The French were actually the&nbsp;first to establish a site here in 1562, known as Charlesfort, but they abandoned it a year later. The Spanish built directly on top of the French settlement and remained for twenty years, with a population of&nbsp;about 400-450 people at its peak. English pressure in other Spanish colonies diverted funds from the town, leading to&nbsp;its abandonment.&nbsp;

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The Santa Elena History Center, located in the Old Courthouse building, is dedicated to promoting the history of Parris Island and the surrounding area. This history is now well known and the museum hopes to change this through its exhibits and educational programming. It opened in April, 2016, the 450th anniversary of the establishment of Spain's first capital in the New World: Santa Elena, which occurred in 1566. The site of the settlement is on the southern tip of the island and is a National Historic Landmark.

Santa Elena History Center 

This tour begins at the Santa Elena History Center and includes several landmark buildings, churches, and homes as it winds its way to Reconstruction Era National Park and then back towards Beaufort National Cemetery.  

The Cuthbert FamilyThe Cuthbert family's roots originate in Scotland beginning in the 15th century (or perhaps earlier). A family descendant, James Cuthbert, immigrated to the South Carolina colony in October 1737. Over time, the Cuthberts established themselves as one of the colony's elite plantation and slave owning families. John Alexander Cuthbert was born in 1790 St. Helena's Parish, South Carolina. The family lived in the house during the hot summer months and entertained guests as well. Unfortunately, Cuthbert only lived for a few more years, dying of yellow fever in 1817 at the age of 26. His wife, Mary, and two sons continued to live at the house and the family prospered.General Rufus SaxtonAfter Fort Sumter fell to the Confederates in April, 1861, President Lincoln ordered that all southern ports be blockaded. This included the area around Beaufort, which is called the Port Royal Sound. In November 1861, Union troops seized Confederate on Hilton Head Island, prompting residents to flee the city. Mary and her sons escaped to North Carolina where she owned property. Slaves ransacked the home before it was occupied by Union troops, some of whom scratched their names and hometowns onto a Black marble fireplace that is still located in one of the inn's guest rooms. The house soon became the residence of General Saxton, who was responsible for ensuring the surrounding cotton plantations continued to operate. He was also tasked with managing the newly freed slave population and recruiting former male slaves to join the Union army. Saxton knew General Sherman from their days fighting Native Americans so it is perhaps unsurprising that Saxton invited Sherman to the house in 1865. Sherman had just completed his "March to the Sea" campaign and was moving his army into the Carolinas.Saxton bought the house after the war and lived here for ten years. The next owner was a local lumberman named Duncan Wilson, who expanded the house to its current size and Adam-style design. It is unclear how long it has operated as an inn.

Now operating as the Cuthbert House Inn bed & breakfast, this historic home is also known as the John Alexander Cuthbert House. It appears to have been originally built around 1790. It is named after Cuthbert, who began living in the house with his new wife in 1811. He belonged to a wealthy plantation-owning family whose ancestors were from Scotland. The house is also notable for its association with Union General Rufus Saxton, who lived here during and after the Civil War (the Cuthbert family fled Beaufort to escape the Union army). Additionally, in January 1865, Saxton invited Union General William T. Sherman to the house. In 1973, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

