Re-cap of the BDC Posts to Facebook during July 2026

As is my established practice, events that have taken place are generally omitted. Some of the entries have been edited for this format. - gmc

July 1 - Overview of July 2026

July 2 - Final Day to enter for the Grand Prize drawing!!! ...

July 4 - Thank you, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Beaufort District's Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Happy 250th Anniversary, America!

July 6 - Independence (Mon)Day: The Declaration of Independence included a long list of grievances against King George III and one of them arises from a political dispute in South Carolina. In 1772 Royal Governor Montagu had a hissy fit because the Commons House had sent 1500 pounds to John Wilkes' freedom of speech defense fund in England. He decided to move the Commons House of Assembly from Charles Town to the brand-new Beaufort District Courthouse. (He also hoped that the Beaufort folks would let him have one of the new mansions in town for his residence but that's a story for another day).

Montagu failed to listen to native South Carolinian Lieutenant Governor William Bull, II's advice: "Don't do it!" But Governor Montagu set the session for October 10, 1772 in Beaufort. Much to his dismay, almost every member showed up in Beaufort that day - and they were even less willing to pass that money bill he wanted during the less than one hour session.

It did not work out well for the Royal Governor. Historian Robert Weir wrote: “Ultimately his [Montagu's] clumsy handling of the affair would contribute not only to his own replacement but also to a clause in the Declaration of Independence, viz. "He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures." This is grievance clause 4 and it's sometimes referred to as the "Beaufort Clause."

Bottom line: Little old backwater Beaufort, SC had a beef with George III that was put into writing in the foundational document of the Declaration of Independence. As Dr. Rowland says "All American history begins in Beaufort South Carolina."

If you want to learn more about Beaufort's role during the lead up to the Declaration of Independence and afterwards, I heartily recommend "Beaufort and the British during the era of the American Revolution" by Robert M. Weir, 1976, an unpublished Beaufort County Historical Society Paper (#54). It's only available inside our Research Room. Contact us at 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net to set up an appointment.

July 7 - SC250 recently posted its "Discover Revolutionary South Carolina" YouTube Series… a new way to plan your next Revolutionary Road Trip! Whether you're ready to hit the road or simply want to learn more about the places that played a role in America's fight for independence, visit the SC250 YouTube Channel. Of course, we hope that you start with the Lowcountry one.

July 8 - Black History Note: Yesterday, we heard Malik Raymond discuss historic traveler's views of the local Gullah-Geechee people they met during their trips. One of the most longstanding Gullah traditions, which later became a famous souvenir from the Lowcountry, is sweetgrass baskets. Sweetgrass Baskets and the Gullah Tradition by Joyce V. Coakley (2005) estimated the start of sweetgrass basket roadside stalls (and the transition of these baskets from tools to commodities) as being sometime in the early 20th century. However, Dale Rosengarten's Row Upon Row: Sweetgrass Baskets of the South Carolina Lowcountry (1987) documented Gullah street venders of both produce and sweet grass baskets in Charleston and Savannah as beginning in the late 19th century. The sale of the baskets was a way for Gullah households to supplement their usual income from farmwork and/or to become entrepreneurs using their traditional art in the Reconstruction Era. Famous Hilton Head "sewers," as basket makers are called, were Ceasar Johnson and Beaulah Grant Kellerson. Their work is described briefly in Barnwell, Grant, and Campbell's Gullah Days (2020). Basketmaking was also taught at the Penn School as a way to keep the traditional craft alive and to generate income for both local sewers (who would sell baskets to Penn) and the institution.

If you'd like to hear more about Black Beaufortonian's entrepreneurship in other industries during the Reconstruction era, be sure to attend our next local history program: "Historic Black Businesses of Beaufort" with Dr. Chanda Powell, co-sponsored by Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce, on August 24th. More details can be found on the BCL calendar.

July 9 - The 250th anniversary of the American Revolution continues all the way through the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783) on 3 September 2033. That should be enough time for you to read all the non-fiction books listed in OCLC's "America's 250-Year Bookshelf" that identifies the most widely held nonfiction book about America from every year since 1776—chosen not by critics or algorithms, but by libraries. IMNSHO - It's highly appropriate that you get to start with Common Sense by Thomas Paine, America's first bestseller that helped steer the colonies to shed monarchy, too. The Library has plenty of copies in a variety formats.

