details.

The image was taken on Sea View Plantation, Crooked Island, The Bahamas.

Mitchelville in Book, Dance, Song, and Drama

We humans tend to think that the way places appear today are the way places have always been. How very untrue that perception can be. Take for example, the Mitchelville site on Hilton Head Island. Archaeological studies began in 1986 of the first freedmen's village in the United States. Yet, if you visit the site today, there is little evidence of the the thriving and historically important village.

A group of native islanders and Hilton Head town staff are developing a plan to turn a tiny sliver of town-owned land on the northern end of the island into a living history museum to commemorate Mitchelville with replicas of the freed slaves' 12-by-12-foot wooden tract houses and general stores.

You can read more about the archaeological site from Chicora Foundation in Research Series 7, Indian and Freedmen Occupation at the Fish Haul Site (38BU805), Beaufort County, South Carolina, edited by Michael Trinkley. We have a copy in the BDC and one at our Hilton Head Branch Library but you can read it online, too. (Read down to #7 and then pick the section you'd like tor read online.)

Another archaeological report, Archaeological Manifestations of the "Port Royal Experiment" at Mitchelville, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina is also available online as well as in the BDC Research Room at call number SC 975.799 TRI.

For a more complete list of resources about the historic African-American Mitchelville site, check out the "Recommended Reading" section of the Library's website under the "Local Treasures Brought to You by the Beaufort District Collection."

In case you are south of the Broad, you may want to consider attending the performance of “Mitchelville,” a play depicting the lifestyle of the Gullah people around the turn of the 20th century. Youngsters from the Native Island Community will express this story through music, singing, dialogue, dancing and acting. 7 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Visual & Performing Arts Center, Hilton Head Island High School, 70 Wilborn Road. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 (with student ID), Free 4 & Under.

"The Most Tormenting and Dissatisfied People on Earth" Lecture - March 2nd

Many folks who reside in our area have little idea of just how far reaching an impact our forebears have had on the national, and even international, stage. Colin Brooker, Architectural Historian and Archaeologist, intends to change that on March 2nd at Hilton Head Branch Library.

Brooker's upcoming lecture, "The Most Tormenting and Dissatisfied People on Earth: Lowcountry Planters in the Bahamas and the Development of Sea Island Cotton, 1780 - 1800," will examine Beaufort's direct influence on the development of The Bahamas. He will illustrate his presentation with images taken during his field work surveying architectural and archaeological sites for the National Museum of The Bahamas. Emphasis will be drawn to those coastal South Carolina planters who relocated to The Bahamas in the aftermath of the American Revolution.

As you will discover, life was never the same for the relocated planters, the slaves, or the native Bahamians.

BDC Programs are free and open to anyone over age 12 who is interested in Beaufort’s local history, culture, or our environment. We hope that you can join us for what is sure to be an illuminating presentation.

“The Most Tormenting, Dissatisfied People on Earth:” Lowcountry Planters in the Bahamas and the Development of Sea Island Cotton, 1780-1800, Colin Brooker, Tues., March 2nd, 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Hilton Head Branch.

The image is from Sea View Plantation, Crooked Island, The Bahamas.

"The Battle of Port Royal" -- Mike Coker

Our 2010 Beaufort District Collection program schedule relating to the history, culture, and environment of Beaufort District continues on Monday, February 22nd.

Michael D. Coker, author of The Battle of Port Royal, will talk about his research into the “pivotal turning point” of the Civil War that occurred in our area. The naval engagement involved two forts in Beaufort District (Fort Beauregard on Bay Point and Fort Walker on Hilton Head) and the “largest fleet ever assembled by the United States” up to 1861.

We are hosting two sessions: 1) one at the Hilton Head Branch Library: Monday, February 22, 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm, and 2) in the Paul Siegmund Room, 311 Scott Street, Monday, February 22nd, 5:30 – 6:30pm.

The program is free and open for anyone aged 12 years and over interested in the history, culture, or environment of our community.

Materials about Hilton Head Island in the BDC

Last updated: 15 March 2023 - gmc 

As most readers of this blog already know, "the Beaufort District Collection (BDC) exists to acquire, preserve, maintain and make accessible a research collection of permanent value which records the history, culture, and environment of our part of the South Carolina lowcountry."

Our goal is to bring the past to the present by managing the BDC research room, stocking the local history sections at the branch libraries with appropriate materials customers can check out and review at their leisure, posting useful local history content on the web via our part of the Library’s website and writing this blog, and coordinating local history programs throughout the Library system. In other words, the BDC serves the Beaufort County Library as a separate division, quite apart from the Beaufort Branch Library.

(Indeed, we share the 311 Scott Street building with the Beaufort Branch Library, but so does Library Administration, Technical Services, the Interlibrary Loan department, the IT folks, and the "Friends of the Beaufort County Library" organization. Do any of these departments/groups concentrate all their efforts on just Beaufort Branch Library? No. And neither does the BDC. The 7 functions simply share one very overcrowded street address. However, the challenges of having so many separate functions coming out of one overcrowded building is a topic for another day!)

Yes, the BDC collects materials about Hilton Head Island and other localities south of the Broad River just as it collects materials about Big Estates, Bluffton, and Gopher Hill as part of the historical story of Beaufort District.

A particular treasure of the BDC is the Nancy Ciehanski Papers, an archival collection that illuminates Mrs. Ciehanski's active involvement in creating the Town of Hilton Head Island 26 years ago. The State recognized the historical value in making her papers accessible for present and future study when they awarded us a SHRAB grant in 2004 to do the necessary archival arrangement work to help researchers learn more about creating a new town in a booming coastal area.

