Beaufort
South Carolina's second-oldest city, on Port Royal Island.
- Population
- 13,607 (2020 census)
- Chartered
- 1711
- Historic district
- 304 acres, a National Historic Landmark
- Tides
- Two highs, two lows a day
Then
- 1562
French Huguenots under Jean Ribault build Charlesfort on what is now Parris Island. It is abandoned within a year.
- 1566–1587
Spain's Santa Elena, founded under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on the same island, serves as the capital of Spanish Florida until it is abandoned in 1587.
- 1711
British colonists charter Beaufort, named for Henry Somerset, 2nd Duke of Beaufort. Conflict with Native nations and the Spanish to the south keeps growth slow for years.
- 1839
Robert Smalls is born into slavery in Beaufort on April 5.
- 1861
After Union ships capture Port Royal Sound on November 7, Union forces occupy Beaufort. People who escape slavery come to the town, where Union forces treat them as “contraband of war” rather than return them.
- 1862
On May 13, Smalls commandeers the Confederate ship Planter in Charleston Harbor and steers it to the Union fleet. After the war he buys his former enslaver's house in Beaufort, and he later serves in Congress.
- 2017
The Reconstruction Era National Monument is established to tell the story of the region's role after the Civil War.
Now
Beaufort's downtown historic district, covering 304 acres, is a National Historic Landmark. The city has grown across the Beaufort River onto Lady's Island.
Hollywood has long used the town as a backdrop: The Great Santini, The Big Chill, The Prince of Tides, Forrest Gump and G.I. Jane were all filmed here.
The military is the largest part of the local economy, with the Marine Corps Recruit Depot on nearby Parris Island, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and a naval hospital.
On the water
From NOAA's predictions for Beaufort, SC over the next 365 days. Heights are in feet above mean lower low water (MLLW).
- Pattern
- Two highs and two lows a day, close in size
- Typical daily range
- 7.2 ft
- Biggest swing
- 9.8 ft on Dec 25
- Smallest swing
- 4.9 ft on Apr 1
- Highest high
- 9.4 ft, Oct 28 at 11:06 AM
- Lowest low
- −1.0 ft, Jan 23 at 3:02 AM