July 13 - Independence (Mon)Day: Report of Findings : The Search for Fort Balfour and Coosawhatchie Battlefield by Steven D. Smith (2005) was done at the Lowcountry Council of Government's request in preparation of the 22.5 mile scenic and historic trail through Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties, highlighting events and sites associated with the American Revolution.

The combined historical, map, and archaeological evidence strongly points to a wooded area in Pocotaligo at the intersection of Highways 21 and 17. The team believed that it is "most likely" located under the Church property or modern four-lane highway at that intersection.

We have other materials in the Research Room about Fort Balfour to share with you. Contact us to learn more: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net.

Heads up: The BDC is hosting author Dik Dasso in November. The subject of his book, Col. William Harden, captures Fort Balfour and destroys it before British reinforcements could arrive in the Spring of 1781.

July 14 - One month - or 23 working days - left to tame my chaotic desk of legendary status among my colleagues, scribble down that long-promised mythical operations manual, and bid adieu to the responsibilities for the BDC with a light heart. Can I adult for that long? Now that remains to be seen .

July 15 - "Black History Note" Wednesday : We recently updated the article and bibliography about sweetgrass baskets on our BDCBCL: Links, Lists and Finding Aids blog.

July 16 - In honor of National Snake Day, I'd like to highlight how the timber rattlesnake became a symbol of the American Revolution.

Perhaps you've seen this flag with the coiled rattlesnake and the words "Dont Tread on Me." Christopher Gadsden, leader of South Carolina's Patriot movement, designed the flag in 1775 to emphasize the defiance of the colonists against the British government. Some say Gadsden modeled his flag after Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" illustration published in the Pennsylvania Gazette issue of 9 May 1754 that is acknowledged as one of the first political cartoons published in an American newspaper. Using a timber rattlesnake made perfect sense as it was found in all the original thirteen colonies and is (still) known as a creature best left alone to do its own snake-y stuff without interference.

Like the "Join or Die" cartoon, this flag has been used by a range of political and cultural groups, from libertarians to anti-government activists, with interpretations that vary widely depending upon who is using it at the time and what message the group is trying to advance.

July 17 - Now that the 70th Annual Water Festival is officially open for business, we want to share this gem of an image with you. Meet Benjamin Bookworm, the Beaufort County Library's entry in the 1974 Water Festival Novelty Boat Race. This cool pic is just one of hundreds hidden in the library's own archives. The back of the photo says it's an official US Marine Corps snap taken by Photographer Berryman on July 17, 1974 (#1738). But, um, who are the Marines rowing Benjamin along the Beaufort River? And, more importantly, what's the deal with "Ret SL?"

July 18 - The Summer Reading Program continues - and as Sydney notes, the BDC has considerable archaeological reports and surveys of Beaufort County properties to share in our Research Room. Perhaps we have one that covers your planned development area.

July 20 - AM Independence (Mon)Day: Francis Marion, a pivotal figure in the American Revolution, is meticulously examined by author and archaeologist Steven D. Smith. Through a multidisciplinary approach, combining documentary, material, and cultural evidence with folk and oral history traditions, Smith delves into Marion's leadership of a guerrilla band of rebels and their impact on a South Carolina community that resisted British rule and ultimately achieved independence. Francis Marion and the Snow's Island Community is available in the BDC and other SCLENDS libraries.

July 20 - PM One month to the BDC's next local history program. With the 500th anniversary of European exploration of what became the southeastern coast of North America upon us, Chris Allen will reprise his talk about how our area got notice on the world's map 500 and more years ago. He's got some great visuals - and his talks are always lively. Please pencil "Beaufort Before Britain" into your calendars for Thursday, August 20 at Hilton Head Branch. The program will begin at 2 PM.

July 21 - The National Trust Weekly asked this Question of the Month in its latest newsletter: What is your favorite historic lighthouse? We think that all our BDC FB page followers should answer "Hunting Island Lighthouse" and send that answer to email@savingplaces.org. The image is from our Lucille Hasell Culp Digital Collection.

