Traces of the area’s first inhabitants, the Archaic Indians, date back 4,000 years. Europeans made their first appearance with Spanish galleons around 1521. In the early 1500s, Spain found a Port Royal anchorage ideal for explorations. When France’s Captain Jean Ribaut arrived in 1562, he felt he would find “no faurer or fytter place” than “Porte Royall.” Adventurers from England, Spain and Scotland all attempted to claim the area for their crowns during the next two centuries. In the 1715 Yemassee War, Native Americans -- Yemassee and Tuscarora Indians -- also fought to regain the land. Pirates joined the fray, too.
Beaufort entered its golden era about 1800, when Sea Island cotton debuted, and many of Beaufort’s loveliest mansions were built by the wealthy owners of cotton, indigo, and rice plantations. By the 1800s, Port Royal -- the Town incorporated in 1874 -- also had found peace and prosperity. It even boasted a Navy yard, but an 1893 hurricane and economic calamities later brought hard times.
Today, reminders of the area’s colorful history abound in architecture preserved with loving care and folkways honored across generations.
The entire downtown Beaufort area is designated a historic district. Architecture from many grand cultures and eras includes French, Colonial, Spanish-American, and Revolutionary. At least 90 significant homes, forts, churches, cemeteries, inns, and other buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Port Royal showcases 40 historic homes and sites.
The Beaufort area history also recognizes the Reconstruction era when significant strides were made in originating the nation’s education of newly freed slaves. African American heritage is carefully preserved throughout the area and especially celebrated at Penn Center where a museum exhibits rare artifacts and crafts.
Museums are a beginning for an educational and interesting look at the history of the area. Beaufort's entire downtown is designated a national historical district. For more information on the Beaufort area, please visit the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce Web site at http://www.beaufortsc.org/. Courtesy of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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