Beaufort, South Carolina

 

Welcome

 

Beaufort is a city of traditional gracious beauty and character. Striking pre-Revolutionary and Civil War mansions are found in the city and placid and productive marshes teeming with life and broad rivers roll down to the great sounds. It is a city of antiquity and pride, where family roots and accomplishments count a great deal more than material aspects of life.

 

One of the first areas in America to be visited by European explorers, it has known Spanish conquistadors, French Huguenot colonists, English privateers and pirates, Scottish fur traders, Indian wars and bloody fighting during the Revolutionary War. It was the center of culture and affluence prior to the Civil War when great fortunes were made first in the cultivation of rice and indigo and later in long staple sea cotton.

 

The South Carolina historian McCraddy wrote that the plantation owners in this area, who had summer homes in Beaufort, made that city, “one of the wealthiest, most aristocratic and cultivated towns of its size in America.”

 

It was also a hotbed of secessionist sentiment and the original Ordinance of Secession was drawn up in Beaufort. South Carolina led the withdrawal of the southern states from the rest of America and as a result, Beaufort was made an early objective for recapture by the U.S. government.

 

The Federal forces launched an attack from the sea in November 1861 and brushed aside the weak and incomplete Confederate defenses. Beaufort was occupied for the next several years and many homes were sold for as little as $15 in back taxes. For years the economic desolation resulting from the war left the county without any viable industry. Later, Phosphate mining and a U.S. Naval base were the only sources of revenue.

 

After World War II in particular, it was discovered that this area was one of the last undeveloped and unpolluted areas on the East Coast.

 

A residential boom began at locations around Beaufort, which attracted industry to the area, and the county population grew accordingly.

 

Beaufort County offers the visitor or new resident miles of beautiful beaches, unsurpassed sports opportunities and a quiet, easy pace of living that is seldom found in other parts of America.

 

Area Housing

 

There are many apartments, condominiums and single-family homes in Beaufort County. A list of these is available from the local Chamber
of Commerce. Visit www.beaufortsc.org.

 

Utilities

 

Telephone

 

No set policy. If your record from your previous area is good, no deposit is required. If deposit is required, the minimum is $100. Minimum service connection charge is $32.30 plus one month’s local service charge. For more information, call 522-9404.

 

Electric and Gas

 

$150 plus two IDs.

 

South Carolina Electric and
Gas Co……………………….. 525-7700

 

Route 2, Highway 170

 

P.O. Box 1168

 

Beaufort, SC 29901

 

Beaufort–Jasper Water & Sewer Authority

 

To establish service for areas served by BJWSA in Beaufort and Jasper Counties contact:

 

Beaufort……………………….. 987-9200

 

Bluffton………………………… 707-0017

 

Cable TV

 

Charter Communications. (800) 955-7766

 

60 Robert Smalls Parkway

 

Beaufort, SC 29906

 

COMCAST Cable……………….. 522-1341

 

Beaufort, SC 29904

 

Hargray Cable…………………. 379-9000

 

130 Robert Smalls Parkway

 

Beaufort, SC 29906

 

Schools

 

Public

 

The Beaufort County School District operates 16 elementary schools, seven middle schools, three senior high schools, one early college and one school for exceptional children. Each of three regional clusters—Battery Creek, Beaufort and Hilton Head—has its own elementary, middle and high schools. A total of more than 17,500 students are enrolled annually. For specific information, contact:

 

Superintendent of Schools……. 322-2300

 

Board of Education Building

 

1300 King St.

 

P.O. Box 309

 

Beaufort, SC 29901

 

The Beaufort Academy is an independent school with a present enrollment of approximately 375 students in grades K3 through 12.

 

Private

 

There are six private schools available.
Contact the headmaster of each for specific information.

 

School Administration

 

Registration for all returning students at Laurel Bay begins mid-July. Laurel Bay Primary School serves pre-kindergarten through second grade, and Laurel Bay Intermediate School serves grades three through six. Registration for all new students will be held during the first week of August. Parents must have a birth certificate, South Carolina immunization record and social security card to register a new student. The South Carolina immunization record can be obtained from the Naval Hospital Beaufort and kindergarten students must be 5 years old on or before Sept. 1. A half-day preschool program for all 4-year-olds is offered at Laurel Bay. Call 522-7002.

 

Colleges/Universities

 

University of South Carolina….. 521-4100

 

Beaufort Regional Campus

 

800 Carteret St.

 

Beaufort, SC

 

Technical College of the
Lowcountry…………………… 525-8330

 

100 Ribaut Road

 

Beaufort, SC 29902

 

Webster University……………. 524-1851

 

P.O. Box 6115

 

Beaufort, SC 29902

 

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University Worldwide……….. 228-7585

 

Park University………………… 522-9123

 

P.O. Box 9065

 

Marine Corps Air Station

 

Beaufort, SC 29904

 

Limestone College Block
Program………………. (800) 795-7151

 

Beaufort-Jasper Career Education Center

 

1115 College Drive

 

Gaffney, SC 29340

 

Adult Education

 

Contact the Beaufort County Adult Education Department at 322-0780.

 

Shopping Centers/
Newspapers and Magazines

 

There are numerous shopping centers, banks and savings and loans in the area. The local paper is The Beaufort Gazette. Also available are The Island Packet; The State; Charleston Post and Courier; Bluffton Today; USA Today, The Gullah Sentinel and News Piedmont.

 

Transportation

 

Beaufort is mainly dependent upon the automobile. Major highways within the region include Interstate 95 and U.S. Highways 17, 21, 170 and 278. I-95, the main north-south corridor on the East Coast, extends from Maine to Miami, Fla., carrying an average of more than 16,000 vehicles per day through lower South Carolina, and connects with all other eastern interstates. Easy access is provided at Exit 33 to other major highways: U.S. Highway 17, the coastal route to the ports of Charleston and Savannah, U.S. Highway 278 to the towns of Bluffton and Hilton Head Island, and U.S. Highway 170 and 21 to the city of Beaufort and town of Port Royal. A number of significant improvement projects for the Beaufort regional highway system have begun and other improvement projects are proposed for the Beaufort County Transportation Program. Other types of transportation compliment the roadways.

 

Buses

 

The Lowcountry Regional Transportation Authority provides public bus transportation for the general public. For bus route schedules and fares, which varies with type of transportation, call the executive director at (888) 757-5782. The Greyhound Bus Lines serve the low country area with tickets for distant traveling; 1307 Boundary St., 524-4646.

 

Taxi Service

 

Independent cab companies operate taxis in Beaufort County. Beaufort County taxi fares are regulated by the City Council.

 

Rail

 

Trains leaving out of Yemassee, S.C., (approximately 25 miles north) are the only passenger trains running through the Lowcountry. For prices and schedules call Amtrak at (800) 835-8725.

 

Air Service

 

Beaufort County has two county-owned airports, one on Lady’s Island and the other on Hilton Head Island. Federal funding, coupled with local county and state expenditures, has resulted in many recent improvements to both airports. The Beaufort County Airport (Frogmore International) is located on U.S. Highway 21, four miles from downtown Beaufort. This airport has a 3,430-foot runway, radio-controlled runway lights, and a dawn to dusk terminal, including fuel availability and limited services and increased civil aviation capacity. The runway was extended to 5,000 feet, allowing up to 50 passenger planes, an increase from the current limit of 30-passenger planes.

 

Airline service is available at Savannah Airport (55 miles south of Beaufort on Georgia 307) and Charleston Airport (75 miles north of Beaufort on Interstate 526) with regularly scheduled airline service, as well as air freight.