July 22 - AM Happy National Hot Dog Day! Sydney dug up a retro ad from the June 30, 1960 Beaufort Gazette and we're dying over the olives on hot dogs - no thanks! I prefer a mustard and slaw, Sydney's all about horseradish and raw onions, and Cassi's a fan of mustard, sauerkraut, and French's crunchy onions. What about you? What's your hot dog style?

July 22 - PM "Black History Note": Laura Towne, a Pioneering Educator of Freed People at Penn School (1825-1901). Read a brief essay and explore online resources and materials from the BDC and BCL Branches to learn more about this influential local figure during Reconstruction and beyond. PS: It has been our practice to update the content we post on the BDCBCL blog at least once every three years.

July 23 -  AM You have until 31 July to earn the Revealing the Revolution car sticker and challenge coin as part of the Library's America250 program that the BDC and our friends of the Beaufort County Historical Society have devised - and to complete your Summer Reading Program game sheet that the Library system put together. Don't delay. Get cracking on these fun tasks today!

July 23 - PM Optimizing storage is a deliberate process, as our staff carefully consider shelving materials, placement, and collection storage to mitigate risks and facilitate care. We are grateful to the Public Library Foundation for providing a new storage shelf, which will enable us to expand our collection within our spatial constraints. As funds become available, we will add more shelves to accommodate our growing poster and map case collections. It is worth noting that our relocation to the 2nd floor, which took 9 years and 16 days to materialize, has enabled us to optimize our space utilization. Looking ahead, our future leadership will need to reassess our space allocation to ensure continued growth and efficiency.

BTW: We are very happy for Deputy Director Chuck Atkinson's handyman skills in getting it put together and in place for us.

July 24 - AM In celebration of National Dance Day on Tuesday, we are highlighting the remarkable contributions of Byrne Miller, who brought her passion for modern dance to Beaufort, South Carolina in 1969. The Byrne Miller Collection showcases her dedication to teaching and the arts, with the majority of the collection focused on her dance-related activities. To learn more about the contents of the collection, please contact us at bdc@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468.

July 24 -PM Pencil this local history program into your calendars for August 24th. Dr. Chanda Powell of the National Park Service will discuss the historic Black Businesses that once were along Scott, West and other downtown Beaufort streets at Beaufort Branch beginning at 2 PM. We are very pleased to have the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce as a co-sponsor of this session.

July 25 - Before the Water Festival wraps up tomorrow, I've got a poem to share that'll get you in the mood for some water-filled fun! Edith Bannister Dowling's 'Water Festival' poem from her 1970 book A Patchwork of Poems about South Carolina is a real treat. Back then, the festival was just a chill weekend in mid-July (if that's even possible in our climate) but now it's a whole 10-day extravaganza from July 17-26!

Water Festival

The Angels are Blue,

Beaufort heavens are, too,

And our Bay, this big Water weekend.

Swift skiers -- Greek gods;

Speed boats -- hottest rods;

All these, with the proud Parade, blend

To make magic marine;

And then each lovely Queen,

Is divine, at that ball of a Ball:

So from water, and air,

Comes a show rich and rare:

Have fun, guests and townsfolk and all!

Check out copies of A Patchwork of Poems from the Local History sections - or come to the Research Room to explore our many poetry related materials. Looking for a place to start, Sydney offers guidance in Connections.

July 26 - Just a gentle reminder: The BDC's involvement with the "Revealing the Revolution" Historic Marker Challenge ends on Friday. Please get your game sheets into one of our ballot boxes at the Branch Libraries by 5 pm on July 31. The car stickers and challenge coins earned by successful completion of the game sheets will be mailed to you from the Beaufort County Historical Society in August.

BTW: Summer Reading happens to end that date and time as well. The dinosaur game sheets need to be returned to the circulation desks at the Branch Libraries. Please "No dinosaurs in our star-spangled ballot boxes."

