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When visiting Beaufort, you can’t help but be curious about its history. Why are all these beautiful antebellum homes still here? Who were the people who built them, what did they do, and what was it like to live that lifestyle?
Touring Beaufort
Guided carriage rides and walking tours will take you past numerous historic sites. Guides will tell you about the old city in detail, including gossip about the plantation owners and Hollywood stars (movies filmed in Beaufort include The Big Chill, Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, and The Prince of Tides).
Bay Street, Beaufort’s shopping district has dozens of eclectic boutiques, gift shops, and antique stores in a compact area. Beaufort’s abundant art galleries have helped earn the town the designation of an official South Carolina Cultural District by the S.C. Arts Commission.
Beaufort has a plethora of historic sites, from pre-1800’s through the American Revolution and Civil Wars all of which you can see in a horse-drawn carriage or guided walking tour.
Reconstruction Era National Monument
If you are particularly interested in the forgotten yet significant Reconstruction Era (c. 1861-1898), look for Reconstruction Era National Monument locations. This multi-site is a commemoration of the era when freed slaves learned to earn a living. and govern and educate themselves.
These sites include:
The Old Firehouse (706 Craven Street, map)
Darrah Hall and the Brick Baptist Church on the grounds St. Helena Island’s Penn Center (map),
Camp Saxton, the current site of the Naval Hospital in Port Royal (map).
There is currently legislation in front of the U.S. Congress to expand the Monument into a national park that would include these sites as well as all of the Beaufort Historic District and St. Helena Island. Further historic information is available at the Beaufort History Museum at 713 Craven Street (map), located in the historic Arsenal built in 1852, as well as at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, and at Mitchelville (map) and Fort Howell (map) on Hilton Head Island.
Unwind
To unwind sit a spell in one of the swings overlooking the Beaufort River in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, the location of a lovely riverfront walk and the Downtown Marina. There are many charming restaurants, coffee shops and ice cream parlors fronting the river or along Bay Street.
One trick can optimize your sightseeing and shopping time. When entering Beaufort on US Hwy. 21 (Boundary Street), a right turn onto Newcastle Street will take you straight to a public parking area on Bay Street, thus avoiding possible traffic delays on Carteret that may occur when the draw bridge to Lady’s Island is open.
For more information, contact:
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