Beaufort County, South Carolina: History and Information

Beaufort County, South Carolina

Beaufort County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Beaufort
Year Organized: 1764
Square Miles: 587

Court House:

P.O. Drawer 1228
County Courthouse
Beaufort, SC 29901-1228

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Both Beaufort County and its county seat of Beaufort were named for Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina.

Demographics:

History

Both Beaufort County and its county seat of Beaufort were named for Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort (1684-1714), one of the Lords Proprietors of Carolina. The district was formed in 1769 from the parishes of Prince William, St. Luke, St. Helena, and St. Peter. It remained relatively unchanged in size until 1878, when a large portion was removed to form Hampton County. French explorers visited this area long before the English arrived. They established a fort in 1562, as did the Spanish in 1566; neither of these settlements survived, however. Beaufort, the second oldest town in South Carolina, was founded in 1710. In the years before the Civil War, rice and sea island cotton plantations brought great wealth to the region. Federal troops occupied Beaufort in December 1861, and the first school in the South for freed slaves was established during the Civil War at what is now Penn Center on St. Helena Island. The United States Marine Corps began training recruits at Parris Island in 1915, and later in the twentieth century Hilton Head Island and neighboring sea islands have become popular resort and retirement destinations. Some famous residents of Beaufort County are naturalists Alexander Garden (ca. 1730-1791) and Stephen Elliott (1771-1830); Robert Smalls (1839-1915), a former slave who became a United States Congressman; boxer Joe Frazier; and writer Pat Conroy.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 923 square miles (2,390 km²), of which, 587 square miles (1,520 km²) of it is land and 336 square miles (870 km²) of it (36.41%) is water.

Neighboring Counties:

Colleton County, South Carolina - north

Jasper County, South Carolina - west

Hampton County, South Carolina - northwest

Cities and Towns:

- Beaufort (County Seat)

city

Incorporated Area

- Bluffton

town

Incorporated Area

- Hilton Head Island

town

Incorporated Area

- Port Royal

town

Incorporated Area

- Ridgeland

town

Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

South Carolina State...

South Carolina

South Carolina Counties

Beaufort County, South Carolina

Beaufort County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Demographics:

History

Geography

Neighboring Counties:

Cities and Towns:

County Resources:

County Resource Guide

Penn Foster High School