July 27 - Independence (Mon)Day: Author John Jakes moved to Hilton Head Island in 1978. This was shortly after the publication of volume 6 The Warriors of the Kent Family Chronicles (8 volumes in all) that he wrote in honor of the nation's Bicentennial.

The Kent Family Chronicles sold a whopping 50 million copies in the 1970s - and it cemented my love of reading historical novels and then fact-checking them (which I still do for historical novels I read and movies I watch sometimes to the amusement of my family members, friends and work colleagues). Volume 1 The Bastard and Volume 2 The Rebels focus on Phillip Kent's life as he crosses paths with historical figures of the Revolution.

You can borrow the individual titles of the Kent Family Chronicles from other SCLENDS libraries or from Hoopla. Because these books had absolutely nothing to do with Beaufort, SC, the BDC does not have any copies to share ... but we can share information about the author through our holdings.

We have a vertical file about him - Jakes, John William (1932-2023) - with lots of clippings about his illustrious and productive career and lifelong support for libraries and a DVD of his 1993 interview with the PBS series Writer's Circle that runs about 30 minutes in the Research Room. You can borrow a copy of the Writer's Circle DVD from the local history sections at Beaufort and Hilton Head branches.

The Lowcountry Room at Hilton Head Branch Library was renamed in May 2026 in honor of Jakes and Jonathan Daniels, founder of the Island Packet newspaper.

July 28 - Today, we commemorate the 280th birthday of Thomas Heyward, Jr., Beaufort District's esteemed patriot who signed the Declaration of Independence. Notably, he was also a plantation owner, attorney, and judge, with a complex legacy that included owning enslaved individuals. Learn more about his life and legacy on our BDCBCL blog.

July 29 - "Black History Note" Wednesday: We just updated the Mitchelville bibliography on the BDCBCL: Resource Guides and Archival Collections Finding Aids blog.

July 30 - Another check off my retirement to-do list: I got all the bibliographical blog posts on BDCBCL: Links, Lists, and Finding Aids last checked in 2023, updated last week. Besides the posts about Sweetgrass Baskets, Laura Towne, and Mitchelville already mentioned this month, I edited the bibliographies about John Barnwell, Clara Barton, and that High Sheriff Lowcountry Witch Doctor, J.E. McTeer. I changed the list of Family Surnames vertical files post to be ADA compliant. I edited the "About the Beaufort District Collection" page as well. I'm still behind with the BDCBCL posts last updated in the first half of 2024 - and I'll try to get current with the 2024 updates before I leave but I make no promises. Updating those may well be delayed until the BDC has a new crew of 3.

July 31 - AM Today is the final call for "Revealing the Revolution." Get those game sheets returned by 5 PM this afternoon!

July 31 - PM It's another Beaufort District Red Letter Local History Day. Robert Barnwell Rhett famously stated, "If you value your rights, you must resist," launching the 1844 Bluffton Movement that catalyzed South Carolina's path to secession. Learn about this fire-eater and the political movement he spurred in our Connections blog.

Re-cap of BDC Facebook Posts in June 2026

As is my established practice, events that have taken place are omitted. Sydney contributed some of the Revealing the Revolution related Facebook posts during June - and there were a lot of Revealing the Revolution in June. - gmc

Because of how the first of June fell on a Monday, I decided to post the Monthly overview on Sunday night.

May 31 - PM - Monthly Overview of June 2026: The Library system begins its Summer Reading Program which features dinosaurs and archaeology tomorrow. The BDC doesn't have much about dinosaurs but we do have a lot of archaeological reports you'll read about soon. BDC staff will be out and about promoting our project with the Beaufort County Historical Society "Revealing the Revolution" at 7 locations and one community event between June 1 - June 10. We host the Wright-Campbell cadre from HBCUs on June 11. The Library will be closed on June 19 for Juneteenth. I'll talk about colonial period British resources in the Research Room on the evening of June 22 at Beaufort Branch. One cannot talk about the colonial period in SC without acknowledging the role the Caribbean had on its history so expect to see some references to Caribbean-American Heritage Month here. The BDC crew will orient new Library employees to the system's special local history collection and archives unit on June 24. On June 27, we'll be at Bluffton Branch to conduct the trivia contest on their Liberty & Legacy Day - with a rinse and repeat (of sorts) for Beaufort Branch's Liberty & Legacy Day on July 1. (I'll finally get to use the inauthentic colonial outfit I bought for Halloween at work! Yes!!)

