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Welcome to the audio-described version of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park's official print brochure. Through this text and audio described photos, illustrations, and maps, this version interprets the two sided color brochure that Park visitors receive. The brochure explores the history of the park, some of its highlights, and information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about 60 minutes which we have divided into thirty-one navigable sections, as a way to improve the listening experience. Most sections last about 2 minutes or less. The first two sections provide an overview of the brochure and park.
The brochure is 16"x20" when completely open. It folds in half vertically and then horizontally in an accordion style to be the size of a standard letter size envelope.
The front side of the open brochure includes twelve sections. It features the history of the Reconstruction era, starting in 1861, in the Sea Islands of South Carolina. The back side of the brochure contains seventeen sections. These sections provide information about the three sites of the park: Beaufort, Penn Center, and Camp Saxton.
Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, located in the Sea Islands of South Carolina (along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean), is part of the National Park Service, within the Department of the Interior. The park is located at three distinct sites in Beaufort County. Established in 2017, this park is one of the newest national parks. The Reconstruction era,1861 to 1900, the historic period in which the United States grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political, economic, and labor systems, was a time of significant transformation. Each year, thousands of visitors come to learn about the Reconstruction era and its legacy throughout the Sea Islands and the nation. We invite you to explore the park's history and connection to the community. To find out more about what resources might be available or to contact the park directly, visit the "Accessibility" and "More Information" sections at the end of this audio-described brochure.
DESCRIBING: The front of a brochure for Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.
SYNOPSIS: The front side of the brochure describes the history of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park through images, a map, and text. The brochure is organized in five rows and two columns.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The front side of the brochure describes the history of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park through images, a map, and text. The brochure is organized in five rows and two columns. The top row of the brochure has the National Park Service black banner and a collage of images in sepia tones with captions. The images are of people of the Reconstruction Era and span both columns.
In the second row and first column of the brochure is a panoramic modern image of the sea islands and surrounding marshes. The middle of this row has captions and the top portion of a map showing the Sea Islands from Charleston, south. The second column of this row has a historical image of two boys in a boat with a caption.
The third row of the brochure is where the text begins. In the first column on the left is the heading "Abandoned" with three paragraphs of text below. Next to the text in the same column is the rest of the map of the Sea Islands from Savannah to Beaufort. The second column has text labeled "Occupied" with four paragraphs of text and a picture of Robert Smalls with a caption.
The fourth row of the brochure is the section of text with the heading "Transformed." This text spans both columns of this row. The text is then broken down into the subheadings of "During the War," "After the War," "Disfranchised," and "Reignited." Under "During the War" in the first column is a collage of images of three women and a man. In the second column under the "Reignited" section is a captioned image of the 1963 March on Washington.
The fifth row of the brochure is a historic panoramic image of a group of small wooden houses with people sitting in front of them and large piles of oyster shells that span both columns. In the first column of the panoramic image a portrait of Harriet Tubman is overlaid with a caption. In the top of the second column is a caption for the panoramic image.
DESCRIBING: A wide black banner with white text and the National Park Service emblem.
SYNOPSIS: This horizontal banner, across the entire top of the brochure, utilizes a black background to make its white text stand out. The main part of the banner showcases the text "Reconstruction Era" in a large, bold font on the left side. A small section of a document is partially visible at the lower far right corner. On the right side, the smaller, white text reads “Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, South Carolina” and just below, “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.” The National Park Service's logo is shaped like an arrowhead. The brown textured arrowhead is pointed down. In the top right of the arrowhead, white text reads "National Park Service." On the left is a tall green tree. At the bottom, a white bison stands on a green field ending in a distant tree line with a white lake on the right. A snow-capped mountain towers over the lake.
CREDIT: National Park Service
DESCRIBING: A small rectangular sepia toned photo.
SYNOPSIS: A small rectangular sepia toned photo contains over thirty formerly enslaved African Americans and one white male. They are posed in a group in front of a small white building.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A small rectangular sepia toned photo contains over thirty formerly enslaved African Americans and one white male. They include men, women and children gathered together for the photo.
From Front to Back: Starting on the left, there is one white male standing in the photo wearing a U.S. military uniform consisting of a dark button-down coat, dark pants, and a brimmed cap. The man has a dark mustache and beard.
To the right of the soldier, most of the women are seated on the ground with their hands folded in their laps, wearing light-colored, long sleeved ankle dresses and hair coverings. A few of the women wear darker colored long sleeved ankle dresses and hair coverings. The ground they are sitting on is covered in tufts of cotton.
The majority of the men stand behind the women. The men are wearing a variety of clothing mainly consisting of a brimmed cap or hat, a button-down white or gray shirt, and belted dark pants. Some of the men also wear coats. One man stands with his hands on his hips, balancing a bucket on his head. One woman stands among the men, balancing a basket of fluffy cotton on her head with her arms crossed in front of her. The children are dispersed throughout the group both sitting and standing wearing similar outfits to the adults.
At the back of the photograph is a single story, weathered, white building with no visible windows. To its left two of the men sit on a piece of equipment. Behind the building is a line of trees.
CAPTION: The U.S. Treasury hired formerly enslaved people to bring in the 1862 Sea Islands cotton crop.
The effort to help fund the war against the Confederacy became an experiment in wage labor.
CREDIT: Library of Congress / Henry P. Moore
DESCRIBING: A small, historical black and white photo
SYNOPSIS: On the left, this vertical photo is a candid, 1860's era group photo of a middle-aged African American woman seated outdoors, holding an open book. Three young African American children, two boys and a girl, also neatly dressed, are gathered around her.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The woman is seated in the left-center of the image, angled to the left, giving a semi-profile view of her right side. She is medium build, has straight posture and her head is tilted slightly downward toward the open hard-covered book supported in her left hand. She has a serious straight-lipped expression, and her hair is pulled back tightly behind her head. She wears a dark, printed long-sleeve top and a long, contrasting, light-colored printed skirt. Her blouse has ruffles in the front and on the sleeves, a high white ruffle at the neck, and a very wide collar that covers her shoulders (also known as a sailor collar). This collar has two narrow and parallel white stripes trimming its outer edges.
In the left foreground, the girl is facing to the right, standing close to the woman’s right shoulder, and is slightly shorter than the seated woman. She wears a light-colored, checkered knee-length dress that is completely buttoned to the collar. A darker inner layer extends a couple of inches below the dress’s hemline. The girl wears dark leggings that come down to the top of her laced, leather boots. Her ears are visible below her dark hair, which is pulled back tightly and braided. Her eyes are tilted downward toward the book, mouth closed, and her hands are folded in front of her waist.