Cuthbert House Inn

Beaufort, South Carolina was home to Massachusetts businessman, teacher and Beaufort College founder, Milton Maxcy, after he moved here in 1804. The town of Beaufort and the surrounding islands were founded primarily by Englishmen who had previously settled in New England yet later decided to move South to pursue those agricultural ventures specific to the region. Maxcy would begin construction on the house, but it would later be sold to South Carolina senator, planter, and lawyer, Edmund Rhett, in the mid 19th century.Rhett added a number of upgrades to the property, remodeling it in the Greek style. The Rhett house is not only a landmark because of the part it played leading up the Civil War, but also because of its quintessential old southern architecture. The house’s grand architectural elements are predominately improvements added on by the Rhetts. These features include the Ionic columns on the first level and the Corinthian columns on the second. The home also features a two-story veranda that runs all along the west, south, and east faces of the house with various piers and arches. When entering in the front door one is greeted by a large central stairway accented with a Palladian window. The house is a picture of old Southern wealth and architectural grace.Robert Rhett is known for more than creating a beautiful and historical home, he also would play an integral role in South Carolina's secession. Rhett was born in Beaufort in 1808 to the wealthy Smith family, who would later change their last name to Rhett. He began practicing law there in 1824, and joined the state legislature in 1826. Rhett married Elizabeth Washington Burnet the next year. He would become attorney general of South Carolina just eight years later, and three years after that a United States Congressman as the Democratic replacement for John C. Calhoun. Rhett was a prominent voice for states rights, the continuation of slavery and one of the earliest supporters of secession. He and his brother, Robert Rhett, who had also served as a South Carolina Attorney General, and a congressman, and senator shared these sentiments. Both men would hold meetings of representatives and prominent community leaders in the home, discussing the prospect of secession. Aside from these informal in home discussion Rhett also participated in the Nashville Convention, the secession convention, and the Confederation Congress at Montgomery—all meetings discussing secession and southern nationalism. After South Carolina's secession in 1860 and during the war Edmund Rhett was Chair of the Committee on the Confederate Constitution. It was during these years that Rhett's first wife, Elizabeth Burnet, died. Katherine Herbert Dent would become the new Mrs. Rhett just a year later. Aside from being a planter and politician, Edmund Rhett owned a newspaper, The Charleston Mercury. The paper was a pro-southern states's right publication that often published Rhett's own anti-abolition writings. Rhett's son, Robert Barnwell Rhett Jr., would serve as the paper's editor. After the Civil War, Rhett moved to Saint James Parish, Louisiana, adding to his many landholdings. While in Louisiana, Rhett left the political arena. Less is known of what specifically was said in the meetings at the Maxcy-Rhett house than historians would like, as many documents were lost during the war years of Union occupation and due to a hurricane a few years after the war. However, there is a considerably large collection of Rhett papers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's library. The collections includes family and business letters, bills, and invitations. Today, the house still stands in very good condition. It operates as a very successful Bed &amp; Breakfast in downtown Beaufort. It is a contributing property of the Beaufort Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

This historic home was built in 1810 and initially belonged to Massachusetts businessman and founder of Beaufort College, Milton Maxcy. In the mid 19th century, it was bought by South Carolina senator, planter, and lawyer, Edmund Rhett. Robert Rhett, Edmund's brother, was also an active member of southern society, having served as South Carolina Attorney General, a congressman, and senator. Both men were avid supporters of states' rights and southern sectionalism. Before the Civil War in the 1850s, the brothers hosted many discussions about secession at the house. The Maxcy-Rhett house is often called the "Secession House" for its role as home to a considerable portion of the political discourse that would contribute to the impending American Civil War. 

Maxcy-Rhett House

The Anchorage was built in 1776 and was home to the family of William Elliott, a leading member of the community and a representative to the colonial assembly. Elliott's grandson, William Elliott III, was also a politician and planter and owned the home in the late antebellum period. During the Civil War, Beaufort was captured and occupied by the Union and the house was used as a hospital. Today, the historic plantation home is operated as an upscale bed and breakfast. 

The Anchorage

The John Mark Verdier House is a historic home in Beaufort that was built by its namesake around 1804. Verdier was a French Huguenot and wealthy merchant and planter, who first traded indigo then acquired land to grow cotton. The house is operated by the Historic Beaufort Foundation, which was established in 1965. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the house exemplifies Beaufort's prosperity during the early 19th century as well as the wealthy planter class during that period.