June 1 - PM - Independence (Mon)Day - One of my favorite Archaeology Month posters is the one from 2003: "Rediscovering the American Revolution in South Carolina, 1775-1782." There's a lot of the expected red, white and blue graphics but one is drawn to the yellow "Don't Tread on Me" emblem, portraits of key military figures, maps and illustrations of some battles, and flags. Though the verso features archaeological work done at Camden, Ninety-Six Historic Site, and Fort Moultrie, the introduction "The Revolutionary War in South Carolina" by Carl P. Borick includes several paragraphs about what happened in Beaufort District. You can of course come visit the Research Room to see SC POSTER 35 for yourself. Give us a heads up just to make sure someone will be here to assist you: bdc@bgov.net ; 843-255-6468. If you'd like to access the poster online, you can see a copy (and download a PDF) in USC's Scholar Commons.

June 2 - AM - Thanks to Bluffton Today for highlighting our "Revealing the Revolution" challenge! There's still time for you to participate too. "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!"

June 2 - PM - Speaking of archaeology and rediscovery, a SCLENDS catalog search reminded me that sometimes the posters in the BDC's poster collection were created by me for BDC local history programs marketing.

For example SC POSTER 146 is for a series of four programs about the "South Carolina Caribbean Connection" in October 2006 (SC's Archaeology Month). Beaufort County Planning Department's Ian Hill, the Historic Beaufort Foundation's Elizabeth Garrett, Dr. Wise over at Parris Island Museum and I teamed up to co-sponsor Dr. Bryan Howard's lecture about "The South Carolina Caribbean Connection during the American Revolution;" Dr. Larry Rowland spoke about "The Origin of Sea Island Cotton;" architectural historian Colin Brooker spoke about his research on "The Southern Diaspora: Loyalist Planters and their Slaves in the Bahamas, 1780 - 1835;" and we concluded the series with Ervena Faulkner discussing "Food as a Cultural Connector" and a taste-testing at the Arsenal.

It was a good series in the years that Ian Hill and I collaborated on for Archaeology Month. I just wish that I had included the year in the text on the poster. I used the backfiles of Connections to confirm the year. BTW: The BDC definitely adds the year in all our "stuff" as it minimizes research time in preparation for getting posters cataloged.

June 3 - "Black History Note Wednesday" - One of my favorite books on the topic of Black history in South Carolina is Yes, Lord, I Know the Road by former USCB Professor Dr. J. Brent Morris (USC Press, 2017). The archivist in me loves documents; the librarian in me loves the breadth and scope of his comprehensive 500 year survey of the African-American experience in this state. Since we have been emphasizing all things American Revolution as part of the Library's "Relive the Revolution" project recently, chapters 1 - 3 of this book has documents from colonial times through the Revolutionary War period. The Library has lots of copies the title to share with you.

BTW: I get 4 points for this choice because it is about Black history, archaeology, archives and relates to the American Revolutionary period.

June 4 - AM - At our local history program last week, Dr. Moore explored Juan Pardo and his expeditions into the hinterland. We have a list of suggestions on how you can learn more about "The Spanish Legacy in Beaufort District History" and dig deeper into this area's 16th century history.

June 4 - PM - "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!" Join the "Revealing the Revolution" Challenge brought to you by the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee. Earn fabulous limited-edition prizes ... while supplies last. The challenge ends July 2.

June 5 - Finding Aid Friday - In honor of the anniversary of the establishment of St. Helena Parish on June 7, 1712 by the colonial Assembly, today's featured archival collection is St. Helena Episcopal Church Collection Circa 1912 – 1994. It documents the church's history through pamphlets and materials from the 20th century collected by library staff.

June 6 - I'm going to be at USCB's "South Carolina and the Road to Independence" this afternoon promoting the BDC, BCHS, BC250's "Revealing the Revolution" challenge. But since it just so happens to be National Trails Day, you may like to learn about some of the trails related materials we share through the BDC Research Room.

