Bluffton Gullah – Introduction
The Gullah Geechee are descendants of enslaved Africans from West and Central Africa, whose unique culture developed along the southeastern U.S. coast from North Carolina to Florida.
Culture, broadly defined as “a way of life,” include elements such language, beliefs, customs, institutions, art, and food. The Gullah story in Bluffton began with the establishment of plantations growing Sea Island Cotton, rice, and indigo. Following the Civil War, the Lowcountry’s slow recovery and isolation created ideal conditions for Gullah culture to flourish, blending African traditions with new influences.
The timeline exhibit chronicles key historical events, challenges, and triumphs of Gullah history in Bluffton while the digital site expands the key narratives and provides future opportunities for telling more stories. If you have histories, images and/or artifacts you would like to share with the Bluffton Gullah Heritage Center, we would be happy to talk to you. This exhibit is meant as a starting point for building a new understanding and archive of African American history in Bluffton.
Early Days
The native peoples of the Southeastern region were part of a sophisticated culture deeply connected to their natural environment, sustaining themselves through farming, hunting, and gathering. During the Late Archaic period, spanning from 5800 to 3200 B.P, indigenous cultures established a significant physical presence along the coast in the form of shell rings.
Archaic shell rings are large, semi-circular mounds created by native inhabitants who harvested oysters and other seafood based on seasonal availability. Once eaten they purposefully deposited the oyster shells gradually building the circular mounds. On Hilton Head Island, visitors can explore a shell ring archaeologists believe was developed over a 300-year period.
Archaeologists have found no conclusive evidence that these ancient indigenous people resided within the rings. Instead, they propose that these shell rings served as important ceremonial areas and community gathering spaces. The careful construction and sustained effort required to create these massive structures suggest a sophisticated level of social organization and collective purpose.
These shell rings are now recognized as some of the most substantial and impressive public works projects in pre-colonial North America, providing critical insights into the complex cultural practices of Southeastern indigenous societies. They stand as enduring archaeological monuments that illuminate the rich cultural landscape of Native American communities long before European contact.
While our understanding of these early inhabitants remains limited, archaeological excavations have gradually revealed insights into their way of life. Archaeologists have uncovered a range of artifacts, including shells, bones, tools, and ceramic fragments, that provide glimpses into the material culture of these indigenous societies.
Recent archaeological findings have documented indigenous settlements dating back to at least 1450 CE, contemporaneous with the indigenous populations encountered by European explorers and settlers when they first arrived in South Carolina. These discoveries continue to expand our understanding of the rich and complex societies that existed in the region long before European contact.
Yamassee Indians
When Europeans first arrived in the Southeastern region, they encountered a diverse array of indigenous ethnic groups. The devastating impact of colonialism was swift and profound, resulting in the systematic extermination or forced merging of many native tribes. Tragically, little scholarly attention was initially devoted to documenting these cultures, leading to the loss of numerous tribal names, languages, and historical narratives.
In the seventeenth century, South Carolina and Georgia became home to approximately 1,200 Yemassee Indians—a complex confederation formed by the merging of multiple indigenous groups including the Guale, La Tama, Apalachee, Coweta, and Cusseta Creek. Their migration was driven by a desperate attempt to escape Spanish missionaries in Florida who were actively enslaving native peoples to provide labor in the West Indies.
The Yamassee initially sought to establish diplomatic and economic relationships with European settlers in South Carolina and Georgia through trade and attempts at cultural exchange. However, these efforts ultimately failed, culminating in the Yamassee War of 1715. This conflict resulted in the tribe being pushed back to Florida, marking another devastating chapter in the region’s colonial history of indigenous displacement and cultural disruption.
These events underscore the profound and often brutal transformation of indigenous societies during the early period of European colonization, highlighting the complex interactions and power dynamics that fundamentally reshaped the demographic and cultural landscape of the Southeastern United States. The land left behind was now available for occupation and expansion of the colonists aiding in the development of the plantation system.