John Mark Verdier House

As a young man, Smalls was sent by his master to Charleston where he worked aboard many different vessels. While the money paid by ship owners went to Smalls' owner, he learned how to navigate the Charleston Harbor. This skills allowed for a better quality of life than most enslaved persons and also presented an opportunity during the Civil War.

On May 13, 1862, Smalls and other enslaved members of the crew set sail on the CSS Planter,&nbsp;while the white captain and crew were gone for the night. Smalls sailed the ship through the harbor to pick up friends and family at another dock. He wore the captain’s hat and used coded signals as he sailed through two Confederate checkpoints undetected. Once they had entered open seas, Smalls and his crew sailed a white flag and surrendered the ship to the Union fleet. Smalls, his crew, friends, and family all escaped to freedom.

Smalls then worked as one of the first African American pilots in the United States Navy. He then served as captain for the US Navy during the siege of Charleston from 1863 to 1865. Eventually, he&nbsp;ran for Congress and won the position in the United States House of Representatives. After working in Congress, he was appointed to be the Collector of Customs in Beaufort, SC. He stayed in that position for nearly 20 years.

Smalls eventually bought the house he was born into slavery in. He died in the same house on February 22, 1915. He is buried behind the Robert Smalls Monument at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort, South Carolina.&nbsp;<blockquote>The text on the base of the monument reads:&nbsp;"My race needs no special defense, for the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people, anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."</blockquote>

The Robert Smalls Monument at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort, South Carolina was erected in 1876 to memorialize Robert Smalls’ legacy and accomplishments. Smalls was born into slavery on April 5, 1839, in Beaufort, South Carolina. He rescued slaves and escaped to freedom himself. He then worked as a military adviser for the Union army and eventually ran for Congress. He won the position of Congressman. The monument memorializes his accomplishments and life.

Robert Smalls Monument at Tabernacle Baptist Church

According to historical records, the first Jew (or one of the first) in Beaufort, a man by the name of Peter Lavien, arrived in Beaufort in the 1760s. He was a half-brother of Alexander Hamilton and the son of a Jewish merchant. It appears he was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, which was a Danish colony at the time. As an adult, Lavien followed in his father's footsteps and became a merchant as well. However, Jews had already been living in Charleston since the 1690s so it is possible that Jews were in Beaufort prior to the 1760s. The Jewish population in Beaufort has always been relatively small. By 1878, there were around 29; in 1937, the number grew to around 100. It appears the community worshipped in a variety of locations, including a Masonic hall that was located on the second floor of a store on Bay Street. They also met for gatherings at the Beaufort Arsenal. In the early 1900s, the community had grown enough to justify forming a congregation. The state granted a charter for Beth Israel in October 1905 and the congregation eventually bought the property on which the synagogue now stands. The congregation established a cemetery in 1912 that it still owns today. Currently, there are nearly 90 member families in the congregation.

Beth Israel Synagogue is one of the oldest Jewish temples in the South. Built in 1908, it is home to a congregation established three years earlier. For the first several decades Beth Israel was an Orthodox synagogue but became a Conservative synagogue in 1949. It is located directly behind the Beaufort History Museum. A historical marker describing the synagogue stands just outside the main entrance.

Beth Israel Synagogue

During the Revolutionary War, the arsenal served
a volunteer company and was involved in the Battle of Port Royal during the Civil
War.&nbsp; The museum is home to Civil War cannons,
2 British brass trophy guns that were captured by the Union in 1861 at Fort
Walker, and several exhibits that feature WWI grenades, Confederate sabers, and
a 1915 machine gun.&nbsp; The arsenal was home to the Beaufort Volunteer
Artillery, the 5th oldest military division in the United States,
and was rebuilt in 1852 before being renovated and enlarged in 1934. 














The city of Beaufort took ownership and responsibility
of the Beaufort History Museum's&nbsp;collection in 1990, and again in 2008 after the museum was
under the Historic Beaufort Foundation from 2001-2008.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

The Beaufort Arsenal Museum was constructed in 1795 and the brick and tabby building was completed in 1799.  The museum’s exhibits also feature various historic artifacts that “represent Native American settlements, the earliest 16th-century Spanish settlement, Union occupation during the Civil War and 20th-century phosphate mining, truck farming, fishing, shrimping and oystering industries” (“Discover”).  

