St. Helena Island and Penn School

Thursday, Nov 13, 2014

Hunting Island State Park

South Carolina

Becky got up early enough to catch the sunrise at the beach.  It was a great way to start the day.

We joined Ann and Archie to go into St. Helena Island in search of Gullah food for lunch.  We found a Cafe where we enjoyed Shrimp Gumbo, Fried Chicken and Mac & Cheese.  After lunch we went in search of Penn School and York Bailey Museum.  Photos were only allowed outside.

After Union occupation of the sea islands of South Carolina in 1861, two northerners, Laura Towne and Ellen Murray, came to assist the freed slaves of this area, establishing Penn School here in 1862.  It started as an experiment as to whether freed slaves could live on their own.  They spent the mornings learning reading & writing and afternoons learning vocational skills.

Penn became an international model after their success as an industrial and agricultural school.  It's program was removed to the Beaufort County school system in 1948 but it is still a center for history for the African American hertiage.  There is a annual celebration of Black history where children are encouraged to remember their past.  It was also a gathering spot during the Civil Rights movement.

The Great Sea Island Storm struck this area on August 27, 1893, a huge "tropical cyclone", the largest and most powerful storm to hit SC until Hurricane Hugo in 1989.  It made landfall just East of Savannah, GA.  With gusts as high as 120 mph and storm surge as high as 12 feet, the worst of the storm struck the Sea Islands near Beaufort, St. Helena, Hilton Head and smaller islands were devastated.  The storm killed more than 2,000 and left more than 70,000 destitute in coastal SC and GA.  Losses in lives and property were most catastrophic among blacks who were former slaves and their descendants. Clara Barton and the American Red Cross launched a massive relief effort, the first after a hurricane in U.S. history. Donations in 1893-94 fed, clothed, and sheltered thousands.

This was our last day on Hunting Island.  We're off to see Savannah tomorrow as we continue our tour of the Low Country.

Lonnie and Becky