In the photo right center and to the woman’s left are the two boys. One is seated, the other is standing and both are facing the viewer. The seated boy is close to the woman, his face overlapped a little by the book. The other one stands behind the woman and boy, filling the gap between them. Both boys have very short hair and closed lip expressions. Their dark jackets have wide lapels and are open, revealing white shirts buttoned completely to the collar. They each also wear a large light-colored shoulder covering, similar in style to a sailor collar. The covers are fastened at their necks and extend to their shoulders’ edges, possibly part of a school uniform. The seated boy’s cover lays flat and neatly in place, while the other boy’s is pushed back over his shoulders like a cape. Behind the group is a partial view of an exterior wall with wide horizontal white siding.
CAPTION: With help from the Pennsylvania Society, Penn School welcomed students in 1862 to classes in reading, writing, spelling, geography, and arithmetic at Brick Baptist Church on St. Helena. Schools and churches were formative institutions in the Reconstruction era.
CREDIT: UNC Library / Penn School Papers
DESCRIBING: A small, cropped historical sepia toned photograph
SYNOPSIS: Connected to the right of the previous photo is a sepia toned 1860's era photograph of the Brick Baptist Church. It is a large, rectangular two-story brick building that commands the upper half of the image. Several small groups of African American people in dressy clothing gather at different points around the church. Several empty horse drawn carriages are parked around the church.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The view is over rolling ground and at an angle facing the church’s left front corner. The front of the building is the long portion and extends away at an angle to the right. The building facade (front view) decreases in visible details closer to the far end. The narrow side of the building is to the left. The church is surrounded by several large trees with Spanish moss draping from their branches.
There are a large number of people around the building, comprising several small groups. The largest of the groups is in the photo’s upper right quadrant, where a dozen or more people are gathering around the church's front entrance. Some are women wearing long dresses and hats. Their specific number and many individual features are indistinguishable due to the distance from the viewer. An empty horse drawn carriage also blocks some of the view of the front entrance.
A few smaller groups are spaced around the building. In the lower right quadrant, an individual man dressed in a suit and wearing a small full-brimmed rounded hat or a bowler hat sits facing to the right and is in the driver’s seat of another horse drawn carriage. Behind him, in the lower left quadrant foreground, two men stand next to each other, facing the church with their backs to the viewer. They are dressed in knickers, suit coats, and round, brimmed hats. In the upper left quadrant by the narrow side of the church, four men are gathered around a horse and an empty carriage with large spoked wheels. Behind them a small and indistinguishable group is standing at the back corner of the church.
The carriages are all plain with open seats, without covers or fringe, and have large spoked wheels. Most are two wheeled carriages, one is four-wheeled.
The church’s facade is divided into five recessed vertical sections extending from ground to roof line. Each section has one large window on each floor, except for the center section, which has the entrance door on the first floor instead. The side of the building facing the viewer is divided into three sections. The outer two sections contain a large multi-paned window on the first and second floors. The center section has only one window, which is set just below the midpoint.
CAPTION: Schools and churches were formative institutions in the Reconstruction era.
CREDIT: UNC Library / Penn School Papers
DESCRIBING: A color photograph of a document.
SYNOPSIS: This image is of a historical, light brown, weathered document cover. The cover has a two line border around the edge. The text on the document reads "The Proclamation of Emancipation; By the President of the United States, To Take Effect January 1st, 1863."
CREDIT: Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
DESCRIBING: A small, square, black and white illustration
SYNOPSIS: In front of a large US flag, a band, and some trees, a uniformed man stands on a stage and is facing a crowd with his hand raised. Some members of the crowd are holding one hand in the air and cheering.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the background, a large US flag hangs vertically behind a group of people on a stage generally facing toward the viewer. In front of the stage are two African American uniformed men holding US flags. The one in the center of the illustration is facing the viewer with one hand raised in the air. The other is to the right of him and facing slightly toward the right. The group of people on stage behind the uniformed men partially comprises a band which includes some horns and a large drum. In the foreground, a group of African American people are facing the stage with their hands raised in the air or close together like they are clapping and celebrating. In the far background are a group of tall trees spanning the width of the image.
CAPTION: A public reading of Abraham Lincoln’s draft Emancipation Proclamation took place at Camp Saxton, January 1, 1863.
CREDIT: Library of Congress
DESCRIBING: A nineteenth-century black and white photograph.
SYNOPSIS: A bearded balding white man wearing the US Army's brigadier general's Civil War uniform poses with his right hand tucked into his waist coat and holding a hat in his left hand. His photo overlaps a sepia toned drawing that depicts the Emancipation Day celebration in Beaufort.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The image in the upper right corner on the front of the brochure portrays General Rufus Saxton, standing erect and posed for a photograph in his Civil War-era brigadier general’s uniform. The classic “hand-in-waistcoat” pose shows his authority and leadership, an example of portraits in the 19th century. In his left hand he holds a hat. His decorated uniform, complete with buttons offers viewers a precise depiction of military dress of the time. Saxton is in the foreground of a historically themed photo depicting Beaufort’s Emancipation Day celebration at Camp Saxton. African and white Americans, along with US soldiers, are celebrating in the depicted scene.
CAPTION: General Rufus Saxton, military governor of the Department of the South from 1862 to 1865, was an influential agent for change in the Sea Islands.
CREDIT: National Archives/ Mathew Brady
DESCRIBING: A panoramic color image of salt marshes.
SYNOPSIS: A panoramic color image. Salt marshes stretch from the left in front of emerald green sea islands and across a calm body of water. A setting sun illuminates the grassy marsh.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A panoramic color image of salt marshes and the Sea Islands. The sky on the left is a deep violet above forest green islands and emerald grassy marshes made of plant material. The islands display trees in silhouettes of varying heights. In the middle of the image, the setting sun glows golden and apricot above the tree line. It's reflected in a few scattered clouds and in a small body of water located between two marshes. The calm water on the right mirrors the lighter lavender sky above.
CAPTION: Over 80 percent of the Sea Islands population was enslaved in 1860.
Starting in 1861, historic events and individual acts catapulted thousands out of enslavement. At Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, learn what freedom meant for people newly emancipated. They asserted their own and others’ rights to education, paid labor, property ownership, military service, and representation.
CREDIT: Copyright Lamar Nix
DESCRIBING: A sepia-toned historic image overlaid on the water portion of the map of the Sea Islands.
