Federal troops occupied Beaufort in December 1861 and freed the slaves before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Today, descendants of the freed slaves maintain their "Gullah" dialect and sea island culture.
Penn School was established in 1862 on St Helena Island as the earliest education facility for freed slaves. Penn Center is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today, the entire Beaufort Historic District (Downtown Beaufort) is on the National Register of Historic Places -- Antebellum homes, churches and commercial buildings. A plaque in the basement of ‘The Secession House’ on Craven St. reads, “In this house the first meeting in favor of secession was held in 1851.” Beaufort’s 637 square miles encompass 64 large to moderate size islands and 2000 smaller islands, with a population of 13,000 in the City and 135,000 in Beaufort County.
