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History of Hilton Head Island and the South Carolina Lowcountry

Hilton Head Island is the largest barrier island south of Long Island, NY. It is roughly 12 x 5 miles (or 29,000 acres). The LowCountry is the Mainland and the coastal island and run between Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA and about 50 miles inland from the coast.

The LowCountry was first settled by the Spanish in the 1500’s. They sailed up the Port Royal Sound and settled south of Beaufort. The Spanish included this part of the East coast as part of Florida. Indian uprisings forced the Spanish to leave the area some 20 years after they first settled.

In 1663 Englishman, Captain William Hilton (not the father of the hotel chain) sailed from Barbados looking for land to plant sugar and indigo. Hilton also sailed into the Port Royal Sound and landed near the Bluff at what is today Hilton Head Plantation near the Dolphin Head recreation area. He was met by Spanish speaking Indians. Hilton soon claimed the Island as British. Our Island is still today named after Captain William Hilton. In early days it was named Trench’s Island, which was named after the Island’s first real estate agent. By comparison, Savannah, GA was not founded until 1733, some 70 years later.

During the War of 1812, British troops landed on Hilton Head and burned most of the Island homes. By 1860 there were over 20 plantations in operation. Some of these plantation names are still in use today as streets – Myrtle Bank, Talbird, Braddock Point, Leamington, Pineland, & Seabrook. The Island was populated mostly by slaves and overseers who worked the cotton, indigo, and sugar cane. Sea Island cotton was known world wide and made the land owners very wealthy.

Shortly after South Carolina seceded from the Union and the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, Hilton Head Island played a major role in the war. In November of 1861, the largest naval battle ever fought on the American coast was waged between the Union fleet and the Confederates. Fort Walker, which is in today’s Port Royal Plantation, was overrun by more than 13,000 union troops within hours. Many of the Island families had to evacuate their plantation homes. By 1862, with 20-30,000 Union troops, some prisoners, and escaped slaves, Hilton Head Island’s population swelled to over 40,000.

In 1862, the Island’s name was changed to Port Royal. The General Ormsby Mitchel established the town of Michelville, this was the first Freedmans’ Village and was settled by freed slaves.

When the war ended and slavery abolished, the lifestyle on the Island and in the LowCountry changed and the population again dropped. In 1872, the Island’s official name was changed to Hilton Head Island. After the bull weevils destroyed the Sea Island cotton, Hilton Head’s population dropped to only a few hundred. Most of which were descendants of the slaves. Farming, fishing, and commercial oystering was how the Hilton Head and Sea Islanders lived.

The first paved road on Hilton Head Island is where today’s William Hilton Parkway is. This road was paved by the Marines during WWII. There was a camp built where today’s Palmetto Dunes is and large cannons were built on the beach to protect the coast from invasion. The remnants of the gun turrets remained on the beach in front of today’s Hilton Oceanfront Resort until the early 80’s.

In the late 1940’s and early 50’s the Island was again rediscovered – this time for its timber and tall straight pines. This group of lumbers from South Georgia included the Frasers, Hacks, and McIntoshs. All of which played a major role in the modern day development of Hilton Head Island. Electricity arrived on the island in 1950. At this time, Hilton Head was still accessible only by boat. In 1956 Charles Fraser, the Father of Modern Day Development of Hilton Head Island, had a vision and created a master plan for a world class resort…Sea Pines. Also in 1956, the first bridge connecting the Island to the mainland was built. The Byrnes Bridge was a two-lane swing bridge. This bridge was hit by a barge in 1974 and was closed for approximately 6 weeks. At this time, the military returned and constructed a temporary one way pontoon bridge which had to be opened any time there was boat traffic. The swing bridge was replaced in 1982 with the existing four-lane bridge. Telephone service was offered by Hargray Telephone Company in 1958.

In 1960, Charles Fraser built the Island’s first golf course, the Ocean Course in Sea Pines. In 1967 the Hilton Head airport opened, Harbour Town village was completed in 1969 and Arnold Palmer won the first Heritage Classic Golf Tournament. The Island’s population in 1973-75 was around 6,000 with around 350,000 visitors annually. The Hilton Head Hospital was completed in 1975. in 1982, the population was 12,500 and there were more than 500,000 visitors. Hilton Head Island incorporated into a municipality as the town of Hilton Head Island in 1982.

The town of Hilton Head Island turned twenty-five years old in 2007 and had a population of 35,000 with over 2.1 million visitors while Bluffton had a population of only 5,000. For many early years, Bluffton was only a small getaway on the May River. Wealthy folks from Savannah used Bluffton as a summer retreat. Modern day development of the Bluffton area started in 1993 when Sun City began construction on their 5,100 acre residential community. Today the Bluffton and Southern Jasper Country are some of the fastest growing areas in the country. The total population in 2007 of Beaufort County is around 150,000 and tourism has over $1.2 billion economic impact on the county. Economic development for the Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, and Jasper Country will remain strong for many years to come due to desire to live in its environmentally planned communities and take advantage of the active outdoor lifestyle and natural beauty this area has to offer - the sugar sand beaches, sweeping marshes and pristine waterways. In addition, a new sea going port will be built as a partnership between South Carolina and Georgia.

Come join us where the past and nature are respected. Where residents live at their own pace. Where progress is planned and life is good…