St. Helena Island is a Sea Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. The island is connected to Beaufort by U.S. Highway 21. The island has a land area of about 64 sq mi (170 km2) and a population of 8,763 as of the 2010 census. It is included as part of the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Area. The island is renowned for its rural Lowcountry character and being a major center of African-American Gullah culture and language. It is considered to be the geographic influence behind the children's television program Gullah Gullah Island.
Frogmore is an unincorporated community on St. Helena Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States, along U.S. Route 21.
Edgar Fripp Mausoleum, St. Helena Island Parish Church is a historic mausoleum in Frogmore, South Carolina.
St. Helena Parish Chapel of Ease Ruins is a historic site in Frogmore, South Carolina on Saint Helena Island.
The Frogmore Plantation Complex, located on Saint Helena Island, in Beaufort County, South Carolina, is significant for several reasons. First, the plantation home, along with its contributing properties, offers an excellent example of the area's architectural development from 1790–1920. Second, the plantation's long association with prominent families contributes to its significance. The plantation was first owned by Lieutenant Governor William Bull, who then willed it to his son in 1750.
Emanuel Alston House is a historic home located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1915, and is a rectangular one-story, vernacular frame dwelling on a brick foundation, with a metal hipped roof. The front façade features a full-width porch, with a low hipped roof. A shed or hipped roof dormer located on the front roof slope provides light and ventilation to the attic space.
Dr. York Bailey House, also known as the Sara Rhodan House, is a historic home located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1915, and is a two-story, vernacular frame American Foursquare style dwelling. It was built for Dr. York W. Bailey (1881-1971), a prominent native of the island who was St. Helena's first African-American doctor and only resident physician for over 50 years. He lived in this house until his death in 1971. The York W. Bailey Cultural Center and Museum at Penn Community Center is named for him.
The Corner Store and Office, also known as the Frogmore Emporium, Macdonald, Wilkins, and Company Store and Mark D. Batchelder Office, is a historic general store, residence and, eventually, office building located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. Primarily built as a house, it was built about 1877, and is a two-story, wood-frame building with a gable roof. It features a two-story wraparound porch. The adjacent one-story house was built about 1905. The store sold provisions to the islanders, most of whom were African American, and became one of the major centers of commercial and social activity on St. Helena. The home and businesses in the building were owned by Cameron Thomas and his relatives for most of the 20th century. The family lived in the back and upstairs portion of the house, while the front included a general store and liquor store, with the small house added on used as a residence for relatives. The store also had the only gas pump on the island for many years.
The Green is a historic open-space located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It is the site of community meetings, celebrations, and other gatherings. The Green was the site of the first Darrah Hall, an auditorium and community center built about 1885 by Penn School, and destroyed in 1893. Since that time the Green has continued to serve as a gathering place for the people of St. Helena Island. At the rear of The Green is the Knights of Wise Men Lodge.
Riverside Plantation Tabby Ruins is a historic archeological site located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The ruins are significant as an example of early- to mid-19th century tabby construction. The ruins are the remains of an outbuilding associated with the Riverside Plantation and have great archaeological potential.
The Oaks, also known as the Cooler House, is a historic plantation house located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1855, and is a two-story, vernacular frame I-House. Edward L. Pierce chose The Oaks as his headquarters during the military occupation of St. Helena during the American Civil War. The Oaks was the center for military and agricultural activities on the island. On June 18, 1862, Ellen Murray, who had ten days earlier arrived from Pennsylvania, opened the Penn School for Freedmen in a back room of the house. The house also served as a hotel for military personnel from Port Royal, superintendents, and teachers.
Lands End Road Tabby Ruins is a historic archeological site located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The site contains the archaeological remains of a large late-18th to early-19th century house. The site has a tabby foundation pier and the partial outlines of a structure.
St. Helenaville Archaeological Site is a historic archeological site located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. St. Helenaville was a small antebellum village and summer retreat located on the northeastern end of St. Helena Island. St. Helenaville was damaged by several major storms, which ultimately caused part of the village to fall into the sound. There is very little historical documentation of the village. Several remains of tabby and brick are evident.
Tombee Plantation is a historic plantation house located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1790–1800, and is two-story, T-shaped frame dwelling. It is sheathed in clapboard and has a gable roof. It features a single-story front portico with four square columns and a two-story balustraded rear porch with six square columns on each floor. Along with Seaside Plantation, it is one of the few surviving antebellum plantation houses remaining on St. Helena Island. The Tombee Plantation property was divided into tracts during the days of the "Port Royal Experiment" in 1862. It remained in the hands of descendants of freed slaves until 1971.
Seaside Plantation, also known as the Edgar Fripp Plantation, is a historic plantation house located on Saint Helena Island near Beaufort, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1795 to 1810, and is a two-story, frame dwelling in a transitional Georgian / Federal style. It features one-story hip roofed portico. Seaside was one of the plantations participating in the Port Royal Experiment and had as its labor superintendent Charles Pickard Ware (1840–1921). Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837-1914) also resided at Seaside Plantation. Along with Tombee Plantation, Seaside is one of only a few remaining antebellum plantation houses on St. Helena. Also on the property are the contributing original, brick-lined well, a clapboard shed, a large barn with clapboard siding and tin roof, and a round concrete and oyster shell silo.
Robert Simmons House, also known as the Willie Simmons House, is a historic home located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The original section was built about 1910 by farmer Robert Simmons, and subsequently expanded. It is a double pen house type on metal piers, with a full-width shed roof porch supported by wood posts. It is a rare example of a vernacular architectural form once common to St. Helena Island.
Eddings Point Community Praise House is a historic church located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1900, and is a narrow, one-story gable roofed building of frame construction with the entrance in the gable end. It is significant as one of four known extant African-American praise houses on St. Helena Island, and was a central place in the religious and social life of the black islanders.
Mary Jenkins Community Praise House is a historic church located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. It was built about 1900, and is a narrow, one-story gable roofed building of frame construction with the entrance in the gable end. It is significant as one of four known extant African-American praise houses on St. Helena Island. The building remains in use.
Orange Grove Plantation is a historic plantation house and national historic district located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The district encompasses one contributing building and two contributing sites, and reflects the early-20th century influx of Northerners onto St. Helena Island. The plantation was first recorded in 1753 when Peter Perry purchased 473 acres. Perry owned 46 chattel slaves. The plantation house, built about 1800, was in poor condition when Henry L. Bowles (1866-1932), a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts, bought the property in 1928. He demolished it and built the present house in the same year. The property also includes the tabby ruin of the kitchen, built about 1800, and a tabby-walled cemetery containing three early-19th century graves of the Fripp and Perry families.
Pine Island Plantation Complex is a historic hunting plantation complex and national historic district located on Pine Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The district encompasses six contributing buildings and one contributing sites, and is an early-20th century hunting plantation. The main house at Pine Island was built about 1904, and is a two-story frame structure built on an existing tabby foundation. The front façade features a full-width two-story porch. Also on the property are the contributing cottage, a toolshed/doghouse, a barn, a pumphouse, an automobile garage, and causeway.
