50 Fun Facts About Hilton Head

Hilton Head Island belongs to which South Carolina county?

Hilton Head Island lies in Beaufort County, South Carolina, whose county seat is the historic city of Beaufort on Port Royal Sound to the north-east.

In which year did Captain William Hilton, the island's namesake, sight a headland near Port Royal Sound?

In 1663 Captain William Hilton, sailing from Barbados to survey lands granted by Charles II, sighted the headland; mapmakers labelled it 'Hilton's Headland'.

Which Georgia city lies about 20 miles south-west of Hilton Head?

The island's airport is small; many visitors fly into Savannah/Hilton Head International on the Georgia side.

Seen from the air, Hilton Head Island is often described as being shaped like what?

The island is shoe-shaped, its 'toe' pointing south-west; the town covers about 69 square miles, of which about 41 are land.

What was Hilton Head's year-round population at the 2020 census?

The 2020 census counted about 37,700 year-round residents (37,661); in peak summer the number of people on the island swells to around 150,000.

Roughly how many visitors does Hilton Head attract each year?

Hilton Head draws roughly 2.5 million visitors a year, drawn by its beaches, more than 20 golf courses and hundreds of tennis courts.

How many miles of Atlantic beachfront does Hilton Head have?

Hilton Head has about 12 miles of Atlantic beachfront; Coligny Beach Park is its best-known free public access point.

Which Spanish explorer's 1521 expedition made first European contact with tribes near Hilton Head?

Francisco Cordillo (Gordillo), sailing for Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón in 1521, explored the coast near Port Royal Sound and met the local tribes; William Hilton's English party came about 140 years later.

Which crop did William Elliott II first grow in South Carolina on Hilton Head in 1790?

In 1790 William Elliott II grew the first successful Sea Island cotton crop in South Carolina at Myrtle Bank Plantation on Hilton Head; the silky long-staple fiber made Lowcountry planters rich.

Which Confederate fort on Hilton Head fell to Union forces in the Battle of Port Royal (1861)?

Fort Walker, on the island's north end, fell on 7 November 1861 to Flag Officer Samuel Du Pont's fleet, and Hilton Head became a base for the Union blockade of the Southern coast.

The Union naval force that sailed to seize Port Royal in October 1861 was described as what?

The Port Royal expedition of some 77 vessels was called the largest fleet ever assembled in North America up to that time; about 12,000 soldiers under Thomas W. Sherman landed after the bombardment.

Mitchelville, the freedmen's town founded on Hilton Head in 1862, was named after whom?

General Ormsby M. Mitchel commanded the Department of the South; the town had elected officials, quarter-acre lots and its own laws.

Mitchelville passed what is thought to be the first law of its kind in the South. What did it require?

About 1,500 people lived there by November 1865, earning $4-12 a month working for the military.

The Gullah people of the Sea Islands speak a creole based on which European language?

Gullah is an English-based creole: most of its vocabulary is English, while much of its grammar and many loanwords come from West African languages.

Congress created the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor in which year?

Congress designated the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor in October 2006, authorizing $10 million over ten years; it runs from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida.

Charleston records show the largest share of enslaved Africans in the Lowcountry came from which region?

Charleston port records show about 39% of enslaved Africans came from Angola (West Central Africa), ahead of Senegambia at about 20%; planters also prized people from the Sierra Leone rice coast.

Which small Episcopal church, built in 1788 for planters, is one of Hilton Head's oldest religious sites?

Zion Chapel of Ease was built in 1788 near today's William Hilton Parkway and Mathews Drive to serve planter families; the chapel is gone and only its cemetery survives.

What is the oldest intact structure on Hilton Head Island?

The Baynard Mausoleum, built in 1846 for planter William Baynard's family in the Zion Chapel of Ease cemetery, is the island's oldest intact structure.

Which crossing, opened in 1956, first connected Hilton Head to the mainland by car?

The James F. Byrnes Bridge, a two-lane swing bridge named for the South Carolina governor and former Secretary of State, opened in May 1956 and carried the first cars onto the island.

Which developer, sometimes called the inventor of the modern American resort, started Sea Pines in 1956?

Charles E. Fraser, a young Georgia lawyer, began Sea Pines in 1956 and formed the Sea Pines Plantation Company in 1957, pioneering covenants that hid buildings behind the trees.

Sea Pines' marina village, anchored by a famous striped lighthouse, is called what?

Harbour Town, Sea Pines' yacht basin and shops, is anchored by the red-and-white Harbour Town Lighthouse, built in 1970 as a landmark rather than a navigation aid.

How tall is the striped lighthouse at the Sea Pines marina village?

The Harbour Town Lighthouse stands about 90 feet tall; 114 steps climb its red-and-white banded tower to the observation deck.

Which PGA Tour event has been played at the Sea Pines golf links every year since 1969?

The Heritage, now the RBC Heritage, began as the Heritage Golf Classic in 1969 and has been played at Harbour Town Golf Links every year since, one of the tour's longest runs at a single course.

Who won the first Heritage Classic at Sea Pines in 1969?

Arnold Palmer, then 40, shot one-under 283 to win the inaugural Heritage Classic in 1969, his first victory in more than a year.

Which architect designed the Sea Pines links that host the Heritage, with Jack Nicklaus consulting?

Pete Dye designed Harbour Town Golf Links, opened in 1969 with Jack Nicklaus as consultant; the par-71 course relies on narrow tree-lined fairways and tiny greens rather than length.

What does the Heritage tournament winner receive along with the cheque?