SYNOPSIS: In this image two young African American boys are in a small wooden boat. A boy in a light-colored cap wearing a suit, sits in the back of the boat. In the middle of the boat the other boy wears a darker colored cap and suit. He stands with a stick he is using as a push pole. In the front of the boat is a stack of reeds. The reflection of the boat and the boys is seen in the water below the boat.
CAPTION: Scholars traveled across the water to attend classes at Penn and other schools, in small wooden boats (known as bateaux). Photo early 1900s.
CREDIT: UNC Library / Penn School Papers
DESCRIBING: An historical map with color and text.
SYNOPSIS: This map illustrates the coastal regions of South Carolina during the Civil War, emphasizing US Army-controlled territories in 1861. Key locations include the cities of Savannah and Beaufort, along with 10 different islands. The map features a color-coded legend to indicate military control.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The map covers a section of South Carolina's coastline and part of Georgia, focusing on the Civil War period of 1861. A legend on the map explains the color coding, indicating US Army-controlled territory and significant defenses. A railroad is marked with a thin black line with dashes on the left side of the map around the sea islands. Prominent cities, Savannah and Beaufort, are highlighted, with Fort Pulaski near Savannah and Fort Sumter near Charleston.
South Carolina and Georgia are blended together in pale yellow, representing areas not controlled by the US army. Beaufort, written in bold black text, is centrally located on the map by a yellow dot, surrounded by islands under US Army control, represented in a darker teal. Major islands within this controlled territory starting next to Savannah is Daufuskie Island, Hilton Head Island with the Major US Army defenses marked with black triangles, Pritchards Island, Hunting Island, Otter Island and Edisto Island.
The park is located on sites on Port Royal and St. Helena, which surround the city of Beaufort. Additional sea islands include Hilton Head, Lady's Island, and Parris Island.
The Atlantic Ocean:
The Atlantic Ocean, written in a darker blue, borders the map to the east, with a lighter blue color signifying open water. The Port Royal Sound is also marked by darker blue text. The northeastern part of the map features Charleston, South Carolina. The southwest part of the map features Savannah, Georgia. A compass indicates the direction of North, and a distance scale is included for reference.
TEXT: In November 1861, only seven months after the Civil War began, US military forces captured South Carolina’s Port Royal Sound. They intended to establish a coaling station where steam-powered ships blockading the coast could refuel.
The greater impact of the capture became clear only after US forces came ashore on the Sea Islands. White residents had fled to the mainland, abandoning their properties and the people they had enslaved. In February 1862 the U.S. Treasury sent Edward Pierce to the Sea Islands to collect information. He reported a population of 8,000 to 10,000. Most were of African descent.
With support from the US Secretary of the Treasury, northern ministers, and the US military, Pierce planned and implemented a program of sweeping social and economic change in the Sea Islands. Its scope far exceeded that of the initial strategic military operation.
DESCRIBING: A sepia toned photograph with a light blue background of one African American man.
SYNOPSIS: A sepia toned photograph of Robert Smalls an African American man who piloted a Confederate ship out of Charleston Harbor and delivered it to the US military. Smalls is seated and dressed in a suit.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A sepia toned photograph on a light, blue background of Robert Smalls, an African American man who piloted a Confederate ship out of Charleston Harbor and delivered it to the US military. Smalls, a middle-aged man, is seated, facing the front at a left angle. He is not looking directly at the viewer. Smalls has coarse, black, slightly wavy, short hair that is starting to gray. His hair is parted on the right and combed back. Smalls' oval face has a mustache and goatee. Smalls is dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt and dark bow tie. The suit's lapel and waist coat are the same color.
CAPTION: In May 1862 Robert Smalls piloted a Confederate ship out of Charleston Harbor and delivered it to the US military. Smalls used the cash reward for this "prize of war" to purchase the house of his former enslaver in Beaufort.
The Beaufort District elected Smalls a delegate to the convention that wrote a new South Carolina Constitution, to the five terms in the US Congress.
CREDIT: Library of Congress, Brady Handy Collection
TEXT: Owing to the continued presence of its ships in Port Royal Sound and the adjacent rivers, the US military maintained a secure outpost in coastal South Carolina from 1862.
One reporter in the paper New South declared the occupation "not merely military." Business people and government officials mixed with the military, press, reformers, and abolitionists. Missionaries, mostly women, set up schools where freedpeople began to conquer illiteracy, forced on them by state law. Under the provisions of the Militia Act of 1862, formerly enslaved men began to join the 1st South Carolina Volunteer Regiment of the the US Army in the fall of 1862. They were based at Camp Saxton, the former John J. Smith Plantation on Port Royal.
Other barriers to equality fell in the occupied Sea Islands. Soon after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, over 16,000 acres, on which the Treasury foreclosed when absentee owners failed to pay their taxes, became available for purchase by "heads of families of the African race." The US government also reserved land for farm schools and other institutions to help people transition to life after slavery. Changes set in motion here, called the Port Royal Experiment, anticipated national Reconstruction.
DESCRIBING: A black and white image of a large demonstration.
SYNOPSIS: Bathed in the light of a clear day, a diverse crowd of men and women, young and old, unite demanding job equality and civil rights.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A close-up view of about 50 people that are part of a large organized march. The crowd consists of African and white Americans, unified in purpose for justice, equality, and jobs. Some of the men are wearing 1960s style clothing including a suit and tie, while the other men are wearing shirts and pants. The women are wearing 1960s style dresses, and some are holding their purses under their forearms. The vibrant signs they hold, carry messages such as “UAW Says: We Seek The Freedoms In 1963 Promised In 1863." The determined faces of the demonstrators reflect their unwavering resolve.
CAPTION: At the 1963 March on Washington, citizens demanded the promises of Reconstruction for future generations.
CREDIT: Getty Images / Paul Slade
DESCRIBING: A sepia toned cut-out photo collage
SYNOPSIS: This is a photo collage of five historical figures, four women and a man, who were important to the education and advancement of formally enslaved people during the early Reconstruction era in the 1860's. The people depicted in the collage are labeled Charlotte Forten, Laura Towne, Ellen Murray, Hastings Gantt, and Harriet Tubman. This cut-out collage uses the brochure graphics as its background.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the center of the photo and labeled Charlotte Forten is the image of an African American woman from the waist up. She has a smooth, light skin tone, closed thin lips and a distant stare toward the viewer's right. Her hair is medium colored, short, and pulled back behind her ears. She is wearing a medium dark, solid colored, long-sleeved dress. The dress has a deep V of a darker ruffled material extending from the neck down the front toward the waist. The darker material also forms the short vertical collar around her neck, leaving a small gap in the front. The gap is filled by a white collar behind the dark collar, similar to a clergy’s. She wears a pale collar clip across the white portion, shaped like a short straw and connecting the two dark edges of the gap. The image fades out below her waist.