June 7 - "This Week in the BDC:" We are looking forward to hosting the 2026 cadre of the Wright-Campbell Internship Program for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities on Thursday. We'll talk about our Gullah related collections and give them a behind-the-scenes tour of our archives.

June 8 - Independence (Mon)Day: Jonathan Mercantini researched the question "Who shall rule at home?" to find the roots of South Carolinian rebellion against British authority during the American Revolution in the evolution of the political culture of the colony's elite. He argues that in a series of constitutional and political conflicts between 1748 and 1776, South Carolinians zealously fought to protect and expand their political rights and privileges against outside imperial control, viewing them as inalienable rights akin to the "rights of Englishmen." They fought for these rights and privileges, centering on local control of elections, representation, finances, and taxation, with a politics of brinksmanship that saw such conflicts as a zero-sum game and provided the grounding for the eventual independence bid.

June 9 - Have you been to one of the Library's "Revolutionary Roots" sessions yet? Or do you plan to go later this month? Keep in mind that the BDC has some specific Revolutionary War era genealogy sources that might help - if your ancestor was in South Carolina back then. We can help you "Unearth a Story" about your Patriot or Loyalist ancestor. Read more in Connections.

June 10 - AM - "Black History Note:" Chapter 3 "Carolina's African American Majority" of Uncommon Ground : Archaeology and Early African America, 1650-1800 by Leland Ferguson (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992) concentrates on archaeological and historical evidence of African-style, clay-walled houses for the enslaved on some lowcountry plantations around the time of the War for Independence. Gen. Francis Marion wrote a letter to Gen. Nathanael Greene that Gen. Thomas Sumter reported he "Determined to Attack the Enemy posted in houses with Clay Walls which was very Difficult to penetrate without a field piece." It seems that the British had taken cover inside some of the enslaved persons' homes on Quinby Plantation. Clay-walled houses have several advantages: Readily available materials nearby to quickly build or rebuild the structure as needed; and comfortable in hot climates - and an advantage of defense in case someone - in this case a Patriot - decided to shoot at you with a gun. Roll up the cannons, men!

The BDC has a copy of this title but so do many of the SCLENDS libraries. This means you can come read ours or simply borrow a copy from another unit with your library card.

BTW: I get triple points for this choice because it is about Black history, archaeology and relates to the American Revolutionary period.

June 10 - PM - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee! Please be aware of your surroundings as some of the markers may be near busy streets.

Today, we visited the Beaufort Arsenal marker located at 713 Craven Street. The marker is right on the sidewalk with street parking available nearby, or less than a minute away is the Beaufort County Library where you could park and also check out the Library Quest!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C!

June 11 - First American Victory of the British Southern Campaign, February 3, 1779 Battle of Beaufort (38BU22336), Beaufort County, South Carolina is an archaeological study of a Revolutionary War engagement (also known as the Battle of Port Royal Island or the Battle of Gray's Hill) written by Daniel Battle and his wife, Daphne Owens Battle. Daniel Battle also gave us a framed print of the painting "In the Glorious Cause of Liberty" by Jeff Trexler that he commissioned about the Battle of Beaufort to hang in our Research Room.

June 12 - Finding Aid Friday: In honor of National Movie Night, we highlight the Paul Siegmund Collection a small archival collection that documents the World Premiere of Pat Conroy’s the "Great Santini" movie held at the Beaufort Plaza Twin Theatres on 19 October 1979.

June 13 - Bluffton Branch's Angie Brown pulled out all the stops with the "Revealing the Revolution" table she designed. (Thanks, Angie). Don't delay, pick up your game sheet and play - today! "It's fun! It's free!! It's all about history!!!" This challenge brought to you by the BDC, Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee ends on July 2.

June 14 - 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."

An interesting (to me, at least) historical fact : There have been 27 official versions of the United States stars-and-stripes flag since 1777.

