Be Part of the Project
Recover. Restore. Remember.
Be Part of the Project of a Lifetime
Hilton Head Island Themes
Introduction Text Subtitle
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam in felis ut ligula ullamcorper ultricies. Donec varius elit sit amet leo rutrum, sed fringilla tortor ornare. Cras eget dignissim erat, sit amet dictum orci. Vestibulum vulputate hendrerit massa. Etiam ac nisl a erat laoreet tincidunt quis imperdiet lorem. Donec eros lacus, egestas et massa in, convallis egestas justo. Nullam dictum leo ipsum, auctor bibendum neque gravida id. Aenean posuere auctor ligula, non porta odio iaculis ac. Etiam feugiat enim sed pharetra imperdiet. Aliquam tincidunt venenatis nisl, vitae posuere nibh mollis accumsan. Nullam hendrerit a libero sed viverra.
Education
Farming
Civil Rights
Fishing and Hunting
Commerical Development
Recreation
Conflicts
Tales and History from the Islands
Explore the Themes
Hilton Head was the first free place for slaves. The other slaves from the upper part of Georgia and some Florida, they came, because they were able to buy land on Hilton Head and Daufuskie, which they made they home.
That’s how my grandparents and her parents, and her grandparents, came from St. Simons Island, Georgia.
That’s how my grandparents and her parents, and her grandparents, came from St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Audio file
This candy was made from cane syrup, and they would boil this syrup until it becomes that thick—they’d test it that when they drop it into a little water, it would become all crystalized. But before it gets in this position to becomes crystallized, they would let this cool off enough that you could handle it with your hand.
Audio file
So that’s how come I got the job. And I worked on the Island for 39 years, and would have worked longer because I wasn’t at the retiring age, in 1969, but I had to come out on account of desegregation. At that time, they were all Black students on the Island; there was no white at that time. And so there were two Black teachers at the time. And they had to desegregate the teachers, so I came out and Conroy came in.
Audio file
Savannah River water runs out through the rivers of—Mongin River, which is the river for Daufuskie, and being that the oysters die from the pollution of the water, so the factories had to discontinue. Then employees, the menfolk, [inaudible] the cotton went bad, the oysters went bad.
Audio file
There were sea-goin’ vessels that would come out here. If you were goin’ to Daufuskie, you’d go to Savannah, or Bluffton, or Hilton Head. You wouldn’t come from here. These are sailin’ vessels, with all the—brought in spices, and probably slaves, and everything else in here back in those days.
Audio file
That was where the light shone, and it synchronized with a light that was on that concrete footing there, between the two little wineries. That was a tower about a hundred feet high. And that was the back range.
Audio file
Train went down almost to what they called “Jimmy Lee’s Landing.” There was a little old shack down there, where they opened oysters. They’d bring oysters in and open ‘em up, and they’d take ‘em over to the public landin’, where the big house was. They had a large oyster-shuckin’ place over there.
Audio file
Well, along that ditch goin’ over and toward the front of Flossie’s now, they raised rice. ‘Cause she said that the ricebirds got so bad, they ate the rice when it’s in its milky stage. Rice is in its milky stage before it gets firm, before it gets mature. And these ricebirds love that milky stage of the rice. And so, they just about eat it all up. So, they just had to quit doin’ rice, period.
Audio file
Bateaus were very popular back in those days. Back in the 1920s, and even earlier. In fact, I guess that was the only bateau that was made on the island. People really did enjoy rowin’ ‘em because they were easy to row and they were lightweight.
Audio file
It was yours, and it was not yours. It's like living next to a couple of lots that are not yet developed, and you can go out and play on those lots, but then as soon as the owner came and built a house on it, you were no longer able to play on that lot.
Audio file
Fishing and farming, small farms was one of the main industries in the Island. Gathering oysters, and shrimping, fishing. The fishing was done when someone wanted to sell their fish, caught enough to sell. Either caught with a cast net or what we call a seine net of about 100 feet or so, depending on what the men could handle.
Audio file
The Black kids had to go to Beaufort, Savannah, someplace else to complete high school. They did not have a full high school. And so, after elementary school, many of them had to quit if the parents couldn't afford to send them away.
Audio file