Beaufort County lies in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Tourism is important to the county, as many visitors flock to the area to enjoy coastal waters, barrier islands, wildlife, and historic small towns. A number of notable people have called Beaufort County home, including author Pat Conroy and boxer Joe Frazier. The presence of Gullah culture also characterizes the region. Beaufort, one of the state’s oldest towns, serves as the county seat.
Frenchmen, Englishmen, and Spaniards all attempted to settle in Beaufort County. Comprised of the St. Peter, St. Helena, St. Luke, and Prince William parishes, Beaufort District was created in 1769 and “named for Henry Somserset, Duke of Beaufort.” Points of historical interest in Beaufort County include a number of plantations, the Penn Center, and Parris Island.
About Beaufort County, SC. Accessed June 01, 2016.
Video
The Penn Center, formerly the Penn School, was founded on Saint Helena Island, South Carolina, by Northern abolitionist missionaries. The school was created to educate freed people, and was one of the...
Video
A circular dance called the "Ring Shout" was a part of Gullah-Geechee Christian worship services for many years.
Video
Scholars have located a song linking a family from Georgia to the village of Senehun Ngola in Sierra Leone. Linguist Lorenzo Dow Turner traveled to Georgia in 1931 to hear people speaking and singing...
Video
Nakia Wigfall is a seventh generation Gullah basket maker from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Wigfall travels to Sierra Leone with a mission to make sweetgrass baskets with the other local residents...
Video
In the city of Kabala, in Sierra Leone, residents speak their native tongue, as well as a Creole language called "Krio," which is similar in many ways to the Gullah language spoken by the Gullah...
Video
Freetown was founded by formerly enslaved people, many of them from South Carolina and Georgia. Their first attempt to establish an African colony in 1787 failed, but in 1792, more than a thousand...
Video
With the ending of the civil war in Sierra Leone, the next generation looks to the future with hopes of rebuilding their country, and getting educations. These inspiring young Sierra Leoneans are also...
Video
From 1617 to the abolishment of the English slave trade in 1807, Bunce Island was the last glimpse of home for tens of thousands of enslaved Africans. Today, only ruins remain, as a testament to the...
Video
Rice is a staple food of Sierra Leone. Rice is not only a favorite dish of Sierra Leoneans and the Gullah-Geechee, but it is also a part of their history. A dike system for cultivating rice worked...
Audio
"B" is for Bryan, Hugh (1699-1753). Planter, evangelist. Born of the colony’s southern frontier, Bryan was captured by Indians during the Yamassee War. After his release, he settled in St. Helena’s...
