History Our Roots Run Deep

Long before settlers began making their mark in this pristine wilderness just north of the Savannah River more than 250 years ago, a group of indigenous people inhabited the coastal South Carolina Lowcountry. The Yemassee Indians moved around the area until the Yemassee War broke out in 1715 and the tribe migrated to Florida after several years of fighting.

Historic Old Town Bluffton emerged in the early 1800s as small dwellings high atop river bluffs overlooking the May River. Strong southerly breezes from the river kept the infectious mosquitoes at bay and made sultry summer days bearable, so this coastal community grew in popularity during the antebellum period, an escape from the harsh inland plantation conditions in the summer months that often manifested into yellow fever and malaria outbreaks. 

The layout of the town's streets in 1830 suggests Bluffton started as a summer haven, but soon developed into a commercial center for isolated plantations in the vicinity that received their goods from Savannah by way of the May River. The town was a place where children could attend school and planter families could socialize and discuss the politics of the day. Two notable structures reflecting the history and architecture of the time are The Heyward House, circa 1840, and The Church of the Cross.

A hotbed for political rhetoric, some of the first cries of secession were given voice and debate in Bluffton in 1844. Incensed planters gathered beneath what became known as the "Secession Oak" (which still exists in Bluffton today, on private property), and the secessionist movement was born. Sixteen years later South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.

On June 4, 1863, several Union gunboats and a transport carrying 1,000 infantrymen steamed up the river to Bluffton because, as the officer in charge wrote in his report, "This town has been the headquarters for the rebels for a long time in this vicinity." Troops were landed with orders to fire the town. Confederate soldiers attacked but were outnumbered and outgunned. When shelling and torching ended and the Union forces withdrew, 34 or more homes, churches and other buildings had been destroyed.

With the Civil War raging and Union forces' occupation of Hilton Head Island and Beaufort, the town was mostly abandoned by residents and utilized as a base for Confederate pickets observing Union troop movements. The town was pillaged by Union forces on several excursions up the May River and eventually burned in June of 1863. The overall destruction was severe, 75% of the town was destroyed, and only 15 homes and two churches survived.

By the turn of the century, the town again experienced growth thanks to a burgeoning oyster harvesting business and the opening of several hardware and dry good stores. Lowcountry residents returned to Bluffton, a place many continue to call home, for the summer. The 1922 construction of the Houlihan Bridge from Port Wentworth, GA, to SC Highway 17 ended commercial trade by water within a few years. This shift away from commercial trade ushered in a new phase of Bluffton development, returning to its roots as a summer getaway.

Over the last 60 years, Bluffton has attracted many full-time residents due to the growth of Hilton Head Island as a major vacation destination. Today Bluffton is one of the fastest-growing towns in South Carolina and has become an important tourism partner with Hilton Head Island.