Behind and slightly above Charlotte Forten at the collage's eleven o'clock position is the bust of a woman labeled Laura Towne with the blue Atlantic Ocean graphic in the background. She is a middle-aged caucasian with dark, wavy hair pulled back tightly behind her ears and parted in the middle. She is facing and looking to the right and is wearing a dark top with a white lacy accessory wrapped around her neck. The wide lace hangs down in front and is fastened in the center with a dark brooch. There is also a thin black strap around her neck on top of the lace that disappears from view near the brooch. Her image fades out below the shoulders.
Directly behind and slightly above Charlotte Forten at the one o'clock position is a bust of a caucasian woman labeled Ellen Murray, also set against the blue background. She is middle-aged with smooth skin, and her shoulders are turned partially to the viewers left; her head turned in a left profile view. Her medium blond hair is pulled back behind her ears with tight vertical coils that hang down to her shoulders. She wears a dark blouse with a white lacy accessory around her neck that is fastened in the center with a brooch. Her image fades from view below the shoulders.
Below Charlotte Forten and overlapping her fading image at the four o'clock position is a bust of an upper middle-aged African American man labeled Hastings Gantt. He is seated with his body facing at an angle away toward the viewers' left. His head is tilted downward, turned slightly back toward the viewer with glistening eyes. Gantt has a bushy gray mustache that blends into his short beard. There is a glimpse of short gray hair below a dark, fully brimmed, rounded hat (bowler hat). He wears a medium-colored solid coat that has a soft look, and it is open except for one button fastened at the moderate sized collar. A folded up white paper protrudes from his coat’s left breast pocket. As the lower half of his image gradually fades into the Sea Islands graphic background, there is a faint impression of his left leg folded across his right and something flat laying in his lap.
Below Charlotte Forten at the six o'clock position and in the collage foreground is an African American woman labeled Harriet Tubman. She is middle aged with slight lines in her complexion. Her dark hair is pulled back behind her head and rippled like tiny braids. The sides curve down and cover her ears like a thick blanket. She has a closed lip expression and a distant stare off to the viewers' left.
Tubman wears a dark long-sleeved top and contrasting light skirt. Her pleated blouse is a dark solid color, except for a broad, white stripe that extends from her right shoulder, curves down to mid-chest and then back up to the left shoulder. Many small buttons are set closely together up the middle of the blouse. Around her neck is a narrow white band or ribbon that is pointed on the ends, lays flat, and crosses below her neck with the tips extending into the blouse's white stripe.
She is sitting sideways in a wooden chair, her right elbow up on the back of it with her hand hanging toward the front. Her left hand lays in her lap on a long light-colored print skirt. The image gradually fades out below her lap into the background image of the Sea Islands at the bottom of the photo.
CAPTION:
Laura Towne
Charlotte Forten
Ellen Murray
Hastings Grant
Harriet Tubman took part in a military raid in 1863 that freed over 700 people enslaved on rice plantations along the Combahee River.
CREDITS:
Laura Towne UNC Library / Penn School Papers
Charlotte Forten Fotosearch /Stringer
Ellen Murray UNC Library / Penn School Papers
Hastings Gantt American Museum of Natural History / Julian A. Dimock
Harriet Tubman Library of Congress / Benjamin Powelson
RELATED TEXT:
During the War: Through education the experiment began to change life in the Sea Islands. On St. Helena Charlotte Forten, a free woman, joined Laura Towne and Ellen Murray to teach at Penn School in 1862. The school expanded in 1864, when Penn purchased 50 acres from freedman Hastings Gantt. Over 100 other schools, helped by charities, opened soon after. Freedpeople pooled savings earned through wage labor to buy 10- to 20-acre plots of land. They created families, homes, and communities with churches, banks, and businesses.
After the War: In the eight months after Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865 and before the next US Congress convened, President Andrew Johnson pardoned many former Confederates, who then took control of civil governments in the South. Johnson’s conciliatory policies ended sales of property abandoned in the war. The South Carolina state government passed discriminatory Black Codes. In December 1865, though, the states ratified the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution, abolishing slavery except as punishment for a crime. A year of tragedy and dispiriting reversals for freedpeople ended on a note of hope.
The 39th US Congress opened in January 1866. The Republican majority, led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, sympathized with the freedpeople. It overturned the Black Codes and required South Carolina to rewrite its constitution, including freedpeople in the process. The resulting state constitution of 1868 created a public education system and removed statutes that prevented Black people from voting. Self-advocacy by freedpeople helped effect a nationwide change when the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified. It guaranteed citizenship and equal protection of the law to all people born in the United States.
Disfranchised: In 1870 the 15th Amendment to the US Constitution extended the vote to all male citizens. Former Confederates resented the new political and social order, which they felt the federal government had imposed on them. To terrorize Black people and limit their rights, they created groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the South Carolina Red Shirts. To replicate enslavement under a new name, they implemented convict leasing. The pendulum of power swung away from federal authority and toward the states. By 1895 South Carolina had a new state constitution that disfranchised Black voters.
Reignited: Reconstruction ended almost everywhere by 1900. Despite the gains and losses, the Jim Crow years, and the struggle for civil rights, St. Helena’s people held fast to their land and history. Penn School and Brick Baptist Church, long open to the community, opened their doors wider. Penn School evolved by midcentury into a center where people came to learn life skills like reading tax forms, but also organizing for civil rights. Southern Christian Leadership Conference members met in Penn’s classrooms in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was among those who came here. He sometimes stayed at the center’s Gantt Cottage with his young family.
The struggle for equality continued, as national civil rights leaders built on the work begun here a century earlier. In 2017, thanks in large part to the efforts of Sea Island residents, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park was established to tell the story of those who struggled to create “a more perfect Union.”
