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.
The Old Sheldon Church Ruins is a historic site located in northern Beaufort County, South Carolina, approximately 17 miles (30 km) north of Beaufort in the Sheldon area.
The Penn Center, formerly the Penn School, is an African-American cultural and educational center in the Corners Community, on Saint Helena Island. Founded in 1862 by Quaker and Unitarian missionaries from Pennsylvania, it was the first school founded in the Southern United States specifically for the education of African-Americans. It provided critical educational facilities to Gullah slaves freed after plantation owners fled the island, and continues to fulfill an educational mission. Leigh Richmond Miner photographed students and activities at the school.
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, United States.
The Corner Packing Shed, in Frogmore, South Carolina, is a historic packing house on St. Helena Island that was built in 1930. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
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 to 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.
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.
Isaac Fripp House Ruins is a historic house ruin and archaeological site located on Saint Helena Island near Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The ruins are located at Bay View overlooking the junction of Chowan Creek and the Beaufort River. The two-story, tabby house dates to the early- to mid-19th century. It is associated with Isaac Fripp, a planter of sea island cotton and other staples on St. Helena Island.
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.
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.
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.
Sams Plantation Complex Tabby Ruins is a historic plantation complex and archaeological site located at Frogmore, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The site, possibly built upon and occupied well before 1783. It includes the ruins and/or archaeological remains of at least 12 tabby structures. They include the main plantation house, a rectangular enclosure consisting of tabby walls, a large tabby kitchen, and five tabby slave quarters. Also on the property were a variety of tabby dependencies including a barn/stable, a smoke house or blade house, a well/dairy house, and a well. The property also includes the Sams family cemetery and Episcopal chapel enclosed by high tabby walls. Other structures include possibly an overseer's house, a granary/mill, and a tabby cotton house. During and subsequent to the American Civil War the Sams Tabby Complex was occupied by freedman. Following the Civil War the plantation house was destroyed by hurricanes.
The Parish Church of St. Helena is a historic Anglican church in Beaufort, South Carolina. Founded in 1712, it is among the oldest churches in the United States. Its building—erected in 1724 but expanded and substantially modified in the 19th century—is among the oldest continuously used church buildings in the United States. The church is a contributing property to the Beaufort Historic District, and the broader parish encompasses several sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Beaufort County.