Plantations & Slavery
The Lowcountry’s plantation history spans three distinct eras: the antebellum agricultural period, the post-Reconstruction hunting lodge period, and the modern development of gated communities that often adopt plantation names. During the colonial and antebellum periods, plantations transformed vast tracts of land into agricultural enterprises, with their economic model dependent on enslaved labor. Slavery arrived in America in 1619, when 20–30 enslaved Africans were brought by the privateer ship, White Lion, to Point Comfort, Virginia.
Around 1728, a number of plantations flourished in the coastal region between Charleston and Savannah. The interconnected waterways provided essential transportation routes, especially given the challenges of constructing roads in the sandy coastal soil. The Lowcountry’s geography was particularly suited to the cultivation of Sea Island cotton, indigo, and rice, which were primarily exported through Savannah. These plantations also produced subsistence crops like corn, beans, and sweet potatoes to feed both the planter families and the enslaved people who performed the labor.
The area that would become Bluffton emerged as a strategic location for plantation owners. They constructed summer homes along the May River, seeking relief from the coastal plantations’ humid conditions as well as increased danger of coming into contact with common diseases of the late eighteenth century. The river breezes and pine forests were believed to offer protection from malaria and yellow fever. While some planters visited their holdings daily, many employed overseers to manage operations and supervise the enslaved workers. Enslaved were also brought to work in Bluffton. The practice of bringing enslaved people into town is documented at sites like the Heyward House, where two original enslaved workers’ dwellings remain standing, testifying to the urban presence of slavery.
The American Revolution brought destruction to many original plantations by British forces, but the plantation system quickly rebuilt. These properties frequently changed ownership, underwent divisions, or merged with other holdings. Throughout these changes, the constant factor was the region’s dependence on enslaved labor for agricultural production and infrastructure development. The agricultural plantation system would remain in place until the Civil War brought it to an end.
Known plantations in and near Bluffton
- Devil’s Elbow Barony (broken into smaller holdings)
- Rose Hill
- Hunting Island
- Oak Forest
- Camp
- Foot Point
- Crescent
- Buckingham
- Calhoun (Porcher)
- Barnwell - Belfair
- Hog Bluff
- Tipperary
- Bull Hill
- Trimblestone
- Oakland
- Pinckney Island
- Rephraim
- Montpelier
- Octagon
- Moreland (Coles Family)
- Spring Island
- Running Deer Plantation
- Rose Dew
- Hilton Head (pre-1861): Braddock Point, Calibogue, Point Comfort, Possum Point, Shipyard, Leamington, Chaplin, Mathews, Otter Hole, Muddy Creek, Spanish Wells, Coggins Point, Brass?, Cherry Hill, Fish Haul, Cotton Hope, Honey, Fairfield, Sea Brook, Myrtle Bank
Slavery in Bluffton
Historical research on plantations and slavery in the South faces significant challenges. Limited documentation, deliberately enforced illiteracy among enslaved people, and incomplete plantation records have obscured a comprehensive understanding. Existing resources often reflect biased narratives that perpetuated harmful stereotypes. Despite these challenges, primary documentation from the era gives us a window into the practice of slavery in the Lowcountry.
Newspaper advertisements from the era provide some insights into plantation management. These ads frequently sought overseers—typically white men—responsible for directing enslaved labor. On larger plantations, both an overseer and a “driver” (the title given to a Black man promoted by the plantation owner) might be employed. The advertisements often described plantation types like “swamp river plantation” without specifying exact locations, and a description of the work they would be directing.
Figures 1, 2, 3 - Illustrations used to depict runaway slaves. From, The Royal Georgia Gazette, (Savannah, Georgia), July 23, 1795. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress.
Notices seeking the capture of enslaved individuals were prevalent in the south including the Royal Georgia Gazette, a newspaper published in Savannah, Georgia. These advertisements, placed by enslavers, gave descriptions of enslaved people who had escaped from plantations across Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The notices sought information about their whereabouts and warned potential helpers of legal consequences for assisting those seeking freedom.