DESCRIBING: A panoramic sepia toned photograph
SYNOPSIS: There are several small, wooden houses with chimneys. In the foreground, there is a seated African American male facing the viewer. Next to him stands a child. Behind him, there are about ten men and women standing in front of the houses. There are also several large piles of oyster shells in front of the houses.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: There are several small, single story, wooden houses with stone chimneys spanning the image from right to left, getting further away toward the left of the image. There are some wooden fences next to some of the houses. In the foreground, there is a seated African American man on the right side of the image facing the viewer. He is wearing a dark hat with light brim and a dark jacket over a white shirt. Standing next to him to the right is an African American child in dark clothes looking at the viewer. Behind the man there are about ten African American men and women standing in front of the houses looking toward the viewer. The women are wearing long, light colored dresses and the men are wearing dark clothes. There are three large piles of oyster shells that are approximately the height of the child in front of the houses. There are tall trees in the background spanning the image.
CAPTION: Descendants of Sea Islands freedpeople continue to live on land their ancestors purchased here in the early 1860s. Photo after 1863.
CREDIT: Library of Congress / Timothy H. O’Sullivan
In white letters against a black banner, the colorful back of the brochure is titled "Visiting Reconstruction Era's Key Sites." The top half of the page is dominated by a large map indicating the three sites of the park and driving routes to get to them. There is also a small black and white captioned photo in the upper left with historical and cultural information. Beneath the photo, two short columns of text provide some park administrative information.
Beneath the map, a panoramic view of the salt marshes divides the page in half. This image is overlaid by a small cultural photo with artifacts pertaining to the marshes.
The bottom half of the page is sectioned into three vertical boxes of equal size, next to each other. Each box contains colored photos and text highlighting a specific site:
Additionally, there is a close-up detailed map of the walking trails and major points of interest at each site.
The related text, captions, associated maps, and photo descriptions are presented under their own sections throughout the brochure.
DESCRIBING: A small historical black and white photograph overlaid on a map of the sea islands.
SYNOPSIS: Five African American male students of varying ages work to plow a field with tools. In the left foreground, one young man walks behind a single plow pulled by two mules. Behind him, two other students rake the freshly created furrows. To the right of these boys, two more stand with tools in their hands.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the upper left corner of the brochure and overlaid on the sea islands map is an agricultural scene of five African American male students working in a small field surrounded by scattered trees. Standing in the field in the left foreground, two mules are harnessed to a single plow while one student stands behind, gripping the plow's two handles. Behind him to the right, two students hand rake the freshly created furrows. To the right of these two students, two more stand one behind the other with their tools. The one in front is shorter than the rest, wears short sleeves, and is facing the viewer. The students all wear work clothing consisting of long pants, all but one in long sleeves, and some also wear jackets. Behind them on the ground, several large fruit baskets are scattered about near a large pine tree, and several are upside down.
CAPTION: In the early 1900s Penn School added agricultural studies to the curriculum. Students could learn two-mule plowing, used for row crops hauled to local markets by wagon and consumed at family tables.
CREDIT: UNC Library / Penn School Papers
DESCRIBING: A color map of the key sites of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
SYNOPSIS: This map shows roads, bodies of water, and points of interest for visitor orientation and navigation. The map depicts an area roughly 12 miles wide and 8 miles tall. The town of Beaufort in the north includes the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center. The town of Port Royal to the south includes Pickney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station and Camp Saxton. In the southeast corner of the map is Penn Center which includes Darrah Hall and the Brick Baptist Church.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The color map fills the top half of the brochure. The town of Beaufort near the top of the map includes the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center. The town of Port Royal is a five-mile trip from the Beaufort visitor center and includes Pickney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station and Camp Saxton. Penn Center is about 7 miles to the southeast of Beaufort and includes Darrah Hall and the Brick Baptist Church.
Points of Interest:
This map depicts roads, bodies of water, and points of interest for visitor orientation and navigation. The map is oriented with north at the top and shows an area roughly 12 miles east to west and 8 miles north to south. The legend includes a circle with an arrow pointing up with the label north at the top. The scale bar shows the distance of 2 kilometers and 2 miles.
The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center is located in Beaufort near the top of the map and left of center. Pickney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station and Camp Saxton are located at Port Royal, about five miles south of Beaufort. Penn Center, which includes Darrah Hall and the Brick Baptist Church, is located on St. Helena Island about seven miles southeast of Beaufort.
Waterways: The Beaufort River, left of center, runs north to south with Battery Creek merging from the west and Cowen Creek flowing in from the east near the bottom of the map. The town of Beaufort in the north and Port Royal in the south both sit along the west bank of the Beaufort River.
Camp Saxton is on the north side of Port Royal and is also on the west bank of the Beaufort River. Penn Center, which includes Darrah Hall, and the Brick Baptist Church, sits along Cowen Creek. Another waterway, the Morgan River, enters the map at the northeast corner and flows south along the east side of the map, merging into Cowen Creek in the south.
Islands: The area is defined by many islands and sinuous waterways. Islands shown include Dataw Island in the northeast corner, St. Helena and Ladys Islands in the southeast, Cat Island in the south, and Port Royal Island in the southwest. The islands are separated by thin waterways and are not surrounded by large bodies of water like other islands in the world.
Roads and Travel: Highway 21, also called the Sea Islands Parkway, is the main highway and enters the map in the northwest and runs southeast. It goes through Beaufort and passes near the visitor center. Highway 21 continues southeast, then turns eastbound and passes just north of Penn Center at the town of Frogmore before exiting the map to the east.
Visitors traveling to Port Royal, Pickney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station, Camp Saxton, and Port Royal Island have two route options, which have similar distances:
1) Take Hwy 21 south, cross the Beaufort River, then turn right (southwest) on Lady Island Drive. Continue on Lady Island Drive and then turn left (south) on Ribault Road. Follow Ribault Road about a half mile, following signs for Pinckney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station on the left.
2) Take Hwy 21 north, which loops around Beaufort to the west. On the west side of Beaufort, turn left (south) on Ribault Road and follow it south for about three and a half miles to Pickney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station.
Traveling to Penn Center from Pinckney-Porter Chapel and Camp Saxton, take Ribault Road north briefly and then turn right (east) on Lady Island Drive. Follow Lady Island Drive to intersect with Hwy 21 (Sea Island Drive). Turn right on Hwy 21 (southeast) and continue to Frogmore and turn right, following signs for Penn Center.
RELATED TEXT: Reconstruction Era National Historical Park has many partners, and also manages Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. Learn more about the network at www.nps.gov/reconstruction.
Emergencies call 911
For firearms regulations check the park website.
We strive to make facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to a visitor center, ask a ranger, call us at (843) 962-0039, or check the park website at https://www.nps.gov/reer/index.htm
At all of our sites, rangers and volunteers are on staff to answer questions. All videos shown in our visitor contact stations are audio described and captioned. Service animals are allowed into all of our buildings.