Also housed in the arsenal building is the Beaufort History Museum celebrates and honors the history of Beaufort, South Carolina.  In 1939, construction for the museum was approved and it was chartered as a museum that has been open to the public ever since.  

Beaufort Arsenal Museum & Beaufort History Museum 

Reconstruction in Beaufort As Union forces approached Port Royal Sound in November 1861, the white residents of the city and neighboring rice and cotton plantations—who comprised less than 20% of the population—fled before Union forces arrived. The 10,000 or so slaves in the area remained. This situation presented a unique opportunity for the federal government to implement a social program called the "Port Royal Experiment." With assistance from Northern antislavery, religious, and missionary organizations, the government began a process to reintegrate the former slaves of the region into society by providing education, citizenship, land ownership, and male suffrage. One successful former slave to emerge from this effort was Robert Smalls (1839-1915), who became a prominent state and national politician, serving in the South Carolina legislature and in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the end, Reconstruction failed as whites eventually regained power in the South and implemented segregationist Jim Crow laws and policies that eliminated the gains of the Reconstruction Era. Calls to establish the park originated from former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt in 2000. The idea didn't catch on until 2016 when the effort was revived by Babbitt, U.S. Representative Jim Clybourn, and others. Penn Center Located on St. Helena Island, Penn Center is a cultural and educational center whose mission is to preserve and promote African American culture and history. It is the location of one of the first schools (see below) for freed slaves in the country. Called Penn School, it was established in 1862. There are several buildings on the Center campus, but the oldest is Darrah Hall and it was built in 1903. Penn Center is not managed by the National Park Service but Darrah Hall is. Penn Center was also where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference held its Citizenship Education Program during the Civil Rights Movement. Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and others organized the March on Washington and the Poor People's Campaign here. Brick Baptist Church Brick Baptist Church was built in 1855 and is also located at the Penn Center. Constructed by slaves, it was first used by white planters before being established as Penn School in 1862 by missionary teachers Laura Towne and Ellen Murray. Many fingerprints of the slaves who made the bricks are still visible. The church, which is still active today, is the oldest church on the island. It is generally not open to visitors. Camp Saxton Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Camp Saxton was established in November 1862 on Port Royal Island. The campsite is located on the grounds of the Beaufort Naval Hospital, which is north of the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve (map). The preserve contains the remnants of a small fort built by the British in the 1730s. These ruins were later used as the foundation for Camp Saxton dock. The all-Black 1st South Carolina Volunteer Infantry Regiment, one of the first Black regiments in the army, was formed and trained here. As stated above, Camp Saxton was the site of a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation to a large crowd of former slaves, civil and military officials, and missionary teachers. The event was held in a large grove of oak trees; one is known as the "Emancipation Oak Tree." The Union left the camp in late January. Visitors cannot visit the site since it is on government property but park rangers do offer tours of the Fort Frederick site.

The Civil War was followed by a period when the federal government and numerous organizations grappled with the question of how to support formerly enslaved persons as they sought employment and education. This period is known as the Reconstruction Era, and the events of this period are key to understanding American history. Beaufort and the Port Royal Sound region was one of the first places in the country where the federal government grappled with these questions after the United States Army captured the city in November 1861. For this reason, the city became known as the "birthplace of Reconstruction." To preserve and honor this history, Reconstruction Era National Monument was established in 2017; then in 2019, it was declared a National Historical Park. The park consists of four sites in the Beaufort area: the former Beaufort Firehouse which is now the park's visitor center, Penn Center which is the location of one of the first schools for formerly the enslaved, the Brick Baptist Church which is the oldest church on St. Helena Island, and Camp Saxton. Camp Saxton is the place General Rufus Saxton read the Emancipation Proclamation to the 1st South Carolina Infantry, a regiment consisting entirely of African American troops, and hundreds of formerly enslaved persons on January 1st, 1863.

Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

The Marshlands was the home of Dr. James Robert Verdier, a physician who discovered a treatment for yellow fever. During the Civil War, this house was used as headquarters for the United States Sanitary Commission.

Marshlands

Robert Smalls was born behind the house on April 5th, 1839. His mother, Lydia, worked in the McKee house. It is unknown who his father was. It has been speculated that it was John Mckee, Mckee's son Henry, or the family's plantation manager, Patrick Smalls. In any case, Smalls (Robert) spent much of his childhood in house. This worried Lydia, however. She grew up working in the fields and was concerned that her son would not understand what slave labor was really like. As a result, she asked that he be sent to the fields and John Mckee granted this request.When Smalls was older, Lydia requested he be sent to Charleston S.C. to be rented out for work (it was a common practice for slaves to be sent to cities to work and send their earnings back to their masters). There, Smalls got jobs working on boats and learned to navigate the waterways in the Charleston Harbor. Around this time, he also met and married his wife, Hannah, who was also a slave. With permission from her owner, they moved into a small apartment together and eventually had two children. With the ever-present danger of separation, Smalls wanted to purchase Hannah from her owner to ensure they remained together. The owner asked for $800. This was money Smalls simply did not have.However, he saw an opportunity to secure his family's future in the Union blockade. Since the war began, runaway slaves had been escaping to the Union. Smalls believed he and his family could do the same. With help from fellow slaves, Smalls hijacked the Planter once its white Confederate officers left for shore. He disguised himself as the ship’s captain, Captain Rylea. Because of a combination of knowing Rylea’s body language, the cover of darkness, and knowledge of naval hand-signals, Smalls was able to navigate the ship from Confederate waters to Union controlled areas. On the way there, they picked up Hannah and the children as well as four women, three men, and a child. As a result, Smalls was able to gain freedom for himself, his family, and the other slaves on the ship once the Planter was turned over to the Union.Congress awarded Smalls $1500 for the ship (a Naval report revealed he should have been paid much more). In the North, Smalls was hailed as a hero, and enlisted by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to recruit Black soldiers for the Union. He also served in the war, becoming one of the first African-American pilots in the U.S. Navy (he was later promoted to captain and served in this role during the Siege of Charleston). After the war, he bought his former owner’s home and entered politics. He served in South Carolina’s state assembly and senate. Between 1874-1886, Smalls served five non-consecutive terms in Congress. During his time in politics, he worked tirelessly for racial equality and fought against segregationist policies.In 1890, he was appointed Collector of Customs in Beaufort, a position he held for 20 years. He died on February 23, 1915. The Smalls family occupied the house for 90 years. In an act of true compassion, Smalls allowed John Mckee's wife to spend her last days in the house after her health began to decline (it is unclear when she died but it was some time after the Civil War).

A National Historic Landmark, this historic house was the childhood home of Robert Smalls (1839-1915), one of the most prominent African Americans of the Reconstruction Era. Born a slave, Smalls would go on to become a hero to the Union in the Civil War when, in 1862, he led a group that commandeered a Confederate ship and delivered it to the Union navy. Smalls later served the in South Carolina legislature and in U.S. House of Representatives. The house itself was built in 1843 and was the residence of the McKee family; John Mckee was Smalls' owner. The house appears to be private residence today. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Robert Smalls House

