In the late 1600’s, enslaved West Africans tended the rice and cotton fields of the Georgia and South Carolina sea islands.
As the Emanciapation Proclamation brought freedom, many fled to Hilton Head Island and its Union Army outpost to start the first freedman’s village in the United States: Mitchelville. Many of the decendants, known as Gullah, stayed on the Island. Throughout the years, the Gullah have protected their heritage through language, food and customs. Get out and explore Hilton Head’s rich Gullah Heritage History:
- On Beach City Road, visit Queen Chapel AME Church (established in 1865 as a praise house for slaves) and the historic Mitchelville site where a new Historic Mitchelville Park is planned within the town’s Fish Haul Park location.
- Gullah Heritage Trail Tours offers a two-hour narrated drive through 10 Gullah villages.
- Celebrate Gullah culture each February at the month-long Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration. Enjoy art shows, craft expos, food, film, musicals and more.
- The Penn Center, on St. Helena Island, is the site of one of the nations first schools for freed slaves. November’s Heritage Days event feature storytellers and music.
SWEETGRASS SOUVENIRS:
The intricate art of making sweetgrass baskets is one of the most treasured Gullah traditions in the Lowcountry. The craft is more than 300-years-old. You can event make one yourself at the Coastal Discovery Museum, which hosts basket-making classes through-out the year.