June 15 - AM - Independence (Mon)Day - The Library is highlighting memoirs this month. We have General William Moultrie's Memoirs of the American Revolution as a reprint of 2 volumes first published in 1802. It contains personal anecdotes, first-hand observations, and an extensive collection of letters between civil and military officers, including some about the battles of Port Royal Island and Purisburgh, the spiking of the guns at Fort Lyttelton, and the occupation of Beaufort by the British. There's a lot about what's going on in other parts of the lowcountry too.

In addition to our Research Room copy, you can borrow the title from other members libraries in the SCLENDS consortium. Or you can access a digital copy of the original texts through Archive.org.

June 16 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee! Please stay aware of your surroundings as you explore Beaufort District's American Revolutionary history.

Today, we visited the St. Helena's Church marker which is located at 505 Church Street. Be sure to check the other side of the marker to learn what the British forces used the church for.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026

June 17 - "Black History Note:" One cannot fully comprehend the European colonial experience in the Americas without understanding its African counterpart. "I, Too, Am America": Archaeological Studies of African-America Life edited by Theresa A. Singleton (University Press of Virginia, 1999) addresses this challenge. It is an anthology of articles written by skilled archaeologists who "study the distinctive character of the African presence, the level and domains of cultural autonomy and creativity, the degree of suppression and censorship, the forgotten or unacknowledged sources of the colonial life that seek to explain the character and presence of Africanisms."

This title is a "uniquely BDC" one. Come "unearth a story" about the vestiges of African culture in the United States. It's a good idea to contact us before you arrive at our door to make certain a staff member is available to assist you: 843-255-6468; bdc@bcgov.net

June 18 - Marine archaeology is done in this area on a fairly regular basis on account of all the shipwrecks through the years. Poster #210 is our copy of the 2012 SC Archaeology Month poster. You'll notice references to Port Royal Sound, the Floating Machine Shop at Station Creek, and the USS George Washington - all of which relate to Civil War era Beaufort District. You can download your own copy from the University of South Carolina's Scholar Commons website.

June 20 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee!

Today, we visited the Beaufort County historical marker located at the West entrance to the Beaufort Waterfront Park (near the Marina). Visit this marker to learn what year the British occupation of Beaufort began!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C.

June 21 - "This Week in the BDC:" We're quite busy being out and about. Tomorrow evening, I present "Brits in the BDC." On Wednesday afternoon, we host the latest group of new Library employees. On Saturday, we'll be running a trivia contest about the American Revolution at Bluffton Branch as part of their "Liberty & Legacy" celebration. (Tip: If you've read this page, attended a BDC local history program about the War for Independence in the past, and/or participated in the Revealing the Revolution Challenge, you'll be in a solid position to do well in the Trivia sessions.)

June 22 - Independence (Mon)Day - The best yet most concise discussion of "Beaufort and the British During the Era of the American Revolution" was made by historian Robert M. Weir before the Beaufort County Historical Society on May 18, 1976. Fortunately, we have a transcript in the Research Room for any who would like to read it. He writes about Beaufort's role in the creation of reason 4 for independence (viz., He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures); key local events and personnel such as Lafayette, Andrew DeVeaux, etc.; naval considerations related to St. Helena Sound; and demographic information about the area from 1770 - 1790.

This is one of the "uniquely BDC" items so please contact us to make an appointment to read the 18 page document: bdc@bcgov.net; 843-255-6468.

It's crunch time. Get out there to explore the history of the American Revolution in Beaufort District via our "Revealing the Revolution" historic marker challenge with the Beaufort County Historical Society.

June 23 - AM - Looking for a fun summer activity but wish to stay in the cool A.C.? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Library Quest brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee; available at all branches and bookmobiles in the Beaufort County Library System!

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning a limited edition car sticker. Search for five historical marker placards hidden among the stacks of the library that contain the answers to the questions inside of your brochure.

Visit any library branch or bookmobile to pick up your brochure and begin your quest today!

June 23 - PM - Breaking News!!! We have decided to extend the deadline for the Library Quest and Historic Marker challenges until July 31. But here's the rub: If you want to get entered for the Grand Prize drawing, you must return that game sheet by July 2nd. Please note: Those who turn in completed game sheets July 3 - 31 will be eligible only for the car sticker and challenge coin prizes.

