R. L. Johnson Medical Record Book, 1863–1864, 1867-1883 Finding Aid

Accession #: 2017.020 R.L. Johnson Medical Journal, [page 8]Beaufort District Collection Biographical Note: Richard Love Johnson (1841-1913) was born on January 8, 1841 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to Rev. William Johnson an Episcopalian Minister originally from South Carolina and Flora Lee Love of Virginia. He married Isabella Mackay around 1864. Five of their children would survive …

Robert Smalls: War Hero, Public Servant, and a Man of Mark, 1839 – 1915

Robert Smalls may have been born into slavery but he escaped, became the first African-American war hero, became a public servant holding in the State legislature and Congress, acquired property, ran businesses, and advocated for progressive causes in the rough and tumble environment of the Reconstruction era. Learn more about his life story.

Sweetgrass Baskets in the Lowcountry

Though the traditions are ancient and rooted in Africa, sweetgrass baskets are a fairly recent development in our Sea Islander communities. Selling the crafted baskets to tourists only dates back to the 1930s. Read more about this craft and its history in the Lowcountry.

Ghost Stories of Beaufort County, SC – Part 7: Haunting on Ribaut Road

Hauntings abound in Beaufort District and one hears of them through many means, including oral history interviews about living along Ribaut Road.

Praise Houses in Gullah Religion and Social Practices

According to the National Historic Register documentation for St. Helena Island, "One of the most significant influences on slave life here was religion, which was illustrated by the development and use of praise houses on the plantation. Praise houses were generally small frame houses, often an elder slave's cabin, in which the slaves held meetings, …

Daufuskie Island: A Selective List of Links and Materials

Daufuskie Island, a sea island off the coast of South Carolina, has a long history. Read about the island and the Gullah people who captured Pat Conroy's heart and helped launch his writing career.

Christensen writes about “Red Saturday” in his Journal

Frederik Holmes Christensen (second person  seated on far left in the photograph) was born on September 9, 1877 to Niels Christensen and Abbie Holmes Christensen. For more than 50 years, he kept a journal that included family, business, and community news and his observations of same from 1893 until his death in 1944. According to …

Beaufort County Library Records Finding Aid

We begin our series of Finding Aid posts with our own institutional records. The Beaufort County Library was formed from the Beaufort Township Library of 1918 which grew from the Clover Club Circulating Library of 1902. The Clover Club honored the founding of the Beaufort Library Society of 1802 by setting up a small library for town residents one hundred years later. Unfortunately the first Minute Book of the Beaufort Township Library was destroyed by fire in 1927.

Henry Woodward, ca. 1646 -ca. 1686: List of Links and Materials

Learn about intrepid English adventurer Henry Woodward. What an exciting life he had. Read more about the first permanent English settler of South Carolina here in the BDC's WordPress blog.

Beaufort Gazette coverage, January 24, 1907, Beaufort Fire: Death of William Bennett

The Beaufort Fire of January 19, 1907 was the most disastrous fire to date. When the embers cooled 40 structures were damaged or gone. The newspaper article transcriptions below are from a web page written by Dennis Adams (Information Services Coordinator, Retired) for the old Beaufort County Library website at various points between 1998 and …