It details the steps taken by Hilton to aid in the prevention of modern slavery and human trafficking in any part of its business and supply chains during the Financial Year 2016. Mitchelville lasted from 1862 to 1877, when it finally dissolved. Hilton Head Tours for Annual Events Important annual events welcome the public to enjoy a showcase of the culture. The Gullah Heritage Tour was a part of our Alternative Spring Break Program while visiting Hilton Head. In the Chaplin neighborhood, Irv told us about beach pavilions. the famous Underground Railroad freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman. Today, you can view these artifacts of Hilton Head Island history at Sea Pines Forest Preserve and on the north end of the Island, off Squire Pope Road in Green Shell Park. “They used to bring in Motown singers, from 1957 to ’70,” Irv reminisced. The Federal government seized the property. Consequently, Hilton Head Island lapsed into obscurity, remaining isolated for over 80 years. Negro Universities Press, New York (reprint of 1862 edition). Between Skull Creek and Jarvis Creek These descendents of West African slaves take their name from the Gola or Gula tribe from Liberia and Sierra Leone. While the entire area was named Bayley’s Barony, Hilton Head Island was referred to as Trench’s Island, in honor of Alexander Trench, the Bayley’s property agent and collector of land-lease fees. It decided upon the novel idea of an “experiment”: Try paying wages to these contrabands (the awful word used to describe slaves freed by Union forces as well as for those who had escaped). –Wally, Tagged: south carolina, gullah, usa, africa, hilton head. “This used to be our downtown,” Irv said. Named to the National Register of Historic Places, the cemetery and mausoleum is owned and maintained by the Heritage Library and the site is open to the public for respectful visits. Within two days of the Union victory on Hilton Head, Sea Island blacks began descending on the outpost. Irv’s involved in a project to restore Mitchelville. Whatever was left was given to Simmons, who would sail off to Savannah, Georgia once a week to sell the goods. “We’d drive right on the beach. John Barnwell became Hilton Head Island’s first English settler in 1717 after receiving a grant of 1,000 acres in what is now Hilton Head Plantation. “You could get anything at these stores, from penny candy to a piece of equipment for your horse harness,” he told us. Squire Pope is the largest Gullah neighborhood on the island. After the war, as the freed slaves on the island attempted to grow Sea Island cotton, the boll weevil proved to be even more devastating. One of the oldest structures on the island, the Queen Chapel, A.M.E. Church is located on Beach City Road. When I first came to the island as a kid, I learned that McDonald’s had to build a brick restaurant to fit in with the Hilton Head aesthetic, and that they weren’t allowed to put up their trademark golden arches. You could suck that for two days! Armed with vision, energy, modern air conditioning and investment dollars, he created a master plan for a resort community. In 1862, Mitchelville was established near current Beach City Road and was the nation's first Freedmen's village, self-governing … The chapel was completed in 1788 and the Baynard Mausoleum was built in 1846. “We’d catch enough fish to feed those families who didn’t have a boat. Remnants of mysterious shell rings, measuring up to 240 feet across and nine feet high, can still be found on the Island. It was the first self-governing town of formerly enslaved African Americans. 1862 - Hilton Head's population swelled to over 40,000, including Union troops, civilian store-keepers, missionaries, prisoners of war, and slaves seeking refuge from their owners. Request a free copy of the Hilton Head Island Vacation Planner and learn about all the attractions, activities, unique history and places to stay on Hilton Head Island. In 1663, English sea captain William Hilton landed on Hilton Head Island and, thus, the seeds of the first successful plantations were sown. Back in the day, the pavilions would have changing rooms, showers and a dance floor, all under one roof. They survived modestly on small farms and as hunters and fisherman. ©2020 Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce & Visitor and Convention Bureau. We’d take that candy to the water pump, wash off those ants and start sucking on it again!”. In 1860, fourteen prominent families and their slaves lived on Hilton Head and most spent their time off the island. Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm. Hilton Head Island’s natural beauty, spectacular seascapes, exceptional ecology and South Carolina historical sites now beckon a new generation of explorers. And it is a story about the survival of a people against seemingly insurmountable odds. Originally from Pinckney Island, he moved to Hilton Head and was listed as a resident of the town of Historic Mitchelville, the first self-governed town run by freed slaves where Matthew went on to marry Teena Middleton and through a lot of hard work was able to raise enough money to eventually buy 27 acres of Stoney/Squire Pope land for $225. The Port Royal Experiment involved paying freed slaves for the first time — right near the start of the Civil War. Mitchelville on Hilton Head was the first self-governing community of freed slaves in the US, established during the Union Army occupation of the Sea Islands. That's not the case any longer, he added. The government provided freedmen a quarter of an acre of land and the materials to build a 22-by-18-foot house. Enjoy easy days relaxing in the sun, sand and surf on some of the best beaches in the country. He confiscated some land on Confederate General Thomas Fenwick Drayton’s Fish Haul Plantation, laid put streets and lots, and provided lumber for the former slaves to build their homes in a town that would be called Mitchelville. Keep in mind that this was all near the beginning of the Civil War. But travel is so much more than just ticking sites off your itinerary. They founded the town of Mitchelville, the first freedmen's town in America. Location – Hilton Head Island, Beaufort County In Sea Pines Plantation, a present-day real estate development, 84 Baynard Park Road at Plantation Drive. Gotta be setbacks and buffers.”