An example from region, appears in a January 3, 1781 advertisement searching for an enslaved woman named Mary, who is described as having previously been “owned by Thomas Jones” from the May River region of South Carolina. Such advertisements reveal the brutal realities of the chattel slavery system, which treated human beings as property to be tracked, recovered, and returned against their will.
Figure 4 – Notice from The Royal Georgia Gazette, (Savannah, Georgia), January 4, 1781. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
In Bluffton, few remnants of the plantation era remain. Some structures that escaped the burning of Bluffton have survived, including the Cole-Heyward House, now a house museum. Built around 1840 by enslaved workers of John Cole, the property’s slave quarters at the rear are reportedly the last such structures in Bluffton. Most likely the surviving buildings from before the antebellum period were built using enslaved labor and therefore stand as a testament to those men and women.
Rose Hill
Many of the plantation houses that once existed in Bluffton and the surrounding area are no longer standing. One notable exception is the Rose Hill Plantation house, built in the late 1850s. The house is an excellent example of Carpenter Gothic Revival style and was likely built using enslaved labor. James Kirk, a wealthy plantation owner, gave the land to his daughter Caroline when she married her cousin, Dr. John M. Kirk. The couple was inspired during their honeymoon to Europe where they supposedly found plans and a builder.
Figure 5 - Exterior view of Rose Hill Plantation house from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, John Kirk, and Willis Irvin. Library of Congress, compiled after 1933. https://www.loc.gov/item/sc0732/
The house is two stories, built using local lumber from a nearby plantation with vertical board and batten cladding. Notable exterior features include a steeply pitched gable roof, a porch with Gothic clustered piers which hold an arcade of pointed arches, and a one-story solarium. The property, which remained unfinished before the start of the Civil War, survived destruction during the conflict. In the 20th century, the property changed hands several times, undergoing several alterations including an enlarged solarium and new wrought iron supports on the porch.
Figure 6 - Exterior view of Rose Hill Plantation house from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, John Kirk, and Willis Irvin. Library of Congress, compiled after 1933. https://www.loc.gov/item/sc0732/
After the war, tenant farming became a common practice on former plantations. Tenant farming is defined as an agricultural system where a farmer rents land from a landlord and pays rent in exchange for the use of the land. After property disputes were resolved following the Civil War, many African Americans took up tenant farming. Property being sold after the war was often advertised as having former slave quarters still intact on the land, which were then converted for use by the farmers. Rose Hill would pass between a number of owners and supported Gullah families who lived and farmed on the land.
Rose Hill Timeline - 1900 to Present
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July 3, 1918 - William E Pinckney whose Calhoun Plantation bordered Rose Hill Plantation purchased half-interest.
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June 1, 1921 - Clarence A. Pinckney, eldest son of William E. Pinckney moved to Rose Hill and stayed there with his wife for nearly three years as a farmer.
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1946 - 1949 – The manor is restored and altered by architect Willis Irvin.
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May 19, 1983 – Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
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February 10, 1987 - Building was severely damaged by fire.
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1996 – The house was restored by Robert and Robin White.
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2024 – The property now known as the Mansion at Rose Hill, has been adapted to serve as a luxury event venue.
Spring Island Plantation
Early colonizers made use of local materials to build houses, churches, forts, etc. As early as the 1570s, Spanish settlers at Santa Elena (now Beaufort) took advantage of shell mounds left by indigenous tribes to construct buildings using “tapiyah” or tabby construction. As plantations were built, many planters utilized this resource and built houses of tabby. Evidence of this construction technique can be found throughout the Lowcountry. One of the most notable examples are the ruins of the Edwards’ House on Spring Island.
