Beaufort, SC

We took a trip to Beaufort (which we found out, is pronounced "byoo-fort", not "bow-fort") today.  Lots of beautiful antebellum homes, dating way back before the Civil War, unlike Bluffton, where we went yesterday.

We started out at the Visitors Center, which is housed in what was the Beaufort Arsenal.  From here, the  townspeople kept watch over the river, and would try to get the first shot in if anyone was trying to sneak in for an attack.

From there we took off on a walking tour of some of the homes.  I just love all the big wide porches, and the architecture in general, of this time period!  Most of the homes on this tour were built in the early- to mid-1800's.

Love the double staircase entry.

Parts of Forrest Gump were filmed in this area.  His house was built on a plantation outside of Beaufort, but was torn down after filming because it wasn't built to code.  The Vietnam scenes were filmed off the Beaufort coast on Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park.  This bridge was in one of Forrest's running scenes.  It was also seen in The Prince of Tides.

More cool homes:

Catholic Church 

Presbyterian church... One of the newest buildings on the tour.

Hidden behind these trees is The Big Chill house.  The current owners don't seem to want anyone to get a good view of it.

After the historic downtown tour, we went to the kazoo factory.  Yep, kazoos.  One of only 2 in the US.

They have a nice museum display, show you a short video of the history of kazoos, and then take you through the process of making the kazoos.

Little plastic pieces of the desired color are melted and then poured into a machine like this, and then cooled with water.  This part of the process is actually done in Florida.

This machine cuts the little disks that vibrate inside the kazoo to make the sound.

This machine helps them quickly bag the kazoos to send off all over the country, and all over the world.

This machine prints whatever needs to be printed on it.  At the time we were there, they were printing some with a band's name and logo for the band to toss out into the crowd.

We got to make our own kazoos, picking out the colors, inserting the little vibrating piece, and putting on the cap.  Then you stuck it in this machine so the cap was quickly popped on, and it won't come off.

I made a Royals kazoo, in powder blue and white.  Brad made... A bumblebee?

It was a lot of fun, and our tour guide, Erin, was a bundle of energy!

Bluffton, SC

Today we decided to check out the nearby town of Bluffton.  We started at the Welcome Center, which is called the Heyward House.  It was the summer residence of John Cole, a local plantation owner.  It still has the original materials inside and out.  The girl at the welcome center said it was common for homes to be built slightly elevated, and then left open underneath, mostly for air circulation.

We picked up a map for the walking tour of the historic district, and set off!

This is the Fripp House, originally built in the late 1830's.

This is called the Card House.  Local legends say high-stakes poker games took place here, leading to the loss of land out on Hilton Head Island.

The original Pritchard House was burned during the Civil War.  The son of the original owners rebuilt this one.

This house is called The Bluff.

Squire Pope Carriage House 

The Church of the Cross, built in 1854.

Huger-Gordon house, built before 1855.

Seven Oaks, built in 1860.  The owners did not return after the Civil War, and the house served as a rooming house for salesmen and summer visitors in the 1920's.

Graves House, built in 1915.

Colcock-Teel house, built in 1890.

Cedar Bluff, built in 1890.

Bluffton Oyster Factory, an oyster-processing and seafood business.  This building was constructed in 1940 to replace the previous building, and is the oldest cannery factory still in operation in South Carolina.

Orange Cottage, originally built in 1930.  Later owners added vinyl siding and soffits, but that has been removed now to expose the original pine lap siding and the rafter tails.

"The Store", built in 1904.

And look what I saw hanging out front... The same sign I saw at Jekyll Island!

John Seabrook House, built in 1850.  Mr Seabrook was a plantation owner.

Basel Heywood, Sr house, built 1914.

Patz Brothers' house, originally built as a duplex in 1892, although now the center wall is gone and a central stairway was added.

Next to the Patz Brothers' house is the dry goods store they opened, even before building their house.

Cordray House, built in 1910.

Bruin House, built in 1915.

Campbell Chapel AME Church, originally built in 1853, then repaired after being damaged by fire in 1863.

Many of the historic homes on the tour were built after the Civil War.  That is because most of the town of Bluffton was burned in 1863, with only 15 houses and 2 churches surviving.

An interesting day, and we got lots of walking in!