Beaufort Historic District Beaufort, South Carolina

Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.

1969 DESCRIPTION

Beaufort (pronounced Bew'fort), second oldest town in South Carolina, is a settlement on Port Royal Island, one of 65 islands that make up Beaufort county.

Although the town has a turbulent history of wars and hurricanes, it preserves distinctive charm and tranquility. Handsome old houses wear the patina of time. Old fashioned gardens bloom colorfully and fragrantly. Scarlet poinsettias are framed against tabby walls. An avenue of palmettos lines Boundary street. Great spreading live oaks, festooned with Spanish moss, weave shifting patterns on narrow, winding streets. Lush grass slopes down to ancient sea walls. Through green vistas, the gray-green river gleams, and beyond the river stretches the bay.

Originally laid out in 1710, by order of the Lords Proprietors, the plan of Beaufort is a regular grid superimposed on the first lowlands of Port Royal. Modified to fit the irregular shoreline of Beaufort River, the plan has remained virtually unchanged.

The area comprises approximately 304 acres in which are located about 170 buildings, both public and private. Of both historic and architectural interest, they date from the early-18th to the mid-19th century.

The architecture reflects a wealthy and enterprising town whose inhabitants were obviously people of taste and cultivation. Unlike the predominantly urban designs of its two larger neighbors — Charleston and Savannah — Beaufort houses, free standing on large lots, are more akin to the architecture of Southern plantations of the period — plantations brought to town and adapted to the heat of summer weather and the dampness of lowlands, as well as to the aesthetics of their waterfront settings.

There are many elements of Beaufort architecture which are typical and worthy of note.

The main facade of the great Beaufort houses faces south to the river. This facade, varied in both design and detail, is usually adorned with a two-story verandah on a high podium of stucco over brick, or stucco over tabby. The classical orders are generally used for the slender columns, one order juxtaposed over another. Proportions and carvings are excellent. A beautiful example is the Edmund Rhett (or the Secession) House, with Ionic columns on the first level and Corinthian above. Sometimes the verandah is limited to a two-story portico at the front door and the door on the balcony above. More frequently, the two-story verandah runs across the entire south front; at times, it continues around part of the east and west sides of the house. The effect is of unusual lightness and grace.

Main body of the house is a sturdy cube, the roof usually low pitched and inconspicuous. The verandah's base is often open for ventilation of the basement floor, which is usually only a short distance below ground level. Supporting the verandahs are piers and arches, as at the Secession House, Marshlands and the James Rhett House. These arcades are attractive architectural features in themselves.

The interiors generally have two open central halls, one above the other and connected by a handsome central stairway with a Palladian window at the landing. There may be a ballroom on the second floor. The feeling is one of great dignity and spaciousness.

The spatial arrangements, ceiling heights and hallway design, related to interior wall openings, exterior doors and windows, are a concerted attempt to provide ventilation and light control. Interior shutters are beautifully Grafted and ingenious design of openings permits free movement of air inside and out.

Ornamental interior woodwork is frequently beautifully executed. Window and door frames, mantels, cornices and wainscoting are usually very good and there is also some fine panelling. Eighteenth century detail is sometimes carried over into early 19th century houses, followed by Classic Revival through early Victorian. Some houses contain an interesting mixture. The craftsmanship is almost universally excellent.

There is no common type of mantel or fireplace decoration. Some are quite elaborate and early ones combine wood, plaster and marble. Later ones are usually simple and well-proportioned, with little surface decoration.

Wainscoting are usually varied and frequently are a major design feature in halls, parlors and dining rooms.

In the halls, the great open stairway is a main feature, usually the most significant part of the interior design. The stairs frequently are doubled, either above or below the landing. At this level will be found a Palladian or formally ornamented window. Stair rails are generally light in design and add to the open feeling of the halls. Spiral and enclosed stairs are infrequent; the best and most spectacular is found at the Means House on the Point.

Ornamental plaster and woodwork, cornices and ceiling medallions from which fine chandeliers were usually suspended are usually of exceptional quality. Both 18th century houses and those built just prior to the War Between the States have the most ornate detailing, the best of which is found at the 1844 Baptist Church, where it is superlative. Marshlands also has an exceptionally fine plaster cornice of Gothic lace.