The Barnwell-Gough House was built for its original occupant, Elizabeth Barnwell Gough. She was the granddaughter of <a href="https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/barnwell-john/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colonel John Barnwell</a>, who in 1721 built Fort King George along the Altamaha River at what is now Darien, Georgia (this fort was the first English settlement in Georgia; its purpose was to protect the colony from Spanish incursion). Her husband, Richard Gough, served in the state legislature. They only had one child, a daughter named Mariana, who was Robert Barnwell Rhett's mother (she had ten children, nine of whom were boys).Robert Barnwell Rhett Robert Barnwell Rhett was born on December 1, 1800. He and five of his brothers changed their last name to Rhett after their great-great-grandfather, <a href="https://goldenageofpiracy.org/history/pirate-hunters/william-rhett.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colonel William Rhett</a> (1666-1723), a British-born plantation owner in the South Carolina colony who fought pirates in the early 1700s. As a young man, Robert Barnwell Rhett attended Beaufort College then studied law in Charleston. He was admitted into the bar in 1821 and opened a practice with a cousin. In 1827 he married Elizabeth Washington Burnet; they would have 11 children. Rhett married again in 1852 after Elizabeth died and had three more children with his second wife.In 1826, he was elected to the state House of Representatives and served until 1832 when he became the attorney general for South Carolina. During his tenure in the state legislature, he earned a reputation for being a strong defender of states' rights. For example, he opposed the <a href="https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/36974" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tariff of 1828</a> (which was called the "Tariff of Abominations"), which he believed infringed on states' sovereignty. He supported the "nullification" movement in South Carolina, which attempted to repeal the tariff. However, in the end a compromise, which Rhett opposed, was reached that resolved the issue.In 1837, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives where his views on states' rights only got stronger. He led another effort called the <a href="https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/bluffton-movement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bluffton Movement</a> which called for the secession of southern states if their demands (lowering the tariff, and the protection of states' rights and the institution of slavery) were not met. The effort ultimately failed but Rhett continued to believe in secession. After the southern states seceded from the Union, he played an active role in the effort to draft the Confederate constitution and served as chair of the foreign services committee. Towards the end of his life he suffered from skin cancer and died on September 14, 1876 at his son-in-law's plantation, which was near New Orleans. He was laid to rest in Charleston.

The Barnwell-Gough House is one of several large historic homes in Beaufort. It was built in 1789 and is notable for being constructed using tabby, which is a mixture of oyster shells, lime, water, sand and ash. Stucco covers the walls to provide protection. The two-story house was designed in the Adam style, which is a type of neoclassical architecture, and features a two-story portico with Doric columns. The house is also significant for being the childhood home of Robert Barnwell Rhett (1800-1876), who was a staunch supporter of southern states seceding from the Union prior to the Civil War. For this reason, he earned the nickname the "Father of Secession." The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a contributing property of the Beaufort Historic District, which is also listed on the Register and a National Historic Landmark District. The house appears to be a private residence today.

Barnwell-Gough House

As the the numbers of deceased Union soldiers continued to rise during the Civil War, it became clear to the federal government that a system was need to bury them. As a result, in July 1862 President Lincoln signed the Omnibus Act that established 14 national cemeteries. The primary reason Beaufort National Cemetery was established was to bury Union soldiers who had died during and after the Battle of Port Royal, which lasted from November 3-7 1861. The Union won the battle and gained control of the city for the duration of the war.The remains of the 19 Black Union soldiers were discovered in May 1987 on Folly's Island (which is near the city of Charleston) by souvenir hunters using metal detectors. An excavation conducted by the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology identified them as members of the two all-Black regiments. Pat Conroy's father, Donald, was the inspiration for the character of the father in Conroy's novel The Great Santini. The cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Beaufort National Cemetery is one of many national burial grounds for those who have served in the American military. It was established in 1863 to inter Union soldiers who died during the Civil War. Eventually, Confederate soldiers and veterans of future wars were buried here. In all, the cemetery contains the remains of over 19,000 veterans. These include two Medal of Honor recipients, 19 soldiers of the all-Black 55th Massachusetts Infantry and the 1st North Carolina Infantry regiments, and the father of American novelist Pat Conroy. 

Beaufort South Carolina Walking Tour

Santa Elena History Center

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