Saturday, December 11: Historic Sites Open House. 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Visitors will step back in time with Hilton Head Island’s rich cultural history on full display as they enjoy each site at their leisure. The sites chosen show the different eras of Hilton Head History. Hear stories of our past from docents and living history characters, learn about the holidays on Hilton Head from the colonial period through Reconstruction and the many Gullah traditions that make our island such a special place. Don’t forget the Camelia Gardens and other wonderful sites at Coastal Discovery Museum traditions of the Holidays of season’s past on Hilton Head Island. Free and open to everyone, registration is requested. Visit heritagelib.org/HistoricHolidays to register.
Open sites on December 11th include:
Fort Mitchel: A Civil War Union coastal defense battery site built in 1861-62. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Located in Hilton Head Plantation at 65 Skull Creek Drive – gates passes are available.
Fort Howell: This fort was built by the 32nd US Colored Infantry during the Civil War as protection for Mitchelville. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Undergrounds Railroad Network to Freedom, and the Civil War Discovery Trail.
160 Beach City Road.
Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island: Restored house exhibiting day-to-day life in a farming and bartering community and dedicated to preserving Gullah customs, language, traditions, stories and songs.
12 Georgianna Drive (off Gumtree road).
Coastal Discovery Museum: Learning center with programs & walks on 68 coastal acres with historic buildings, trees & wildlife. A Smithsonian Affiliate.
70 Honey Horn Drive.
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park: The site of the first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people. A site on the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom.
226 Beach City Road.
Zion Chapel of Ease Cemetery: Colonial-era cemetery and mausoleum including 4 grave markings of American Revolutionary War Patriots. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and S. C. Liberty Trail.
At the intersection of Mathews Drive, Folly Field Road and US 278.