The Archaic Period 8,000 - 2,000 BC saw the Woodland Indians living here seasonally in Fall & Winter subsisting on the bounty of the waterways and rich soil. Shell Ring Sites from this period are found today and you can visit one dating back to 1421 BC in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.
The written History of Hilton Head Island began with the Spaniards in 1526, as they explored the coastal waters from Key West to the St. Lawrence, naming it "La Florida". They found Indian settlements and evidence of agriculture. By 1662, most of the Indians were gone due to European abuse and disease.
Captain Jean Ribaut, a French Huguenot, led an exposition to the area in 1562. He built a fort, named Port Royall near the present town of Port Royal in Beaufort County.
In 1566, the Spanish again prevailed and established a Fort named Santa Elena on Paris Island in what is now Beaufort County. From here they explored westward into the new world.
In 1586 Elizabeth I sent Sir Francis Drake to drive the Spanish from "La Florida" and in 1663 King Charles II granted the Coastal Area to 8 Lord Proprietors who named their territory "Carolina".
English Captain William Hilton, in August of 1663, while exploring the Port Royal Sound, sighted the high bluffs of the Island, and named it for himself, "Hilton Head."
The first English development in the Low Country began in 1698. Indian attacks, sponsored by the Spanish, continued to harass the settlers in the area.
In 1717, Col. John Barnwell became the first white settler when he was granted a thousand acres on the NW corner of Hilton Head Island by the Lord Proprietors. By 1766 25 families lived on Hilton Head Island.
In 1742 the SC colonial half-galley Beaufort, commanded by Captain David Cutler Braddock, was stationed in the cove at the southern point of the Island to guard against Spanish intrusions. The point and the cove have carried the name Braddock ever since.
As talk of Revolution escalated in the Colonies, Hilton Head Island sided with the Colonists. Daufuskie Island, just 1 mile south of the Island, was occupied by the Tories. During the Revolution, the British frequently raided Hilton Head Island and hostilities continued for weeks after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.
The British burned Plantations on the Island and captured slaves who were later sold in the West Indies. After the war, the Island made a healthy recovery. This became the "Golden Age", as the crops of cotton, indigo, and rice flourished.
Houses on the Island during this prosperous period between the Revolutionary and the Civil War, were not the pillared mansions of romantic novels. Although large and airy, the majority were not the owner's main house. Lavish Townhouses were kept in Beaufort or Savannah, or even Charleston. Many of these homes are still in use today.
The War of 1812 once again disrupted life on the Island, as the British invaded and burned most of the houses near deep water. When the War was over, the Island's booming economy returned and the good life resumed.
South Carolina was the 1st State to secede from the Union on December 20, 1860. At this time South Carolina was among the richest of States, and Hilton Head Island was responsible for several millionaires. The Civil War began April 12, 1861, with Confederates firing on Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor. In January 1861 General Robert E. Lee was assigned command of the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida. By October of 1861, 77 Union ships sailed from Virginia to Port Royal. On board were 13,000 troops, 1500 horses, 500 surf boats, and 1,000 laborers to build a town and fortress for the blockade of the South.
In November, 1861, after surviving a hurricane off Cape Hatteras, the small armada circled Port Royal Sound, firing at all settlements in the area. On November 7th, the Confederates knew the battle for the area was lost and fled before the invading forces of the Union. Victory that day for the Union meant freedom for 1,000 slaves. The Yankees were here to stay until the War's end. Fort Mitchel was built in 1862. It was named after General Ormsby Mitchel, a well liked leader, who died of malaria that year.
Eventually, Union Forces reached 50,000 on the Island and was headquarters for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The Island became the transfer point for prisoners of war and the wounded as well as Union Soldiers on their way to battle and tons of supplies. Black males on the Island and in the surrounding area were pressed into service, becoming the first Black troops for the Union. The money they earned as soldiers enabled them, after the War, to buy land on Hilton Head Island. General Mitchel, before his death, began construction of adequate housing for several thousand homeless Blacks who had gathered on the island since the War began. Mitchelville was the first town developed specifically for the freedmen. It had almost 1,500 residents.
During this time, their children attended schools and they lived in this housing for the duration of the War. After Lee's surrender at Appomatox, the Federal troops departed for the North. Only Mitchelville inhabitants remained. With the passage of time Mitchelville disappeared, and the island was left to nature and the freed slaves. Hilton Head Island was again forgotten and small communities of former slaves sprang up on the island.
"Gullah", a blend of slave, native, cadence, and Elizabethan English was spoken here. This rich Culture, developed over the years of slavery, survives to this day.
By 1890 Northerners again came, this time to hunt and fish the abundant game. 1,000 acres in Leamington Plantation were sold to the North Carolina Hunt Club. Money was scarce and the Islanders bartered for goods and services. In 1931 more land was acquired for hunting purposes, including those remaining lands owned by the Federal Government. By now, the black population was around 300. Access to the island was by water only.
During WW2, the Leamington Lighthouse was the site of Camp McDougal, used by the Shore Patrol. Gun emplacements for target practice out over the Atlantic are still visible south of the Hyatt Hotel as the sands shift with the tides.
The Modern Age of Hilton Head Island goes back to the 50's with the arrival of Electricity. With the island now accessible to the general population after the bridge was built in 1956, Charles Fraser purchased his father’s interest in The Hilton Head Company nurturing a vision to create an environmentally friendly residential resort community. As part of Fraser’s plan, no building would be taller than the tallest tree, every structure would be painted in natural earth tone colors, and the oceanfront would be open to as many as possible. Streets were laid out to avoid the largest trees and historical artifacts, such as the tabby ruins of the Baynard Plantation and the Gullah cemetery on Braddocks Point, were delicately preserved.
Today this beautiful sea island continues to offer visitors a beautiful oasis with miles of pristine beaches, very many attractions and the chance to relax and reinvigorate surrounded and enriched by the peaceful beauty of nature.
historic sites
An overview of historic sites in the Hilton Head area.
