Beaufort's 304-acre National Historic Landmark District boasts a rich and diverse collection of historic architecture. While noted for the elegant landmarks of its wealthy plantation past, Beaufort also possesses significant buildings that reflect the continuum of its rich history and the cultural and economic diversity of its population. The water that surrounds three sides of the city provides a principal character-defining element of the district as do its moss-draped oaks, palmettos, crepe myrtle and other native plant life.

Buildings in the National Landmark District exhibit many classic styles of American architecture, from Colonial to Modern. Still, stylistic influences are often mixed. As Beaufort's prosperity rose and fell, new buildings were erected and older ones remodeled. Hence, architectural character changes from neighborhood to neighborhood and, often, from block to block. The result is a rich architectural tapestry dominated by a number of antebellum mansions set among smaller scale 19th and early 20th century structures. Beaufort's earliest and grandest buildings are generally located on The Point and along The Bluff as shown by the masterful photography of Friedhelm Dohmann. This calendar codes "0" for those on The Bluff, and "1" for those on The Point.

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This wonderful house on The Bluff area along Bay Street is the first you see as you leave the Downtown area. Yet as you go through the beautiful iron gate you get a sense of old world richness and leave the hustle and bustle behind. George Parsons Elliott built this house around 1844 and gave it a 'casa blanca' appearance with massive pillars rising to the roof-line The upper verandah was added before the end of the 19th century, giving the house a commanding view. Dr. Wm. Jenkins acquired the house before the Civil War. It changed hands again during the war when it was purchased by George Holmes and his wife Julia Hazel Holmes. Mrs. Holmes lived in the house until her death in the 1930's. It was a museum for a time and was sold and adapted for office space in the early 1990s. The antique roses on the iron railing still soften the view and your senses with their fragrance, and the breeze still rustles through the palmetto.

Built of Tabby by the first William Elliott, minus today's front verandahs and detailing. The house was purchased, remodeled and given it's name by a retired Naval Officer, Admiral Beardsley circa 1910. Later, the house was used as a guest house for many years. In 1971 it was saved by the Historic Beaufort Foundation who found a sympathetic buyer.

There are two plausible legends that have grown about this house over the years; one states that the house was cut and moved from an unhealthy original location; and the other say that it had been a Presbyterian Manse. In either case it was purchased and moved by the Cuthbert family circa 1840 to it's present location and there are structural indications that give credence to both legends. The house remained in the Cuthbert family until purchased by Union General Rufus Saxton at the Direct Tax Auction after the Civil War.

The house may have been built by Robert Means, or he purchased it from John Bull circa 1800. In either case, the house was in the possession of Mr. Means' ancestors at the time of the Direct Tax Sale in the 1860's. George Gage, a native of Ohio purchased the house in 1872. Gage lost out to Robert Smalls in the selection of a new Collector of Customs in 1889. The house was in Mr. Gage's family until it was sold in 1919 to Major Denby.

The house was built circa 1786 by Thomas Fuller. During the Civil War, the house was purchased by Rev. Mansfield French, a Methodist Missionary out of New York. It was purchased by Almira Onthank in 1870 and operated as a guest house for more than a century by her heirs. The novel, A Sea Island Lady was written by Mr. Francis Griswold while he was a guest in Tabby Manse. This novel gives a glimpse into the life of old Beaufort.

Believed to be built on St. Helena Island by Dr. Benjamin Rhett early 1800's. It was purchased on it's present site by Rev. Charles Edward Leverett in 1854, the last rector of Old Sheldon Church. After the Civil War he successfully reclaimed his home and it remained in the family until 1920.

Surrounded by a lush garden and great oaks, the feeling of hospitality begins at the cast-iron fence. The present house was built in the early 1930s on the foundations of the original cottage built by General Stephen Bull, who belonged to the same period as "Tuscarora Jack" Barnwell.

A Connecticut Yankee in an antebellum court, this lovely, vigorous Victorian house was built by William Ritchie who came here with the Northern Army from Connecticut and decided to stay.

This home is believed to have been built by John Joyner Smith around 1813. The house was originally in the Federal style and was remodeled around 1850 in the Greek Revival style. During the Civil War, General Stevens, the Federal Military Commander, occupied the house with his staff. The original elaborate front entry is a false entrance. Everything about this home depicts an era of gracious southern living. The smaller house at the back of the property is believed to be the original barn or carriage house.

This home was built with a Victorian exterior by E. A. Scheper in 1893 as an inviting showplace. In 1938 the exterior of the house was transformed from delicate gingerbread to Antebellum Revival. The rooms were enlarged and cabinetmakers created the beautifully carved mantel in the library. A national architecture and design magazine featured the home in the 60's.

The house, a two story tabby structure, was purchased and remodeled by Milton Maxcy, a New England school teacher in about 1800 as a school for boys. It was purchased by leading South Carolina secessionist, Edmund Rhett in 1860 and remodeled in the Greek Revival style. The house was used by the Union Army as officer's quarters, as a hospital and as the office of the Paymaster.

Similar to the "Secession House", this is an excellently proportioned house with two-story wrap-around piazzas and transom-lighted doorways. This home was purchased by Mr. Thomas Rhett and his wife Caroline Barnwell Rhett, prior to the Civil War. The builder is unknown, but his work is cherished, including mantels revealed in a recent renovation.

