Bluffton
An old river town on a bluff above the May River.
- Population
- 27,716 (2020 census)
- Incorporated
- 1852
- Old Town
- National historic district since 1996
- Tides
- Two highs, two lows a day
Then
- 1700s
Rice fields spread along the May River. Much of the land across the river, now Palmetto Bluff, is planted in rice.
- 1844
On July 31, Robert Barnwell Rhett leads a gathering here against federal tariffs. The Bluffton Movement becomes an early step toward secession.
- 1852
The South Carolina General Assembly incorporates the town.
- 1857
The Church of the Cross, designed by Edward Brickell White, holds its first services on July 17.
- 1863
On June 4, Union troops raid the town and burn about two-thirds of its roughly 60 buildings. Two churches and fifteen houses are left standing.
- 1899
Bluffton Oyster Co. opens at the end of Wharf Street, on the May River.
- 1996
Old Town, the original square-mile settlement on the bluff, is designated a National Historic District.
- 2000–2020
Development and annexation turn a village of 1,275 people into a town of 27,716.
Now
Old Town still sits on its bluff above the May River, with the Church of the Cross and Bluffton Oyster Co., described as South Carolina's last full-time oyster shucking business.
Bluffton is still growing fast: the Census Bureau estimated 36,807 residents in 2025. Palmetto Bluff, on the south side of the river, is home to the Inn at Palmetto Bluff.
The town is part of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, designated by Congress in 2006 to preserve the culture of the Gullah Geechee people along the coast from North Carolina to Florida.
On the water
From NOAA's predictions for Bluffton, May River, 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
- 8.4 ft
- Biggest swing
- 11.5 ft on Jan 23
- Smallest swing
- 5.5 ft on Mar 31
- Highest high
- 10.3 ft, Oct 27 at 10:15 AM
- Lowest low
- −1.9 ft, Jan 23 at 2:59 AM