Interior furnishing is generally in excellent taste. Heirlooms that survived the Confederate War are featured and some of these are very fine. Historical material, family portraits, silver, glass and china of exceptional qualify may be found nearly everywhere.

The district includes several houses whose architectural quality makes them unique. The Tabby Manse, built about 1788, is a quiet, dignified and. beautiful proportioned house inside and out. In contrast is the extraordinary grandeur of the almost medieval Banner House with its massive octagonal masonry columns and its air of somber mystery, set in great oaks at the water's edge. In still further contrast is the handsome brick Means House of the early 1850s, with exceptional rich exterior wood carving, a spiral stair in the north hall, and a floor plan providing a great series of spaces.

The outstanding public building in Beaufort is the 1851 Arsenal, a fine Gothic castellated building, now the Beaufort Museum.

St. Helena's Episcopal Church and graveyard, and the Baptist Church interior, are exceptionally fine.

But the glory of Beaufort is the total collection of great houses set in gracious space. Beaufort is the place where the plantations came to town. The 10 pictures, enclosed with respective descriptions, were chosen at random. They typify Historic Beaufort, but they are only a fraction of the town's architectural treasure.

2001 DESCRIPTION

The City of Beaufort is located on Port Royal Island, along the South Carolina coast midway between Charleston to the north and Savannah, Georgia to the south. As described by Warren Boeschenstein in Historic American Coastal Towns Along the Atlantic Coast the surrounding landscape is defined by "tidal rivers and creeks [that] wind through a maze of grassy marshes and sandy islands to form one of the most intricate patterns of land and water in the world."1 Located on a high bluff at a bend in the Beaufort River, the town was originally sited such that it took advantage of the prevailing breezes that come up the river channel and blow across the peninsula formed between the Beaufort River and Pigeon Point Creek. These two waterways surround the peninsula to the south, east and north and serve as the southern and eastern boundary of the district.2 The topography of the district is generally flat, except along the steep southern bluff overlooking the river. Natural vegetation is dominated by the numerous moss-draped live oaks that are found throughout the peninsula.

The town was originally laid out in 1710 and developed in the mid to late eighteenth century as a center of trade for what became one of the wealthiest plantation regions in the antebellum South.

The Beaufort Historic District encompasses approximately 304 acres representing the original town and substantially all of its pre-twentieth century expansions. The relatively compact district contains 475 contributing resources, the majority of which (eighty-three percent) were constructed as single family residences. The district retains a small traditional commercial core, consisting of a mere three blocks, centrally located along the southern waterfront. Residential neighborhoods surround the commercial area to the west, north and east.

The general character of the district's surviving historic buildings can be classified as follows.

Buildings constructed prior to the Civil War are typically mansion houses on large lots. Exceptions include a handful of institutional buildings and a very limited number of smaller scale dwellings.

Post-Civil War buildings types are more diverse and include commercial, institutional and residential buildings of a variety of scales and styles.

Boundaries and Plan

The town of Beaufort was originally bounded to the west by Hamar Street, to the north by Duke Street, to the east by East Street and to the south by the Beaufort River. Land to the east was known as Black's Point and land to the north was glebe land for St. Helena's Parish. In 1785 the northern boundary was extended to Boundary Street and the western limit became Hamar Street.

In 1809 the Beaufort River became the eastern boundary. With the exception of the exclusion of blocks #124-125 and #131-133, which are cemeteries and recreational areas, the 1809 boundaries were essentially those chosen for the Beaufort Historic District when it was designated in 1969.

The city's limits remained in that configuration until 1913 when they were extended to encompass Pigeon Point and additional land to the west and southwest. At that time, the city's land area was increased from about one-half square mile to about three square miles.

Despite the irregularity of the district's eastern and southern boundaries caused by the Beaufort River, the street pattern of the Beaufort historic district is a grid that defines a series of rectangular blocks of relatively similar size. Blocks bounding the river maintain this pattern except on their waterfront sides. The north-south dimensions of the blocks are relatively consistent to the west of East Street and vary to its east. The east-west dimensions of the blocks remain fairly consistent from Hamar Street eastward to West Street. Blocks narrow somewhat from West to Hamilton Streets and are irregular to its east. This grid is based on the original layout of the town, circa 1710, and the pattern was followed as the town expanded. The original plan included a public square at the intersection of Carteret and Craven Streets, historically referred to as Central or Castle Square. Two of the corners of the square remain in public use: the former Carnegie Library, now a city office building (701 Craven Street, site #905) is located on the northwest corner and a city park is located at the southeast corner (site #1389).