Figure 6 – Spring Island Plantation main house general view looking east to central block and flanking wings from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, John Edwards, Mary Cochran Barksdale, George Edwards, Spring Island Company, Sponsor Historic Beaufort Foundation, Colin Brooker, and Evan Thompson, Boucher, Jack E, photographer. Library of Congress, compiled after 1933. https://www.loc.gov/item/sc0732/
Spring Island was farmed since pre-Columbian days when Native Americans cultivated crops of corn, gourds, and squash. Remnants of early inhabitation exist in the form of prehistoric pottery pieces found mixed in the layers of shell, lime, and sand which make up the tabby structure. The shells and midden heaps were likely left by local tribes which included the Witcheaugh, Escamacu, and Wimbee.
One of the most notable families to live on Spring Island were the Edwards. George Edwards married his cousin Elizabeth Barksdale in 1801 and would later move to Spring Island where they expanded the plantation house and increased the number of enslaved people. During their time on the island, the number of enslaved increased to 336, making Edwards one of the largest slaveholders in Beaufort County.
Enslaved people on the plantation worked in the fields growing and harvesting cotton, which was a primary crop listed in the 1850s census, reportedly producing 150 bales that year. Besides cotton, the plantation produced Indian corn, peas and beans, and sweet potatoes for sustenance; rice was grown as well, and cattle, hogs, and sheep were also part of the plantation.
Figure 7 – Spring Island Plantation Slave Quarters, oblique view from southwest from the Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, John Edwards, Mary Cochran Barksdale, George Edwards, Spring Island Company, Sponsor Historic Beaufort Foundation, Colin Brooker, and Evan Thompson, Boucher, Jack E, photographer. Library of Congress, compiled after 1933. https://www.loc.gov/item/sc0732/
After the Civil War, Spring Island became home to some of the newly freed men and women who had been enslaved on the plantation. The land was used for tenant farming settlements where residents fished, harvested lumber, and planted lettuce and pecans. During the twentieth century, the property changed hands several times.
In 1912, the property was purchased by Colonel William Copp who operated a large-scale farm. In 1964, the property was purchased by Lucile and Elisha Walker, Jr. from Bertha E. Lucas to be developed into a premier quail hunting plantation. Eventually, the property was put into a trust which was purchased by Jim and Betsy Chaffin, Jim and Dianne Light, and Peter and Beryl LaMotte who developed the land into its current use as a private community. The ruins of the plantation still stand on the island as a testament to the history of enslaved people in the region.
Civil War – The Burning of Bluffton
“I been livin’ in Beaufort when de war fust break out... Dat wuz in October. De Southern soldiers come through Bluffton on a Wednesday and tell de white folks must get out de way, de Yankees right behind ‘em. De summer place been at Bluffton. De plantation wus ten miles away. After we refugee from Bluffton, we spent de fust night at Jonesville. From dere we went to Hardeville. We here on Saturday evening. You know we had to ride by horses - in wagons an’ buggies. Dere weren’t no railroads of cars den.” - Daphney Wright from The WPA Slave Narratives
Bluffton and the Civil War: From Antebellum Tensions to Destruction
During the Antebellum period, the divide between supporters of slavery and abolitionists grew increasingly pronounced. These escalating tensions set the stage for the conflict that would eventually engulf the nation. Bluffton’s involvement in this unfolding drama began before the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861.
The “Bluffton Movement” emerged as a pivotal political rally in which South Carolina was urged to secede should states’ rights—including the institution of slavery—not be respected by the federal government. This movement, along with other events preceding the rally, laid the crucial foundation for South Carolina’s eventual secession from the United States of America on December 20, 1860.
Shortly after the first shots in Charleston announced the war’s commencement, Beaufort County felt the conflict’s impact when U.S. Army troops captured Hilton Head Island in November 1861. Hilton Head quickly became a strategic Union headquarters and staging ground for operations against Bluffton. Throughout the war, Confederate soldiers used Bluffton as a lookout post to monitor troop movements along the river and in nearby Pritchardville.
