History of Hilton Head

For thousands of years, Indians lived peacefully on the shores of this large Carolina sea island, leaving behind few traces of their civilization other than Indian shell rings, the remnants of their circular dwelling areas.

Following on the heels of Columbus' discovery of the New World in 1492, Spanish ships sailed up the Carolina coast in the early 1500s. In 1562, when Frenchman Jean Ribaut sailed here, there was no visible evidence of Spanish presence. Ribaut claimed the area for France and set up a fort on a nearby island now known as Parris Island, home of the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

Englishmen and Scotsmen Arrive

The English arrived in 1629. King Charles I named the region between Virginia and Florida after himself (Carolina).

In 1663, Sir John Colleton sent Capt. William Hilton from Barbados to explore the new Carolina region. The island was later named Hilton Head in his honor.

Permanent Settlement

The first Englishmen permanently settled on the island in 1717. In that year, John Barnwell started a 500-acre plantation in what is now called Hilton Head Plantation, on the north end of the island.

Many other families came to the island in the 18th century, including Baynards, Lawtons, Baldwins, Davants, Draytons, Mongins, Popes, Scotts and Stoneys.

Indigo was the primary crop. Eliza Lucas, who became Eliza Pinckney, an amateur botanist and plantation wife, developed indigo at her father's plantation near Charleston.

Cotton Wealth

After the Revolutionary War, cotton was introduced. At the peak of the cotton prosperity, 26 plantations occupied the island. Additional African labor was brought to the island.

The Gullah culture of the island's black people, which combines aspects of African and European traditions, came into being during this antebellum period.

Civil War Occupation

The old way of life on these plantations came to an abrupt halt with the start of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln and Union commanders believed that the key to victory for Union forces lay in the blockade of all Confederate ports. Port Royal Sound at the north end of Hilton Head was his first target.

Several hours after the battle for Hilton Head began, the rebel soldiers put up a white flag and boarded boats to take them to the mainland.

After the war, Hilton Head suffered from the wave of poverty that afflicted all Southern states. The Gullah, descendants of slaves, took over about 20 percent of the land on the island.

Recently..

In the early 1950s, Gen. Joseph Fraser and Fred C. Hack saw the potential of Hilton Head Island as a vast tree farm. They purchased thousands of forested acres on the island for timber.

It was Joseph Fraser's son, Charles, who developed Sea Pines and orchestrated the early growth of the island into a resort community.

Modern-day Developments

The completion of the Cross Island Parkway, which connects the island's north and south ends via a 6-mile stretch of toll road, is one of the most recent stepping stones in Hilton Head's development. Construction of the 5.6-mile highway began in February 1995, but its conception dates back to November 1957, when developer Charles Fraser proposed a similar route that also would have connected the north and south ends of Hilton Head Island via a bridge over Broad Creek.