In 1863, the U. S. Direct Tax Commission established a numbering system for the blocks that has continued to be used by subsequent cartographic sources and traditionally served the basis for property descriptions in post-Civil War deed records. Blocks were numbered from 1 to 137 starting at the the northeast end of the city. Numbering proceeds consecutively from north to south, resuming at the northernmost block of each successive row of blocks as it proceeds from east to west.

The block numbering system formed the basis for the 1998 city-wide architectural inventory, with sites generally being recorded in a clockwise direction on each block, although the pattern is not entirely consistent and several site numbers assigned later are out of sequence.

The evolution of the town plan and lot layouts are covered in more detail in the historical narrative.

Brooker cites Milner in describing the general pattern of lots:

"The original plat was made up of 397 available lots. Four public lots intersected by Carteret [and Craven]
streets, dominated the interior portion of the south east segment of the grid. Most of the rectangular blocks east of Carteret Street were divided into six or more lots: those to the west into four or six. Twenty-four lots of lesser size, presumably planned for commercial use, were sited on the north side of the unnamed street adjacent to the river. Lots twice the size of average [providing] ample plots for mansions were set to the north-west of the waterfront overlooking marshes."3

This pattern was generally followed throughout the city, although there are larger lots on the Point as well. The Northwest Quadrant neighborhood, although originally laid out following this earlier lot division scheme, did not develop until after the Civil War. When it did, blocks were divided into much smaller units, with often as many as a dozen lots created.4

Neighborhoods

The 1998 historic sites survey divided the district into five separate neighborhoods for descriptive purposes: the Point, the Old Common, Downtown, the Northwest Quadrant and the Bluff. While the designation of the neighborhoods is somewhat arbitrary, each represents an area of relatively distinct architectural character and/or historical development. Boundaries between the neighborhoods are typically major street corridors that also link the neighborhoods physically and visually.

The Point. The Point neighborhood is located at the eastern end of the district and is bounded to the west by Carteret Street and to the north, east and south by the Beaufort River. Carteret Street is a major transportation thoroughfare, serving as the business route of U. S. Highway 21 which leads from U. S. 17, the state's major north-south coastal route, to Beaufort and on to the sea islands to the southeast. The neighborhood is predominantly residential, with the exception of the University of South Carolina-Beaufort at its northwest corner and commercial uses along Carteret Street.

The Old Common. The Old Common neighborhood lies west of the Point and is bounded to the west by Charles and Harrington Streets, to the north by Boundary and Prince Streets, to the south by North Street and to the east by Carteret Street. Charles and Carteret Streets were historically residential streets that have both gradually converted to predominantly commercial uses. The remainder of the neighborhood remains residential.

Downtown. Downtown is bounded by Charles Street to the west, Craven Street to the North, Carteret Street to the east and the Beaufort River to the south. The three blocks of Bay Street, which extend along the Beaufort River, represent the city's historic commercial center, with additional later commercial development and residential conversions to the north.

The Bluff. The Bluff neighborhood is located to the west of Downtown and is bounded to the west by Hamar and Harrington Streets, to the north by King and Prince Streets, to the east by Charles Street and to the south by the Beaufort River. The southern and western portions of the neighborhood are residential. In addition to residences, the northeast portion contains churches and cemeteries.

The Northwest Quadrant. The Northwest Quadrant neighborhood is bounded to the west by Hamar and Bladen Streets, to the north by Boundary Street, to the east by Charles and Harrington Streets and to the south by King and Prince Streets. Boundary Street is predominantly commercial and commercial conversions have occurred along Charles Street. The remainder of the neighborhood is residential, with the exception of several scattered historic corner stores and modern commercial intrusions.

Architectural Styles

The diversity of Beaufort's historical development is reflected in its architecture. Examples of many of the major American architectural styles are represented, as are a number of commonly recognizable folk architectural types.