This home was built in 1852 by Lewis Reeve Sams and inherited by Rev. Thomas Fuller Sams after the death of his mother in 1857. He was able to reacquire it after the Civil War and mortgaged it to George W. Woodman and then to George Waterhouse. Waterhouse purchased the house in 1869. In 1907 he saved his house from the Great Beaufort Fire by forming a bucket brigade from the pump in the garden to the roof, where they kept cinders from igniting the roof-shingles. The houses on either side were destroyed.

This home was built for Dr. Joseph Fickling Johnson with bricks from his own Lady's Island plantation on Brickyard Point. The house is made of brick covered with a thin layer of plaster, and is one of Beaufort's most romantic houses. The color is elusive, seeming to dance with the landscape to take on the colors around it. It appears to blush as the tide comes calling. The house was used as a hospital during the Civil War and Dr. Johnson was fortunately able to pay back taxes and reacquire the house after the war. It remained in Dr. Johnson's family until 1981 and recently went through a painstaking restoration by the current owners.

There are two competing legends about this house: first that it was built by Joseph Hazel, circa 1840, a planter and plantation manager and a successful grower of sea island cotton. The house remained in the Hazel family after the Civil War until the death of his granddaughter Francis Fleming Hazel in 1936. The second legend is more romantic, stating that the house was built by Joseph Hasell and was saved after the Civil War by daughter Julia's marriage to Mr. George Holmes of New York who left her very well off until her death in 1938.

It is generally believed that James Rhett began construction of this house in 1884 as a home for his bride in 1886. There are rumors that Mr. Rhett planned for the living space to be double the present size, however this can't be substantiated. There is much evidence to indicate he wanted a cool house with verandahs and Jib doors for cross ventilation, exactly what he wanted for warm summer evenings with his new bride.

Marshlands was built by Dr. James R. Verdier, the second son of John Mark Verdier I. Dr. Verdier was a pioneer in the successful treatment of yellow fever epidemics that were so prevalent along the southeast coast. The house was sold to William Chisholm just before the Civil War and a direct tax claim was made after the war in the names of Sarah P. and Samuel A. Chisholm. Marshlands is the setting for Francis Griswold's book, A Sea Island Lady, of 1931.

The date of this house is still in question. In a conveyance dated 1860, John J. Rhodes refers to the property where the house is located as the Mill. Although it belonged to the Rhodes family, this house was not a mill, suggesting an earlier use of the property. It is a small typical Beaufort style house which has also been dated as early as 1823, which could explain why part of the frame is made of uncut tree limbs. It is called "Little Taj" because of it's reflection in the tidal basin.

The provenance of this home was at the corner of Prince and Scott Streets, where it was rescued by the Historic Beaufort Foundation and moved to its present site in 1973. The house was built for Sarah Reeve Gibbes by her brothers. Miss Gibbes married Mr. William Wigg Barnwell, grandson of the Revolutionary War hero, Maj. William Hazzard Wigg. During the Civil War, the house served as Union Hospital.

Thought to be constructed by Julius I. Washington in 1912 findings during renovations suggest the earlier date of 1840 or 1850. Washington added the two rear upstairs rooms and reversed the stairs, so that they ascended from the rear of the central hall. The Washington family retained ownership until the 1960's.

This beautiful home was built by Henry McKee in 1834, McKee sold the house to the DeTrevilles in 1855. Robert Smalls was born 1839 to the McKee's cook as a slave in one of the cabins. As a teenager he had the responsibility of being companion to the McKee children. He progressed from slave to ship pilot. His knowledge of the rivers and inlets proved invaluable to the Union, and he ended with a General's Commission in the South Carolina Negro Militia. He served as legislator, a US Congressman and Customs Collector. With prize money from the sale of the ship Planter, which he captured from Confederate forces at Charleston and delivered to Federal forces at Beaufort, he purchased his former master's house in a Direct Tax Commission sale in 1863 after the war. The McKees also moved back to Beaufort and old Mrs. McKee wandered into the house one day, thinking it was still her own. Mr. Smalls had her returned to her old room and cared for her as a beloved friend until she died.

Built at the end of what could be considered Beaufort's golden age and the beginning of the Cotton Boom, this mansion has a massive, distinguished presence. The view with a large expanse of grass, known as the "Front Green", leads your eye to four sturdy Doric Pillars and 1880's balustrades, that give the structure a strong meditative quality. The second home built in Beaufort by Dr. Berners Barnwell Sams, this Classic Revival home has been a plantation house; the original quarters and outbuildings are still in the rear courtyard, including a blacksmith shop, a cook house and a laundry. It has served as a Union Hospital, a rectory for St. Helena's Episcopal Church and, lastly, as a family home since 1900.

Edgar Fripp reportedly built this house to use as his summer home when the heat and mosquitos made life at his plantation home on St. Helena Island intolerable. He sold it later to his brother James. During the civil war, the house served as Union Hospital #7. Set high off the ground in the center of an oak shaded lot, the house is almost encircled by the Beaufort River. The house became famous as a location for the popular films like "The Big Chill", "The Great Santini" and "The Prince of Tides" based on novels by Beaufort native, Pat Conroy.

This home was built by Dr. John Johnson and his wife Claudia circa 1850. The house quietly fell into disrepair over the years, storm damage, and damage from hurricane Gracie in 1959 proved more than the house could stand. In 1973 the chimney fell taking much of the north wall with it. The owners sold the house to the Historic Beaufort Foundation, who resold it to purchasers willing to restore one hundred years plus of unintended neglect.

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