Based on letters from the U.S. Army website, it is a good assumption that Harriet Tubman played a significant role in the eventual capture and burning of Bluffton. While no accounts directly place her in Bluffton itself, her extensive work throughout the Lowcountry had a profound impact on events in the area.
When U.S. Army troops captured Hilton Head Island, white planters and their families fled, leaving behind an estimated 10,000 enslaved people. With limited resources, these newly freed individuals sought assistance at the recently established U.S. camps. Overwhelmed by the situation, Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew, familiar with Tubman’s extraordinary work, requested her presence in the South to help former slaves adjust to their new circumstances. Tubman accepted this challenge, informing a neighbor that she would serve as a “spy, scout or nurse, as the circumstances required.”
Figure 8 – Portrait of Harriet Tubman. Lindsley, Harvey B, photographer. Portrait of Harriet Tubman. New York, None. [Auburn, n.y.: harvey lindsley, taken between 1871 and 1876?, printed between 1895 and 1910] Photograph. Library of Congress. https://www.loc.gov/
Upon her arrival, Tubman was assigned to General Hunter’s command on Hilton Head Island. There, she established a sophisticated intelligence network comprised of nine African American scouts who possessed intimate knowledge of the local terrain, including the intricate waterway systems. These scouts were trained to gather critical intelligence, such as the locations of Confederate sentinels. Simultaneously, Tubman organized daring rescue missions that helped countless enslaved people escape to freedom.
Figure 9 – “Bluffton in Ruins” article except from The free South (Beaufort, SC), June 13, 1864. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
In June 1863, General David Hunter, stationed at Hilton Head Island, ordered Colonel Barton to destroy Bluffton. The command was executed on June 4, 1863, resulting in the destruction of much of the town. Only 17 structures survived what became known as the “Burning of Bluffton”. The success of the mission likely relied on intelligence gained through Harriet Tubman’s scouts.
Restoration (coming in part II)
Before the Bridge – The Hurricane of 1893
On August 27, 1893, the Sea Island Hurricane, a catastrophic Category 3, struck the southeastern coast of the United States. Making landfall at Tybee Island, the storm brought winds of up to 120 mph and 16-foot tidal waves, devastating both the mainland and the Sea Islands. The disaster’s severity was amplified by the area’s isolation and lack of early warning systems, resulting in one of America’s deadliest hurricanes, with casualties estimated between 3,000 and 5,000 people and leaving approximately 30,000 homeless.
The storm’s destruction was particularly severe in Bluffton and surrounding Sea Islands of South Carolina, where a massive tidal wave—dubbed the “tide of death”—struck just south of Beaufort. A September 7 account in The Morning News from Savannah painted a stark picture of Bluffton:
“Bluffton, the beautiful village presented a scene of desolation the day after the storm. Every one of the handsome old oaks was uprooted. The streets were impassable from fallen trees, ruined fences. Private gardens were badly damaged. There was not one bridge or skid left – all were blown away. The people living at Glen’s Cove or Kirk’s Cove were cut off from all communication with the rest of Bluffton. The inhabitants were as completely isolated as if they were on an island in the middle of the ocean.”
On September 16, another except sent to the paper by J.G. Verdier adds to the knowing.
“While I lost heavily, I did not lose as much as your correspondent says… All of my timber was blown down, fencing, rail and wire was smashed by falling trees, corn, peas and cotton blown down and cotton rotting in the field. My neighbors on the rivers and creeks have lost nearly all of their crops. Cotton is a total loss in some places and all of the corn, potatoes, peas and rice on a great many places is gone.”
In the hurricane’s wake, the once-prosperous coastal region lay in ruins, its people facing a stark reality: they had no means to rebuild on their own. The fall harvest, which farmers had tended carefully through the growing season, was now destroyed – either washed away entirely or poisoned by the invading saltwater that had swept across their fields. The fishing boats that once dotted the coast were gone along with their nets and traps. The phosphate industry, another economic pillar of the region, stood silent, its equipment unusable. The Lowcountry’s economic heartbeat had stopped, leaving its people facing not just the immediate threats of starvation and illness, but the daunting challenge of rebuilding their entire way of life.