Downtown Visitor Center: Our Downtown Beaufort Visitor Center can be a great place to start your visit. The visitor center has an accessible electric door with a switch both inside the building and outside. There is a small ramp up to the door with a slope on all sides. All exhibits are on the first floor, and the bathroom is accessible. A water fountain is available to refill reusable water bottles. Braille versions of our brochure are available upon request. We do not have a parking lot downtown, but there are many nearby paid parking areas.
Pinckney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station: A ramp located on the right side of Pinckney-Porter's Chapel leads to the wheelchair accessible entrance. Accessible parking is available at the front of the building by the ramp. The bathroom in the chapel is accessible. A water fountain located next to the restroom is available to refill reusable water bottles. On any tours at Pinckney-Porter's Chapel, you can request the ranger use a sound amplifier.
Darrah Hall (Penn Center Campus): Accessible parking is available in front of the restrooms at Darrah Hall. The ramp on the right side of the building provides a wheelchair accessible entrance. Restrooms have accessible stalls, with changing tables. In front of the restrooms is a water bottle refill station. The Capers Creek trail behind Darrah Hall is not wheelchair accessible. It is a flat dirt trail around 0.25 miles long through a forested area. On any tours at Darrah Hall, you can request the ranger use a sound amplifier.
TEXT: More Information
Visit Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
706 Craven St., Beaufort, SC 29902
Website: www.nps.gov/reer
Visitor Information Center Phone: (843) 962-0039
Follow us on social media.
Use the official NPS App to guide your visit.
Reconstruction Era National Historical Park is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. To learn more about national parks, visit www.nps.gov.
Join the national park community, visit the National Parks Foundation at www.nationalparks.org
CREDIT: GPO:2024—427-085/83191 Last updated 2024
DESCRIBING: A panoramic color photograph.
SYNOPSIS: This panoramic color photograph is of the salt marshes in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The narrow image spans the width of the brochure and divides the back of the brochure in half. The large Key Sites map is above and the three individual historic site maps are below.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the foreground, random large and small clumps of marsh grasses protrude from the water, tall enough that their tips bend over slightly. Between the grass clumps in the foreground, the clouds and blue sky are reflected in the still water. The grass is bright green at its base just above and reflected in the water, and then the upper third changes to a golden brown. There are large gaps between clumps of grass in the foreground, but nearing the background they blend together into a flat solid mass of golden brown in front of a green tree line that forms the horizon. Those trees mark the edge of an island under a blue sky that transitions seamlessly into the water features of the Key Sites map above. A small cut-out cultural image of sweetgrass baskets overlaps both the lower edge of the marsh and the upper edge of Penn Center historic site information box.
DESCRIBING: A colored cutout photograph
SYNOPSIS: A cutout photograph depicts two different styles of tightly woven sweetgrass baskets. On the left is a wastebasket and on the right is an egg basket. They are overlayed against the light blue and gray backdrop of the brochure's marshland water image.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: In the cutout photo, two tightly woven sweetgrass baskets are set against the light blue and gray background of the brochure's marsh image.
The basket on the left is a cylindrical wastebasket. It's a light tan color with two dark brown horizontal bands wrapping around its body — separating the cylinder into thirds. At the top, the rim flares out and the cylindrical shape tapers slightly inward from base to rim.
The basket on the right is a dark brown egg basket and slightly overlaps the first basket. It is a low, oval shaped basket with a high arching handle that extends slightly higher than the rim of the wastebasket. The egg basket is the same dark brown color as the horizontal stripes on the wastebasket, and is the same height as its lower stripe. The tall arching handle crosses the narrow width of the oval basket and is integrated seamlessly into the basket’s design, giving it a cohesive look.
CAPTION: Gullah people create sweetgrass baskets that reflect their ancestors’ traditions.
CREDIT: Wastebasket By Leola Wright —Avery Research Center For African American History and Culture, College Of Charleston.
Egg Basket By Elizabeth Mazyck—American Museum Of Natural History
DESCRIBING: A colorful computer-generated map of Beaufort National Historic Landmark District.
SYNOPSIS: A vibrant map depicting the location and layout of the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District in downtown Beaufort. The map includes the historical district's boundary and key landmarks including the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center, Beaufort History Museum, Beaufort River, and US Route 21. The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center is marked in green, The Beaufort History Museum is marked in black, Penn Center's direction in black, and the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District in orange.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The Beaufort National Historic Landmark District map covers about a one square mile area and depicts the layout of the historical district. Located in the southeast corner of Beaufort, the district is surrounded on three sides by a sharp bend in the Beaufort River.
The simple map key is located in the lower left corner. A black line circle with an arrow inside it indicates north toward the top of the map. The scale is in quarter of a mile and quarter of a kilometer increments.
The historical district is shaded in orange with an orange boundary line and is an area about eighteen blocks wide and ten blocks north to south. US Route 21 approaches from the west (Boundary Street) and forms the northern boundary. It winds through the district (becomes Carteret Street when it turns south) and is marked in yellow. It exits the district headed south and crosses the Beaufort River.
Reconstruction Era National Historical Park Visitor Center is marked in green and is near the intersection of Craven and Scott streets, a block west of US 21. The Beaufort History Museum, marked in bold black, is across the street from the visitor center.
The Beaufort River, in blue, borders the district in the northeast, southeast, and southwest. A directional arrow next to US 21 over the river points south and reads "to Penn Center." Several small unnamed islands are visible in the river.
CAPTION: Beaufort National Historic Landmark District
CREDIT: NPS
RELATED TEXT: Begin your exploration of the Reconstruction era at the park visitor center in the Old Beaufort Firehouse. You’ll find exhibits, publications, restrooms, and information about park programs. Parking is limited. Take a walking tour of the surrounding Beaufort National Historic Landmark District before you go to Penn Center and Camp Saxton. Visit the park website for current hours.
DESCRIBING: A small, rectangular color photograph of the Old Beaufort Firehouse.
SYNOPSIS: This is a small, rectangular color photograph of a brick building, the Old Beaufort Firehouse. The one and a half story firehouse features tall arched window openings, tall enough for a horse-drawn firetruck to enter. Low lying bushes surround the building. Leafy tree branches graze the pointed roof.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A small, rectangular color photograph of a brick building, the Old Beaufort Firehouse, which serves as the Visitor Center for the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park.
