A brief history of Hilton Head Island and the Carolina low country

The Town of Hilton Head Island comprises almost all of the island’s 54-square-miles, and has a permanent population of about 34,000 in 14,000 households.

Shaped like a sports shoe, the toe points southwest toward the Savannah River. The island’s 12 miles of beach lie to the southeast.

Clean, neat and well maintained, Hilton Head is dominated by expensive, expansive and exclusive neighborhoods, which are enhanced by numerous golf courses, forests, marshlands, the Intracoastal Waterway, tidal Broad Creek and elegant pleasure boat marinas.

The New York Times says Hilton Head Island “exudes both natural beauty and upscale-suburban affluence,” but quotes a long time resident as saying, "This is not a snooty place," a claim with which we would agree.

The large residential developments are usually called "plantations," and dominate the island.

About 40 percent of the island’s homes and 70 percent of its condominiums are second homes, whose owners’ primary residences are in Georgia, North Carolina or other parts of South Carolina.

The Early Decades

Francisco Cordillo, for whom a prominent road is now named, led a Spanish expedition to become the first Europeans to encounter local inhabitants.
That was in 1521.

A century passed and in 1663 Capt. William Hilton sailed from Barbados to explore the area, which had been granted by King Charles II to eight Lord Proprietors, and the area was appropriately named.

In the next century, Beaufort was founded in 1711 and by the 1760s shipbuilding had taken hold of the local economy driven largely by the availability of suitable hardwoods, the live oaks.

Suitability for profitable agriculture emerged, and by late in the century, about 1790, the first long-staple Sea Island cotton was grown on the Myrtle Bank Plantation by William Elliott II.

The Civil War Years

By the outbreak of the Civil War, 1860, 20 working plantations had been established on Hilton Head Island, which was populated by slaves and overseers. Plantation owners did not live on the island.

By 1862, Hilton Head was referred to as Port Royal in recognition of the British encampment on the island. By 1868 large-scale military occupation of the island had ended, and once again the area was referred to as Hilton Head Island

Nearly a century later, the 1940s, the island's populated had dwindled to about 1,100 and was comprised of freedmen, who fished and took their catch to market in Savannah.

After World War II, a group from Hinesville, GA, perceived the island's commercial timber potential and purchased 20,000 acres at the southern tip of the island for $60 an acre. Among them was Joseph B. Frazier, whose heirs would be responsible for the first commercial residential development, Sea Pines Plantation.

The Awakening

In 1950, the population was little more than 300, but in 1953 the state began operating a car ferry and in 1954 Hilton Head Elementary School was opened, and in 1955 the Sea Crest Motel was opened in the Forest Beach area.






	The Town of Hilton Head Island comprises almost all of the island’s 54-square-miles, and has a permanent population of about 34,000 in 14,000 households. Shaped like a sports shoe, the toe points southwest toward the Savannah River. The island’s 12 miles of beach lie to the southeast. Clean, neat and well maintained, Hilton Head is dominated by expensive, expansive and exclusive neighborhoods, which are enhanced by numerous golf courses, forests, marshlands, the Intracoastal Waterway, tidal Broad Creek and elegant pleasure boat marinas. The New York Times says Hilton Head Island “exudes both natural beauty and upscale-suburban affluence,” but quotes a long time resident as saying, "This is not a snooty place," a claim with which we would agree. The large residential developments are usually called "plantations," and dominate the island. About 40 percent of the island’s homes and 70 percent of its condominiums are second homes, whose owners’ primary residences are in Georgia, North Carolina or other parts of South Carolina. The Early Decades Francisco Cordillo, for whom a prominent road is now named, led a Spanish expedition to become the first Europeans to encounter local inhabitants. That was in 1521. A century passed and in 1663 Capt. William Hilton sailed from Barbados to explore the area, which had been granted by King Charles II to eight Lord Proprietors, and the area was appropriately named. In the next century, Beaufort was founded in 1711 and by the 1760s shipbuilding had taken hold of the local economy driven largely by the availability of suitable hardwoods, the live oaks. Suitability for profitable agriculture emerged, and by late in the century, about 1790, the first long-staple Sea Island cotton was grown on the Myrtle Bank Plantation by William Elliott II. The Civil War Years By the outbreak of the Civil War, 1860, 20 working plantations had been established on Hilton Head Island, which was populated by slaves and overseers. Plantation owners did not live on the island. By 1862, Hilton Head was referred to as Port Royal in recognition of the British encampment on the island. By 1868 large-scale military occupation of the island had ended, and once again the area was referred to as Hilton Head Island Nearly a century later, the 1940s, the island's populated had dwindled to about 1,100 and was comprised of freedmen, who fished and took their catch to market in Savannah. After World War II, a group from Hinesville, GA, perceived the island's commercial timber potential and purchased 20,000 acres at the southern tip of the island for $60 an acre. Among them was Joseph B. Frazier, whose heirs would be responsible for the first commercial residential development, Sea Pines Plantation. The Awakening In 1950, the population was little more than 300, but in 1953 the state began operating a car ferry and in 1954 Hilton Head Elementary School was opened, and in 1955 the Sea Crest Motel was opened in the Forest Beach area.		In 1956 a "supermarket" and the Chamber of Commerce were opened; a toll bridge was opened; and Charles Frazier bought the logging acreage from his father, Joseph, for what would become Sea Pines Plantation. That same year, Frazier sold his initial beachfront lots for $5,350. Six years later, the same lots were selling for $9,600. Today, if available, they are priced in the millions. In 1959, the island's first golf course, the Ocean Course, designed by George Cobb, was built in Sea Pines Plantation. The McIntosh family subdivided 360 acres of The Hilton Head Company in 1960 and started Spanish Wells. The next year, Fred Hack began development of Port Royal Plantation. Then came the medical center and the first mall, and in 1967 Sea Pines Plantation installed the island's first gates. Harbour Town village was completed in 1969, and the island's full-time population had risen to 2,500. Shipyard Plantation began in 1970 and Hilton Head Plantation on the island's north end in 1971. By 1975, the resident population had climbed to 6,500, with 250,000 annual visitors. The much-dated two-lane swing bridge onto the island was replaced in 1982, the same year that Wexford Plantation and Long Cove Club were begun. The actual Town of Hilton Head Island was incorporated in 1983. And Today... Upscale golf and resort attire of khakis and polo shirts for men and Lilly Pulitzer's bold print dresses and bright shorts are the uniforms often seen emerging from BMWs and Mercedes. Collectively, these traits characterize a lifestyle that is casual and refined, and a demographic where the median age is 46. During the Spring Break summer months, the island's gentile politeness gives way to a higher volume level centered around Forest Beach. Keeping Busy Dining is often a major daily event with couple hundred choices — and price ranges — from which to choose. Some of the bet seafood is served at simple “local” establishments snuggled unassumingly on sandy back street. While the island has 24 golf courses [including 20 open to the public], tennis comes in as a strong second in popularity followed by power boating, fishing and kayaking. Seemingly, almost everyone bicycles, using the abundant and well-maintained paths, which simultaneously accommodate foot traffic. Other activities include visiting the more-than-four-dozen art galleries, a museum, a performance center, a symphony orchestra, an international piano competition, as well as day trips to Charleston, Savannah and tours of real colonial American "Plantations" of the Carolina Low Country.



	Information presented on this site is believed to be true and accurate. However, no responsibility for its accuracy and completeness is made or claimed. Copyright 2008, 2009, 2010 , 2011.. Hilton Head View. All Rights Reserved.