Beaufort Historic District (Beaufort, South Carolina)

Beaufort Historic District
Saltus-Habersham House, 802 Bay Street
Beaufort Historic District (Beaufort, South Carolina) is located in South Carolina
Beaufort Historic District (Beaufort, South Carolina)
Beaufort Historic District (Beaufort, South Carolina) is located in the United States
Beaufort Historic District (Beaufort, South Carolina)
LocationBounded by the Beaufort River, Bladen, Hamar, and Boundary Sts., Beaufort, South Carolina
Coordinates32°26′8″N 80°40′4″W / 32.43556°N 80.66778°W / 32.43556; -80.66778
Area304 acres (123 ha)
Built1521
Architectural styleFederal, Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.69000159[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 17, 1969[1]
Designated NHLDNovember 7, 1973[2]

Beaufort Historic District is a historic district in Beaufort, South Carolina. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969,[1] and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973.[2][3]

The historic district is renowned for its impressive collection of antebellum architecture that reflect the Federal, neoclassical, and Greek revival styles that were popular during the interwar period, along with the widespread use of tabby. A variety of homes, gardens, commercial buildings, houses of worship and graveyards are featured in the district, with some sites open for public inspection. Continuous efforts at rehabilitation and conservation underline the community's commitment to maintaining the historic nature of the district, which has attracted much acclaim and garnered popularity from visitors and media outlets.

The district's condition has been assessed several times since it was listed in 1969, and in 1998 the National Park Service proposed listing the district as "threatened" due to an ongoing gradual loss of historic integrity. Partly in reaction to this, the district's significance was broadened to include a distinctive historical element of post-Civil War history. The Port Royal Experiment, centered in Beaufort, involved a large-scale redistribution of land from large landowners to former African-American slaves in an effort to assimilate the freed slaves into a modern post-war society. This Reconstruction-era effort had a marked impact on Beaufort's built environment, and is still evident in the surviving buildings.[3]

  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Beaufort Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Fant, Mrs. James W. (November 8, 1969). "Historic Beaufort" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory (includes 1969 nomination and 1998 update). National Park Service. Retrieved April 22, 2015.