The photo was taken with the long side of the building to the right angled away from the viewer. The short side of the building is on the left.
Viewing the building's short side on the left, the triangular gable roof is outlined with black timbers, which stand out against the bricks. Beneath the roofline are three tall narrow windows. The middle window is arched and flanked on both sides by vertical, rectangular windows. The window bottoms are hidden behind green bushes and shrubs.
Along the right side of the building, there are three single-story arches. A dark sign with white text identifying the building stands in front of the first arch. Trimmed hedges border this side of the building. A mature, leafy tree, taller than the firehouse fills the right top of the photo.
CAPTION: Old Beaufort Firehouse, built ca. 1912, was donated to the park by a local family.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: An image of a bronze bust of a man on a stone pedestal.
SYNOPSIS: A bronze bust of Robert Smalls with a lot of patina (a green or brown film produced by oxidation). The bust shows a middle aged Smalls with short curly hair, a mustache and goatee. Smalls wears a jacket, shirt and vest. At his neck he wears a cravat tied into a bow. The stone pedestal under the bust of Smalls has a quote carved into it from Smalls.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A bronze bust of Robert Smalls with a lot of patina (a green or brown film produced by oxidation) on his forehead, and suit jacket. The bust cuts off at his shoulders in the shape of a V down to the middle of his chest. The bust shows a middle aged Smalls with short curly hair, a mustache and goatee. Smalls wears a jacket, shirt and vest. At his neck he wears a cravat tied into a bow. The stone pedestal under the bust of Smalls is square and gray with a quote carved into it from Smalls. "Robert Smalls" is carved in large text to identify the statue. Under the name, the quote: "My race needs no special defense. For the past history of them in this country proves them to be the equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life" is engraved in smaller text followed by "Robert Smalls" to identify the quote.
CAPTION: Memorial bust of Robert Smalls, Tabernacle Baptist Church, a short walk from the firehouse.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A map of the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District
SYNOPSIS: A small color map depicts the boundary and points of interest within the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District from Capers Creek (very left of the map) to just beyond the Brick Baptist Church (very right of the map). The main road of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive runs through the right third of the map from top to bottom. Points of interest include the Welcome Center, York W. Bailey Museum, Darrah Hall, Capers Creek Nature Trail, the Retreat House, and Brick Baptist Church.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: A half-mile by half-mile map depicts the boundaries and the points of interest within the Penn Center National Historic Landmark District. The district is located between Capers Creek to the west (left side of the map) and a point just east of the Brick Baptist Church (right side of the map). Within the larger map, the historic district itself is a horizontal and roughly rectangular shaped area a half-mile wide east to west by one third of a mile north to south and is outlined in green.
A simple map key in the lower left corner has a black arrow in a black line circle pointing toward north at the top of the map, a white P in a black square indicating parking locations, and a scale in tenths of a kilometer and tenths of a mile.
The main road, Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, runs through the right third of the map from north to south. All but one of the points of interest are on the left (west) side of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. The Brick Baptist Church is on the right (east) side.
The Welcome Center, the York W. Bailey Museum and parking are accessed via a looped road at the main entrance. The road within the historical district has paved and unpaved sections.
Following the looped road south to a second loop is Darrah Hall, the Capers Creek Nature Trail, and more parking. The Capers Creek Nature Trail is 0.3 miles each way and runs from the back of Darrah Hall to the Retreat House located at the west end of the district and near the edge of Capers Creek. The Retreat House and west end of the hiking trail can also be accessed via a right turn on the road from the Welcome Center, which transits the northern side of the district.
To the right (east) of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive near the district's northern boundary is Brick Baptist Church and a series of other buildings that are not labeled but within the landmark district boundary. A looped road takes visitors around the eastern third of the campus and returns to Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive.
The National Park Service Property is shown in green and takes up two small sections in the bottom left of the entire boundary of the National Landmark District.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A modern, small colored photograph.
SYNOPSIS: This image is a front and partial right side view of Darrah Hall. It is a worn, white-sided, rectangular building with red trim and distinctive dark shingled siding on the front gable area above the front porch. There is an accessibility ramp on the right side. The building is surrounded by green grass and there are trees on the left side and in the background.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: This angled view of Darrah Hall is of the front-facing narrow side of the rectangular building to the photo's left. The long, right side of the building angles slightly to the right. The dark gable area above the front porch stands out. It extends from the top of the porch to the peak and is covered by worn black shingles that contrast with the rest of the building's white siding. A small circular window with red trim is centered in the dark gable area. Beneath the gable area, the front porch is nearly as wide as the building and is supported by four square columns. Six weather-worn steps in the center ascend to the porch, which has a gray metal pipe railing. The weather-worn white facade includes two rectangular windows on either side of the main entrance door. Both windows have red trim and shutters hinged to the windows. The front entrance is a double door and the National Park Service arrowhead logo hangs on the left side. Above the doorway is a short wide window (transom window), the same width as the doorway. A sidewalk leads from the front steps around to an accessibility ramp along the right and long side of the building. The ramp leads up to a covered side entrance that also has a set of steps from the right. That side has four red-trimmed windows and the nearest one is covered by a red shutter. The building has a green lawn in front and some tall trees to the left.
CAPTION: St. Helena residents built Darrah Hall (above), a community and recreation center, in the 1890s.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A small rectangular modern color photo.
SYNOPSIS: This is a modern photo of the rectangular shaped, two-story Brick Baptist Church, which is surrounded by trees draped with Spanish moss. The view faces the right front corner of the building with the long side of the building angling away to the left and the narrow side of the building to the right. The entrance is in the center of the long side.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The present day church is two-story reddish brick with a red shingle roof and nearly fills the photo. In the center front of the long side of the church, an awning matching the brick color protects the steps and main entrance door. The building's facade (exterior front face) is divided into five vertical, recessed spaces extending from the ground to the roofline.
Each recess has one large window on each floor, except for the center one, which has the entrance door on the first floor rather than a window. The narrow side of the building has three recessed spaces, and the outer recesses have windows like the front. The center recess has just a single window, set a little below the midpoint. The church sits on a green lawn and a low hedge of green bushes trims the exterior walls. Trees draped with Spanish moss surround and partially shade the church. A single floor building to the left of the church is tucked into the trees and has a gray roof.