. Finally, the main house ruins are the only tabby mansion built on Hilton Head Island. In 1861, nearly all of Hilton Head Island was covered by plantations worked by slaves, according to maps from The Heritage Library and Beaufort County historians. “My name’s Irvin Campbell — but you can call me Irv,” he said. There were four Gullah general stores that sold gas, along with a vast assortment of other goods. Stunning Resorts. Next day, what would it be covered with? Strict rules remain when it comes to construction projects. Most noteworthy, the Gullah Celebration is scheduled throughout Hilton Head and Bluffton each February for Black History Month. Its original inhabitants were known for fishing and shrimping. November 11: “Slavery – the Cornerstone of the Plantation Society and the Confederacy,” at the Coastal Discovery Museum, at 3 p.m. John Monkaitis will present a lecture on the role that slavery played as the cornerstone of the Planter Society in the Lowcountry. Thing is, only the whites were affected; because South Carolina has a similar semitropical environment to Africa, and the Gullahs had sickle cell immunity, slaves didn’t get sick, Irv told us. I had a hard time imagining even one person having room to lie down to sleep in a space of that size — especially if there was a stove or table or any other piece of furniture, never mind if an extended family lived together. Hilton Head Island in the Civil War by Robert Carse | $20. In what is now called Fish Haul Creek Park on the “heel” of the island, the community of Mitchelville was created. During this period, the Island maintained a small population of mostly the descendants of former slaves. Today, they own less than 1,000, Irv informed us. Describes Hilton Head Island’s involvement in the Civil War: its invasion by the Union Army, and the bustling life during the War, with Union encampments and Mitchelville, the first town established for newly-freed slaves. “On Hilton Head, we believe in setbacks and buffers. “The Gullah people are the descendants of the slaves who worked on the rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia,” said historian Joseph Opala. Drayton's negro quarters, Hilton Head, S.C. Summary Photograph shows soldiers and slaves in front of the slave quarters on Drayton's plantation. However, Hilton Head Island did not gain worldwide recognition until 1790 when another planter, William Elliott, successfully raised the first crop of long-staple Sea Island cotton. I was 18 years old.”. Brought to the New World and forced to work on the plantations of coastal South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, Gullah/Geechee people have retained many aspects of their African heritage due to the geographic barriers of the … Gullah tends to be used more often to describe those living in South Carolina, and Geechee for those in Georgia. “Many people realized they could move anywhere else,” Irv said. We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Event Details. We’d save the wrapper, suck on it all day, then put it on our windowsill. It is the oldest structure still standing on the island, and more Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in this coastal cemetery than anywhere else on the coast other than Charleston. Later, in 1989, the Cross Island Parkway was constructed, making Hilton Head even more accessible to the vacationers (many from Ohio, as it’s about the max you’d be able to drive in a day) that now flock here every summer. In the 1920s to the ’50s, Gullahs would trade fruit, veggies and wild game on the Simmons family’s property in Spanish Wells. Gullah of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Popularly called sea pines, the trees produced lumber for a variety of uses. “In fact, the reports of the success of Mitchelville were so glowing, that the famous Underground Railroad freedom fighter, Harriet Tubman, was sent to Hilton Head to see this bustling town, so she could share the story of Mitchelville’s self-governed success with future freedmen towns.”. “When Union troops invaded Hilton Head Island on November 7, 1861, Baynard and other plantation owners fled inland. Keep in mind that this was all near the beginning of the Civil War. Click here for more information. The Gullah/Geechee people are descendants of enslaved Africans from various ethnic groups of west and central Africa. many of them with no other clothing than gunny-sacks. Skip the stress of highway traffic and parking on a full-day boat tour to Savannah from Hilton Head Island. Basic Information. Venue: Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn. November 11: “Slavery – the Cornerstone of the Plantation Society and the Confederacy,” at the Coastal Discovery Museum, at 3 p.m. John Monkaitis will present a lecture on the role that slavery played as the cornerstone of the Planter Society in the Lowcountry. In the late 1940’s, the Island experienced a sort of re-birth when a group of timbermen recognized great potential in the Island’s tall, straight pines. After the war, the Island made a healthy recovery. Yet, like the enigmatic rocks of Stonehenge and the carvings of Easter Island, their secrets remain hidden. Today, historic Mitchelville is preserved as a tourist attraction, while the Gullah Geechee are squeezed onto ever-smaller tracts of land. One Union soldier stationed on Hilton Head at the time recounted: negro slaves came flocking into our camp by the hundreds, escaping from their masters when they knew of the landing of "Linkum sojers," as they called us . 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