The Heritage Library Foundation

The Heritage Library is a non-profit library offering research assistance on ancestry in addition to classes and tours focused on Hilton Head Island’s history from prehistory to the modern era.

The Heritage Library owns two historic sites, Ft. Mitchel in Hilton Head Plantation and the Historic Zion Cemetery & Baynard Mausoleum on the corner of William Hilton Parkway & Mathews Drive.

The Library houses a wealth of historical information, old photographs, and maps of Hilton Head Island and the Lowcountry.

USA Today named The Heritage Library one of the “10 Great Places to Trace Your Family Roots.” The library offers a modest daily fee and affordable annual membership options. 


The library is an affiliated library of the Family History Library operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here you view microfilm and microfiche maintained by the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Also, patrons of the Library have access to major online databases at ancestry.com, fold3.com (formerly footnote.com), americanancestors.org (formerly NEHGS), and HeritageQuest Online through the Library’s network.