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Hilton Head Island is a vacation location of beauty filled with history and heritage for you to enjoy. The official written history of Hilton Head begins with the Spaniards who in 1526 found Indian settlements and evidence of agriculture. With the arrival of the Europeans, the Indians didn't last long. By 1662 most of the Indians were gone due to European abuse and disease. The Indians left behind a legacy of names and archaeological treasures still being discovered today.

In 1562 Capitan Jean Ribaut, a French Huguenot, led an expedition to the area. He then proceeded to build a fort named Port Royall near the present town of Port Royall in Beaufort County. English development did not commence until 1663, when King Charles II granted the coastal area to 8 Lord Proprietors. They named this territory "Carolina".

English Capitan William Hilton was exploring the Port Royall sound in 1663 when he sighted the high bluffs of the Island, and named it for himself. "Hilton Head". The word "head" meaning the headlands visible to them as they sailed the waters.

The first English developments in the Low Country began in 1698. In 1717, Col. John Barnwell was granted a thousand acres on the Northwest corner of Hilton Head Island. He became the first white settler and by 1766, 25 families lived on the Island.

In 1742 the South Carolina colonial half-galley Beaufort, commanded by Capitan David Braddock, was stationed at the cove at the southern point of the island to guard against the Spanish. The point and the cove have kept the name Braddock ever since.

During the revolution Hilton Head sided with the colonies. The British frequently raided Hilton Head Island and hostilities continued for weeks after Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown. During the war the British burned plantations on the Island and captured slaves. After the was the Island made a good recovery. This became known as the "Golden Age". The crops of cotton and rice flourished.

Once again in 1812 the war hurt life on the Island. The British burned most of the houses near deep water, but when the war was over the booming economy returned.

During the Civil War, South Carolina was the 1st state to secede from the union on December 20th 1860. November 7th 1861 the Confederates knew that the battle for the area was lost, and fled. The union invaded and freed 1000 slaves. The Yankees were here to stay until the wars end. In 1862 fort Mitchel was built and named for General Ormsby Mitchel.

Union forces reached 50,000

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