Hope arrived in the form of South Carolina’s Governor Tillman, who, upon grasping the catastrophic scope of the disaster, took action organizing a committee to provide relief. He also turned to a promising new ally: the Red Cross, then a fledgling organization under the leadership of its founder Clara Barton. Though the Red Cross had previously focused on wartime relief, a recent treaty had expanded its mission to include natural disasters. The Sea Island Hurricane would become one of their first major tests – and a defining moment in American disaster response. Under Barton’s steady guidance, a network of relief stations was established, operating out of whatever shelter could be found – from canvas tents to surviving Gullah cabins. These makeshift havens became lifelines, distributing essential supplies to the desperate communities. Among the relief workers was Mr. John MacDonald, who became involved with efforts after his trip to Boston was derailed by the storm. Mr. MacDonald together with his wife, were assigned to manage the relief operation on Hilton Head Island, coordinating aid to nearby communities including the islands of Pickney, Savage, Hunting, Bull, Spring, Barataria and Daufuskie, as well as mainland Bluffton.
As the community began to rebuild, every able body was put to work in a remarkable display of collective determination. Men were assigned to dig drainage channels, clearing away the brackish water left by the storm. The sound of hammers and saws filled the air as they rebuilt homes and crafted new fishing boats for their neighbors. Meanwhile, the women, though left destitute by the hurricane, transformed their hardship into hope through the formation of sewing societies. Their nimble fingers worked tirelessly, breathing new life into tattered garments and creating fresh clothing from whatever materials they could salvage.
Figure 11 – Receiving Room for Clothing, S.C. Island Relief, 1893 - 1894. From The Red Cross: A History of This Remarkable International Movement in the Interest of Humanity (United States: American national Red cross, 1898).
The scene in Mrs. MacDonald’s sewing tent was particularly moving. Upon her arrival, she had been struck by the sight of survivors clothed in little more than rags – a stark testament to the storm’s devastation. Women gathered around a borrowed sewing machine used to tailor unsalvageable garments into clothing for the children while others working by hand mended tears and replaced buttons. Mrs. MacDonald described the atmosphere during those hours, “when all got steadily to work, one would commence a patter song, the rest would quickly join in, and, to the ac-companying rattle of the sewing machine, work and music blended.” Day by day, piles of clothing filled barrel after barrel, ready to restore dignity to those who had lost nearly everything.
When spring arrived, the community’s focus shifted to the earth itself. The arrival of seeds and potatoes from J.C. Vaughan Seed Store in New York and Chicago sparked new hope. These precious tubers were carefully quartered and planted alongside other donated seeds, each one representing a promise of future abundance. After ten months of tireless work, Mr. MacDonald witnessed the fruits of their collective labor. “I watched the crops grow,” he wrote, “saw a good harvest gathered in the people resumed their old-time cheerful tone and the storm became a memory.”
Figure 12 – Women Cutting Potatoes for Planting - Sea Island Relief, SC February, 1894. From The Red Cross: A History of This Remarkable International Movement in the Interest of Humanity (United States: American national Red cross, 1898).
Ten months after their arrival the Red Cross prepared to withdraw, having been a part of this remarkable recovery. Despite the many successes, racial tensions began to simmer as some white residents accused the relief efforts of favoring African American communities. These tensions would continue as the Jim Crow era established itself in the South. Though progress had been made, the storm’s impact would echo through generations. Combined with the devastating arrival of the boll weevil in 1918, these challenges ultimately led many Gullah people to leave the region, seeking more stable lives elsewhere. Their exodus marked the end of an era in the Lowcountry, a final testament to how a single storm could re-shape not just the landscape, but the very fabric of a community.
