Hilton Head Island, A Very Brief History

Photo courtesy of Hargray Communications

While the island you see today may impress you with its sugar-sand beaches, world-class golf and tennis, and accommodations fit for royalty, it also has another, historical life that has little to do with sensuous suntans and fabulous par fours.

Over 12,000 years ago Woodland Indians "discovered" the shell fish riches of the island and visiting here in spring and fall. A number of "mysterious" shell rings have been preserved in the area, most notably one that dates back to 4,000 B.C. in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

Spanish explorers "discovered" Hilton Head Island in the early16th Century, looking for a secure source for fresh drinking water, in an area of the island appropriately called Spanish Wells.

But it wasn't until 1663, when the English Captain William Hilton, who was sponsored by Barbados plantation owners, "discovered" the "sweet water and clear sweet air" that the island finally got its name. The good captain, seeing the island's headlands (now Hilton Head Plantation), named it after himself.

During the War of Independence, Hilton Head Island was Wig, while it's sister island, Daufuskie, was Tory. Both islands saw brother against brother bloodshed, a prelude to the next great war.

On November 7, 1861, Hilton Head was overtaken by the largest amphibious landing prior to World War II. About 14,000 troops and laborers stormed the beaches (no Port Royal Plantation) and the island became the "Headquarters of the South" for the Union Army's successful blockade of the Confederacy. By the end of the war, Hilton Head was home to 50,000 troops, freedmen and support personnel.

It was during this time that Mitcheville, the first freedman's village in the United States, was established along the present day Beach City Road area. It had almost 1,500 residents.

The island's contemporary history began in the 1950s when visionaries Charles Fraser and Fred Hack turned what had become a timber and hunting preserve into the world's first planned community that included preservation of the environment as essential to its success. Sea Pines Resort and Hilton Head Island continue to be an extraordinary model for planned communities throughout the world.

Today, the Island is home to over 37,000 year-round residents and welcomes over 1.5 million guests.When you visit, be sure to learn the complete, fascinating history of our island at the Coastal Discovery Museum.