The Heritage winner is helped into a tartan plaid jacket, a nod to the tournament's Scottish theme; the opening ceremony at Harbour Town features a cannon blast and a ceremonial tee shot.

At what point in the golf calendar is the Heritage tournament played?

The tournament moved from its original late-November date to mid-April.

In which year was the Town of Hilton Head Island incorporated as a municipality?

The Town of Hilton Head Island was incorporated in 1983 after residents voted for local control over growth; it governs the whole island, not just the gated plantations.

Roughly what share of Hilton Head Island lies inside gated communities?

About 70% of Hilton Head's land lies inside gated communities such as Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes and Port Royal, so visitors reach the beach mainly through the town's public parks.

Which sea turtle nests on Hilton Head, prompting an ordinance that beachfront lights be shielded?

Loggerhead sea turtles nest on Hilton Head's beaches from May to October; the town's 'Lights Out' rule keeps beachfront lights shielded so hatchlings head for the sea, not the dunes.

The Sea Pines shell ring, a Native American midden of oyster shell, is thought to be roughly how old?

The ring is 150 feet across and sits in the Sea Pines Forest Preserve.

Which company opened a vacation resort on Hilton Head on 1 March 1996?

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is a Disney Vacation Club property built in a 1940s Lowcountry style.

Which toll road opened in January 1997 to speed traffic across Hilton Head?

The Cross Island Parkway, a toll road opened in January 1997, bypasses the mid-island traffic lights of William Hilton Parkway (US 278) on its way to the island's south end.

Which of these animals does not live in the wild on Hilton Head Island?

Hilton Head has no black bears; its wildlife includes alligators sunning beside golf-course lagoons, bottlenose dolphins in the sounds, manatees that visit in summer, deer and loggerhead turtles.

Which 1987 town law is credited with Hilton Head's unusual tree cover for such a developed island?

The 1987 Land Management Ordinance regulates building style, signage and tree preservation, which is why the island has no billboards or neon and keeps its canopy of live oaks and pines.

After it fell in 1861 the Confederate stronghold at Port Royal was renamed Fort Welles in honour of whom?

Gideon Welles ran the Navy Department; hundreds of formerly enslaved people soon flocked to the Union-held island.

Hilton Head was granted as part of a barony in 1698 to John Bayley, a landowner from which Irish county?

In 1698 the Lords Proprietors granted the island as part of a barony to John Bayley of Ballingclough, County Tipperary; his land agent Alexander Trench gave it an early alternative name, Trench's Island.

Sea Pines dropped which word from its name when the Riverstone Group took over in 2005?

Sea Pines Plantation became The Sea Pines Resort in 2005 under the Riverstone Group, dropping 'Plantation'; several other island communities have since made the same change.

Which ship carried Captain William Hilton from Barbados to the Carolina coast in 1663?

He was exploring lands granted by King Charles II to the Lords Proprietors.

Which handmade craft with West African roots is a signature of Gullah culture?

Sweetgrass baskets, coiled from sweetgrass, bulrush and palmetto, are the signature Gullah craft; the technique came from West Africa with enslaved rice workers and is sold at roadside stands near Mount Pleasant.

Which NBA legend owned a house on Hilton Head from 1988 to 1999?

Michael Jordan owned a home on Hilton Head from 1988 to 1999; other part-time residents have included NHL great Mark Messier and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

Shipping magnate William P. Clyde bought 9,000 island acres in 1890 for what purpose?

Clyde, owner of the Clyde Steamship Line, bought 9,000 acres in 1890 as a private hunting preserve; three years later the 1893 Sea Islands Hurricane swept the Lowcountry, killing more than 1,000 people.

Tycoon Alfred Lee Loomis bought over 63% of the island in 1931 for about how much?

Loomis and his brother-in-law Landon Thorne paid about $120,000 in 1931 for some 17,000 acres, over 63% of the island, as a private game reserve; Loomis later funded radar research at Tuxedo Park.

Before 1956, besides private boats, how could you reach Hilton Head?

Until the Byrnes Bridge opened in 1956, people reached Hilton Head by private boat or a state-operated ferry; the island was then home to a small, mostly Gullah population.

What hit the island's 1956 swing bridge in 1974, cutting off all road traffic for a time?

A barge struck the two-lane swing bridge in 1974, and the Army Corps of Engineers built and manned a pontoon bridge while it was repaired; a four-lane span replaced the bridge in 1982.

Dolphins around Hilton Head are famous for which rare way of catching fish?

In strand feeding, the bottlenose dolphins herd fish onto a mud bank, slide out on their right sides to snatch them, then wriggle back into the water; the behavior is seen in only a few places worldwide.

The last two holes at Harbour Town Golf Links run along which body of water?

The 17th and 18th holes at Harbour Town play along Calibogue Sound, where the tide shifts the water's edge; the par-71 course is short for a tour venue and known for its small greens.

The first Heritage Golf Classic in 1969 was played over which holiday weekend?

The winner's share was $20,000 and the course was set at just 6,655 yards. The event has since moved to April, the week after the Masters.

Which 'Barely Breathing' singer, raised on Hilton Head, went on to write Spring Awakening?

Sheik's 1996 hit earned a Grammy nomination; Spring Awakening later won him two Tonys. Reggae-folk singer Trevor Hall also grew up on the island.

Charles Fraser redesigned the Harbour Town marina to save an old live oak now called what?

The Liberty Oak stands at the heart of Harbour Town's yacht basin because Fraser bent the marina's layout around it; Gregg Russell sang to children beneath it for decades, and Fraser was buried beside it in 2002.