June 24 - "Black History Note:" In the antebellum South Back of the Big House (1993) there existed a different world, socially and architecturally, where slaves lived and worked. Professor of American Studies and Anthropology John Michael Vlach explores the structures and spaces that formed the slaves' environment. Through photographs and the words of former slaves, he portrays the plantation landscape from the slaves' own point of view. Read this book to "unearth a story" of how the enslaved imbued the plantation landscape with their own meanings and acts of slave resistance to become a locus for the formation of a distinctive African American culture in the South.

June 25 - Looking for a fun way to get out and about this summer? Check out the Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufo#revealingtherevolution2026! Please take care and mind your surroundings as you participate. Some of the markers are along busy roads.

Today, we visited the Lafayette's Tour marker located at 801 Bay Street, also known as the John Mark Verdier House. Check out the marker to learn when General Lafayette visited Beaufort.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District.

Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today!

P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026

June 26 - Update on the Online Obituary Index: Our OOI indexer Kathy Mitchell finished adding another 1518 published obituary records from the Beaufort Catalyst, Beaufort Gazette, and Island Packet newspapers for the year 2000. The project will end when we run out of newspaper issues on microfilm on 31 March 2015.

June 28 - This Week in the BDC: We are doing a rinse-and-repeat of the BDC designed Revolutionary Trivia session at 11:30 AM on Wednesday at Beaufort Branch. You may see a famous American if you come an hour earlier as Ben Franklin will be in the house.

Reminders: Though our Revealing the Revolution Challenge with the BCHS and the Beaufort County 250th Committee has been extended until July 31, if you want to be entered into our Grand Prize drawing you must return your 15-item completed game sheet on or before July 2. Be safe as you go about our roadways and sidewalks in search of the historic markers.

The Beaufort County Library will be closed Friday, July 3 and Saturday, July 4 for the holidays.

June 29 - "Independence (Mon)Day" - The Jasper County 250 Committee recently sponsored an archaeological investigation of Old House Plantation, 2,115 acres rice plantation established by Daniel Heyward, father of Beaufort District's Signer of the Declaration, Thomas Heyward, Jr. in 1743. This study included the role of persons of African-American descent in the war as well as support and promotion of research and cultural heritage tourism by telling SC's stories from varying points of view.

As of this writing, the BDC is the only library in the SCLENDS consortium to have a copy of Rice, Rebellion, and Revelations : 2024 Archaeology at the Old House Plantation by Rita Folse Elliott, 2025.

You've got only a few days left to be eligible for the "Revealing the Revolution" Grand Prize. Don't delay, participate today. Game sheets are available at all library locations. Please note: Game sheets returned July 3 - 31 are eligible for the limited-edition car stickers and challenge coins - while supplies last.

June 30 - AM - Still looking for a fun summer activity to get your family out and about? Revealing the Revolution Historical Marker Scavenger Hunt brought to you by the BDC, the Beaufort County Historical Society and the Beaufort County 250th Committee is the perfect activity- but if you want a chance at that framed (reproduction) Mills Atlas Beaufort District map, these are the final days for you to enter! If you are pressed to get in those last few markers, Downtown Beaufort is the place to go!

Today, we visited the Beaufort Tricentennial Plaque 4 marker located at Beaufort's Waterfront Park. The marker is behind both Saltus River Grille and the waterfront playground and is located at ground level.

Learn more about Beaufort District's vital role in the Revolutionary War while working your way to earning limited edition prizes; including a car sticker, a commemorative coin, and an entry into a grand prize drawing for a framed replica of the Robert Mills 1825 map of Beaufort District. Visit your closest library branch to pick up your brochure today! P.S. There is even a mini scavenger hunt inside of the branches if you prefer to stay in the A.C! #RevealingtheRevolution2026 

June 30, 2026 - PM - I barely made it to my self-imposed deadline to highlight a murder trial, an investigation into a suicide, and the trials of Beaufort County Treasurer, George Holmes and the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners from 150 years ago on Connections before this month's end. June 1876 was a month full of sensational events in Beaufort County that got well covered in state and national newspapers.

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/