Daufuskie Island

Daufuskie Island Historic District
Haig Point Rear Range Light
Nearest city Hilton Head, South Carolina
Coordinates 32°6′47″N 80°51′59″W / 32.11306°N 80.86639°W / 32.11306; -80.86639Coordinates: 32°6′47″N 80°51′59″W / 32.11306°N 80.86639°W / 32.11306; -80.86639
Built 1728
Architectural style Greek Revival
NRHP Reference # 82003831
Added to NRHP June 2, 1982[1]

Daufuskie Island is a residential sea island between Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina about 2.75 miles (4.43 km) offshore. The total island surface is just 8 square miles (21 km2) within the maximum length of 5 miles (8.0 km) and maximum width of 2.5 miles (4.0 km).

Daufuskie has a full-time population of around 250. There are two resorts, a private residential community, and a large undeveloped tract of lands identified as residential property. The island was named a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places due to its Gullah and Civil War history.[2][3]

History

The island's recorded history traces back to Pre Revolutionary War times. It was the site of a skirmish called the "Daufuskie Fight" during the Yemassee War of 1715–1717. The island was home to a sizable population of Gullah inhabitants from the end of the Civil War until very recently. The Jimmy Buffett song, "The Prince Of Tides" (from his 1988 album, Hot Water) laments the urbanization of the island and loss of the Gullah. Pat Conroy's 1972 book The Water is Wide was set on Daufuskie, fictionalized as Yamacraw Island. The book recounts Conroy's experiences teaching on the island in the 1960s.

The Daufuskie Island Historical Foundation has a museum with historical artifacts of the island as well as a display with information about the Gullah history of the island.

Locations

The island is now split into five parts.

To the northeast is the Haig Point Club, a private, member owned residential club with around 150 year-round residents and over 225 homes.

South of Haig Point is the Daufuskie Resort, Melrose on the Beach. Formerly a private vacation club with an emphasis on golf and tennis, and offering a private residential component, this is now a publicly accessible resort. Farther south on the eastern side of the island is Oak Ridge, a small undeveloped oceanfront community, followed by Bloody Point, a semi-private residential and golf club community.

The western part of the island is unincorporated land. Several dozen residents live in a variety of accommodations, from trailers to beautiful waterfront homes with private docks. This section of the island received federal designation as a Historical District in the early 1980s. According to a study conducted by the Savannah College of Art and Design, the island has excellent examples of Gullah homes which have not been altered. There are descendants of the Gullah people living in this area on land which they have owned since just after the Civil War.

A census in 2007 by the local Daufuskie Island Fire and Rescue Department counted a total of just 429 residents living full-time on the entire island. Rock musician John Mellencamp built a house on the island and uses it as a retreat. [4]

Haig Point Front Range Light
Daufuskie Island

Culture and Governance

The island is also home to the First Union African Baptist Church, which is Daufuskie's oldest building, and is still in use today as a place of worship.

There are two historic lighthouses on Daufuskie Island. The Bloody Point Lighthouse, built in 1883, and the Haig Point Lighthouse, built ten years earlier.

The island is part of Beaufort County, SC and has an elected council composed of representatives from the Island’s existing groups including the Historic District, Island Conservancy, and Property Owner’s Associations. The Daufuskie Island Council serves as the official voice between Daufuskie and the County.

Education

Daufuskie Island School is a Beaufort County public school built in 1997. It is a modern facility with two classrooms, lunchroom and library. The students are in multigrade classrooms; Pre-K through 2nd grade and 3rd grade through 5th grade. Generally there are around 15-18 students each year and the school has significant community support and many volunteers on the island.

Students in grades 6–12 are transported to the Hilton Head Middle School and High School by a ferry. On Daufuskie, these students take a small school bus to the ferry. Once the students reach Hilton Head, they are picked up by a county school bus and taken to their appropriate school campus. The entire trip is about an hour and ten minutes each morning and afternoon. The students often do their homework or simply nap during the boat ride.

Transportation

There are no bridges that connect Daufuskie with mainland South Carolina; therefore all island access must come by boat. Ferries run from Hilton Head Island twice a day to the island.

Beaufort County provides a subsidized ferry that transports residents. The Haig Point Club has its own private ferry service. There are also several private companies that provide high speed water taxi services to the island. Residents of the clubs, as well as some of the other residents on the island, use golf carts and bicycles to travel around the island, although there are a handful of cars and trucks, too.

Flora and fauna

Dolphins gliding in front of the Haig Point private ferry

The Daufuskie Island Conservancy is one of several local organizations charged with preserving the ecosystem, flora and fauna, and quality of life on Daufuskie Island. Details of these groups and their meetings can be found at the island's only news source The Daufuskie Front Porch. In addition there is a web portal for the island with local interests and local business listings at Daufuskie Tides

Daufuskie Island boasts a wide variety of nature and animal life. One of the notable animals that inhabits the island is the fox squirrel. The bald eagle is also one of the magnificent creatures found on the island. During the day, you can see eagles soaring high in the air and occasionally swooping into the water for a catch.

Resort amenities

The island has four golf courses, the Bloody Point Course, designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, the Melrose Golf Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and the 20 hole Haig Point Signature Course plus the 9-hole Haig Point Osprey Course designed by Rees Jones.

The 20-hole Haig Point Golf Course is designed to be played as two separate 18-hole courses, one easier, one more difficult. The course has two extra "easy" par threes and many holes have two sets of tees. It is a unique and ingenious design that allows every level of player to enjoy the Signature Course and its natural beauty. Ten of the twenty holes have spectacular marsh, sound and ocean views.

Notable natives

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Starr, Rebecca (1981). "Daufuskie Island Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  3. ↑ "Daufuskie Island Historic District, Beaufort County (Daufuskie Island)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Architectural Digest, March 2014

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, January 25, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.