You can learn about some of the materials we make available through the Beaufort District Collection and its services about the “History of Hilton Head Island” sitting right there at your computer.

Please investigate how the BDC helps the customers at all the branch libraries learn about the history, culture, and environment of the wonderful place we all live. As always, call us at 843-255-6468 or e-mail us at bdc@bcgov.net if you have any questions.

Let's Party!

My, how time does fly!

Hilton Head Branch Library moved to its Beach City Road location in November 1998 - 10 years ago! Before that, it was housed in a trailer (1969 - 1976), then in a building along Hwy. 278 from 1976 - 1998. Drop by on Saturday, November 15th and have some cake with the staff and Friends of the Hilton Head Branch Library of the Beaufort County Library.

If you want to do a little research into how the Hilton Head community got its library, drop by the BDC and read the contents of the Beaufort County Library -- Hilton Head Branch vertical file.

HH Archaeology Society Events for Archaeology Month

Hilton Head, SC: The Hilton Head Island Chapter, Archaeological Society of South Carolina, is pleased to announce its fall lecture and events program for October. The overall theme is the development of tribal cultures of the southeast from the hunter gatherer Paleo Indians to the sedentary Woodland Indians found at European contact. All local lectures will be at Hilton Head`s Honey Horn Plantation in Discovery House on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM. The meetings are free and the public is welcome and encouraged to attend.

October 18th (Saturday)

The Hilton Head Island Chapter, Archaeological Society of South Carolina will conduct a field trip to Greens Shell Enclosure off Sqiure Pope Road, HHI. Jim Fannon, local hstorian and site expert will be the guide. He will bring drawings and artifacts to illustrate the indian village that occupied the site 700 years ago. 10:00 AM at the site. Free.

October 21st (Tuesday)

The Hilton Head Island Chapter, Archaeological Society of South Carolina fall lecture series speaker will be archaeologist Chris Judge. He will speak about "Late Pre-Historic and Historic Native Americans of South Carolina". History, archaeology and folklore combine for a better understanding of native cultures. The effect of European colonization and ongoing efforts to revitalize native history will be presented. Chris is a professor in the Department of Anthropology, USC Lancaster. Hilton Head`s Honey Horn Plantation, Discovery House 7:00 PM. Free.

October 25th (Saturday)

The Archaeology Society of South Carolina`s 21st Annual Archaeology Fall Field Day will be held at Colonial Dorchester State Historic Park, Summerville, SC. Dorchester offers a wonderful setting to discover the past. Its tabby fort ruins and the brick bell tower of St. George`s Anglican Church set a historic atmosphere and its archaeological record offers a window into village life from 1697 until the American Revolution. Archaeological demonstrations and re-enactments will be conducted. 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Nominal entrance fee

Contact: George Stubbs (843-363-5058) and http://www.ASSC.net.

Silver Anniversary of the Town of Hilton Head Island

Latest update: 23 October 2024 - gmc

The Beaufort District Collection gathers appropriate materials about all areas of Beaufort County -- from just about anywhere we can get them. We have a county wide policy to collect research materials of permanent value that help us understand the history, culture, and environment of the area. And yes, that means the BDC collects materials about Hilton Head Island and other localities South of the Broad River.

Most folks don't realize that during much of the 18th and 19th centuries, Beaufort District covered all of Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton counties and a small segment of what is now Allendale County. Since our focus is primarily historical in nature, we tend to emphasize materials that focus on 1958 and before.

[Just so you know: In historical circles, something is "historic" at age 50 (which means that I am now "historic" as well!). Issues need to "shake down" for about 50 years before we can get a handle on most of the significance of an event. People, places and events around for less than 50 years tend to be termed "Current Events" in the field of History.]

In the greater scheme of historical events, then, the Town of Hilton Head Island is a newcomer at only 25 years old. [Compare this to the incorporation dates of 1803 for the City of Beaufort and 1852 for the Town of Bluffton.] The Town of Hilton Head Island was designed as a "limited services" town, primarily to wrest planning and development oversight from the Beaufort County government.

Beaufort County Library shares two excellent books about the founding of the Town of Hilton Head Island Evolution of a Town by Buzz Carlota (available at BDC, BLU and HHI) and Profits and Politics in Paradise : the Development of Hilton Head Island by Michael N. Danielson (available at BDC, BEA, and HHI).

We help researchers to go even deeper via the Ciehanski Papers. Nancy Ann Ciehanski gave Beaufort County Library her personal papers about the political climate surrounding the movement to create a new town in the southern part of Beaufort County. As the "forever" part of the Beaufort County Library, the Beaufort District Collection organized the Ciehanski papers for use by researchers visiting our facility -- with the assistance of a SC SHRAB grant in 2004. The collection illuminates Ciehanski's involvement with creating the Town of Hilton Head Island, including her service on the Beaufort County Joint Planning Commission and the first Municipal Town Council. She was also an active member of the League of Women Voters. Please contact us for details about access to the Ciehanski Papers.

For the more visually minded, we recommend the 25th anniversary video at the Town of Hilton Head Island Municipal Government website.

To round out your research celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Town of Hilton Head Island, we suggest that you come into the Beaufort District Collection and review the contents of the Hilton Head Island (town)--Government [BDC Vertical File].

As always, the Beaufort District Collection is willing to answer your questions about the materials we make available. Please call us at (843) 255-6468 or e-mail me at gracec@bcgov.net to learn more. -- gmc

The Beaufort District Collection is a division of the Beaufort County Library, a department of Beaufort County Government of South Carolina.

Last updated on April 13, 2020 by Kristi Marshall.