CAPTION: Brick Baptist Church, built 1855
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A small rectangular horizontal color photo
SYNOPSIS: Beneath the Brick Baptist Church photo is a modern photo of Gantt Cottage. It is a side view of a single story house with white siding, a metal roof, and a porch. The cottage is surrounded by trees and most are draped with Spanish moss.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The cottage is in the right two-thirds of the photo, toward the background with a line of trees close behind it. A large tree in the foreground occupies the left third of the image. The cottage is covered with white siding and has four evenly spaced multi-pane windows. A second mature tree is next to the house, much taller than the roof, and blocks the view of one window.
The main entrance on the narrow left facing side of the cottage is protected by a small screened porch with two white support posts. A large green bush partially blocks the view of the porch.
The peaked (gable) metal roof is bathed in sun and tinted red from rust. A short red brick chimney protrudes from the left end of the roof’s peak, near the porch. In the center of the photo, a large diameter section of a tree trunk lays in the grass between the tree in the foreground and the cottage.
CAPTION: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stayed in Gantt Cottage while at Penn Center.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A black and white photograph with a color background
SYNOPSIS: A black and white cutout of Martin Luther King, Jr., from the chest up facing and looking toward the right with a fixed, serious gaze. He is African American, has short neatly trimmed black hair on a high forehead, and a thin mustache. He is wearing a black pastor's robe with visible collar and cuffs of a white shirt worn underneath and is wearing a dark colored tie. He is gesturing with his hands, which are raised in front, level with his chin. His palms are facing each other and the fingers on both hands are splayed.
The cutout image of MLK, Jr. is overlaid on the Darrah Hall photograph, so that the left front corner of the building's front porch and steps is visible in the upper right corner.
CAPTION: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in Gantt Cottage while at Penn Center.
CREDIT: Copyright Flip Schulke Archives
DESCRIBING: A small square, colored map of Camp Saxton, Port Royal
SYNOPSIS: A small square, colored map of Camp Saxton, Port Royal shown in close-up detail. The map depicts the driving or walking route from Pinckney-Porter’s Chapel (marked in green) to Fort Frederick Preserve (marked in orange), following a brown dashed line toward the lower right (southeast) to Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve on Old Fort Road. The route is less than a mile, includes some sidewalks, crosses at a busy intersection and transits residential neighborhoods. The map key is located in the bottom left.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: This small, square, colored map of Camp Saxton covers approximately a one square mile area and depicts the walking or driving route between the Pinckney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station and the Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve in close-up detail with a dashed brown line. The map key is in the lower left corner. Symbols indicate key components:
Direction and Scale: A black arrow pointing up in a black circle indicates north is toward the top. A map scale is marked in both a tenth of a kilometer and a tenth of a mile.
Parking: Black boxes with a white "P" show the locations of three parking areas. One is near the Pinckney-Porters Visitor Contact Station, another is just inside the entrance to Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve, and the third is at the Fort Frederick Ruins.
Pavilion: A white outline of half a house in a black box indicates the pavilion located at the Fort Frederick Ruins.
Map Layout: Old Shell Road runs north to south and divides the map vertically in half. The left side of the map and a small connected section across Shell Road on the lower right side of the map is shown in yellow. The yellow area is shaped like a boot with the toe to the lower right and features the public land. It includes Pinckney-Porter's Chapel Visitor Contact Station in the upper left portion and the driving and walking route to Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve and the Fort Frederick Ruins located in the lower right. To the right of Old Shell Road, the upper three fourths of the map is beige and labeled Naval Support Facility Beaufort. A gate to the facility at the east end of Pinckney Road is labeled "No public access." The far right side of the map is bordered by the Beaufort River.
Route Description: Navigating from Pinckney-Porter's Chapel to Fort Frederick Historic Preserve and the Fort Frederick Ruins, the route is less than a mile, includes some sidewalks, crosses at a busy intersection and transits residential neighborhoods. Beginning in the upper left, the brown dashed zig-zag route begins on Pinckney Boulevard at the Pinckney-Porter's Chapel. It heads east and ends at a T intersection at Old Shell Road across from the Naval facility gate. The route turns south onto Old Shell Road. It continues southeast toward the lower right and then turns east and follows Old Fort Road, arriving first at Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve. The brown dashed line stops at the preserve, but Old Fort Road continues east to Fort Frederick Ruins. Reverse route to return to Pinckney-Porter's Chapel.
CREDIT: NPS
DESCRIBING: A nineteenth century sepia photograph
SYNOPSIS: A historic sepia photograph of Camp Saxton, located in Beaufort County, South Carolina. The view is an outdoor scene. From a distance, people are standing and waiting on a wooden dock and along the ruins of Fort Frederick, overlooking the Beaufort River.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The scene is from a distance over an open grassy area, toward the Beaufort River, with two short live oak trees on the right. The grassy area slopes down towards a dock and the ruins of old Fort Frederick at the Beaufort River's edge. It depicts about 25 people. The majority of people are scattered to the right along the ruins. The few people on the left are standing on a long uneven dock. The distance of the photo makes the features of the people indistinguishable. The near end of the dock is attached on-shore near the left-center of the photo. The dock extends to the left, the far end attached to part of the ruins, and the middle supported by poles. Just offshore in the Beaufort River, a two-masted schooner (type of sailboat) with its sails down sits still on the water. A narrow strip of trees spans the horizon in the distant background and is known as Lady's Island.
CAPTION: On January 1, 1863, hundreds of people joined the emancipation celebration at Camp Saxton, using a dock built over the ruins of Fort Frederick.
CREDIT: Library of Congress
DESCRIBING: A color photograph of a historical building.
SYNOPSIS: The photograph shows a small, white wooden chapel under a partly cloudy blue sky. The small chapel is surrounded by green lawns, white fences, and informational signs.
IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION: The image focal point is the gable front of a small, white, wooden chapel with a steep pitched roof and central doorway. The chapel features a distinctive belfry with a pointed steeple that is topped with a cross. The walkway leading to the front porch and entrance is straight and bordered by a neat lawn. Several small green shrubs are spaced along the front and sides of the front porch, which has a white railing and four steps leading up to the entrance in the center. The entrance door is flanked by symmetrical multi-pane windows on either side.
A brown sign with white, indistinguishable text hangs above the doorway. Informational signs sit just outside of the white fence that surrounds the property and flank the entrance walkway. They provide context and information about the structure and its history. In the background, trees and additional buildings, which include another white building with a red roof, are visible. The blue sky is partly cloudy.
CAPTION: Stop at the reconstructed Pinckney-Porter’s Chapel for information about how to visit Camp Saxton and colonial-era Fort Frederick.
CREDIT: NPS