Learning about Historic Hilton Head Island

The first written history of Hilton Head begins with Spanish explorers in 1562, who named the area from Key West to the St. Lawrence River, Florida. Before that time, the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples, and evidence of their culture can be seen in the landmark Shell Belt sites across the island. In 1562, French Huguenot captain Jean Ribaut explore the area and built a strong today near Port Royal. The territory was formally named Carolina in 1663 when King Charles II of England granted the land to a group of owners known simply as the Lord Eight owners. The name of Hilton Head comes from the English Capt. William Hilton, who named it for himself in 1663. A few years later, in 1698, started English settlements in the area known as the Low Country. In 1717, Colonel John Barnwell became the first permanent settler on the island after it was granted a thousand acres by the Lord Proprietors.During the Revolutionary War, Hilton Head Island was occupied by the settlers, while some island was Dafuskie occupied the Tories, or British Sympathizers. During the conflict, British soldiers burned the plantation on the island and captured slaves, the sale to the West Indies. After the war, the island was recovered and became a flourishing center of agriculture, export of rice, indigo, and cotton. At the time of the Civil War, South Carolina was one of the most prosperous states, many millionaires and lived in Hilton Head Island. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union in 1860, and in October 1861, 77 ships had sailed the Union from Virginia to Port Royal, the island became, towards the end of the war, the swinging of the headquarters of the South Atlantic blockade Squadron, as well as a transfer point for prisoners of war and wounded soldiers. The first Black Union troops also came from the island, former slaves who, after the war, used the money they earned as soldiers to buy land and settle in Hilton Head. The largest naval engagement of the Civil War, the Battle of Port Royal, was also fought in the shores.Today islands, the island is an immensely popular tourist destination, the incorporation of parts of Hilton Heads rich history today in museums, monuments and historical sites. While you are on vacation on the island, be sure to see some of these places for you to discover more about the unique history of the area
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