Pre-Revolutionary Styles: While considerable building activity occurred in Beaufort in the early to mid eighteenth century, few buildings survive from this period. The 1998 survey recorded only two dwellings in the English Colonial style: the Thomas Hepworth House (Hepworth-Pringle House, 214 New Street, circa 1760, site #868) and the Chaplin House (712 New Street, circa 1791 site #843). Both are are one-and-one half story frame frame dwellings with lateral gable roofs. Only one building termed Georgian was recorded, the William Johnson House (414 New Street, circa 1776, site #858). Other colonial period dwellings include the Hext-Sams House (207 Hancock Street, circa 1780, site #753) and the house traditionally referred to as the Chisholm House (905- 907 Bay Street, circa 1770, site #1031). Another possible late-eighteenth century dwelling is the house at 1013 Duke Street (site #1060). Although the 1998 survey indicated the house was constructed in the first third of the 1800s, an earlier date is possible.

Federal: The 1998 survey recorded twenty-nine houses in the "Federal" style. Beaufort's Federal style buildings, which generally date between 1780 and 1820, typically are two stories in height, have symmetrical facades, exhibit a sense of verticality in fenestration, retain refined trim and details and often were built with a two-story pedimented entrance portico, although some examples have been replaced with full-facade porches. The majority of the buildings in this style are located in the Point and the Bluff neighborhoods, although there are scattered examples in Downtown and the Old Common.

The survey recorded a number of Federal style buildings with T-shaped plans. Examples of large-scale rectangular double-pile houses with narrower back rooms extending to form the T wings include the Elizabeth Barnwell-Gough House (705 Washington Street, circa 1780, site #882) and the Thomas Fuller House ("Tabby Manse," 1211 Bay Street, circa 1786, site #1155). The survey also recorded another variant of the T-shaped plan consisting of a two story front block with a central two story rear T flanked by one-story wings. Examples of this form include the James Robert Verdier House ("Marshlands, 501 Pinckney Street, circa 1814, site #758); the DeTreville House House (701 Greene Street, circa 1785, site #880); the Henry Farmer House (412 East Street, circa 1800, site #822); and the Frederick Fraser House (901 Prince Street, circa 1800, site #1017).

Other examples of Federal residential architecture include the: John Mark Verdier House (801 Bay Street, circa 1801, site #970), a two story frame rectangular double-pile house; the TalbirdSams House (313 Hancock Street, circa 1780, site #761), a two-story house with a one-story shed extension forming T wings; the William Wigg Barnwell House (501 King Street, circa 1815, moved in 1973, site #818), a large rectangular three-story house; and the W. J. Jenkins House (901 Craven Street, circa 1845, site #1024), an example of the larger Federal style T form. The Captain Francis Saltus House (802 Bay Street, circa 1796, site #977) is a single-pile three-story tabby dwelling. The survey also recorded the west facade of St. Helena Episcopal Church as an example of Federal style institutional architecture.

Early Classical Revival: Five residences were surveyed that were recorded as examples of the Early Classical Revival style. Beaufort's Classical Revival style buildings, which generally date between 1810 and 1850, are typically two stories in height, have symmetrical facades, and have front-facing pediments either at the roof or above a full-facade porch. All but one example are located in the Point neighborhood, the other being adjacent to it in the Old Common. Residential examples include the William Fripp House (302 Federal Street, circa 1830, site #778); the Henry McKee House (511 Prince Street, circa 1834, site #813); the Dr. George Moss Stoney House (500 Port Republic Street, circa 1825, site #838); and 507 Washington Street (circa 1810, site #798), the only example without a pediment. One institutional example was also recorded: St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church (710 Carteret Street, 1846, site #896), a small-scale one story frame pedimented gable-front building.

Greek Revival: Ten buildings were recorded in the survey as representing the Greek Revival style.

Greek Revival buildings in Beaufort typically have monumental porticos or porches across their facades, several having temple-front designs, and exhibit Greek Revival stylistic elements such as trabeated entrances, shouldered window and/or door surrounds, smooth wall surfaces and Greek decorative motifs. Six examples are located in the Point neighborhood, two are located in the Bluff, one is located in Downtown and one is in the Northwest Quadrant. The residential examples of the style recorded by the survey are large-scale mansions and they include: the Berners Barnwell Sams House #1 (310 New Street, 1816, remodeled circa 1835, site #865); the George Parsons Elliott House (1001 Bay Street, circa 1845, site #1081); the Berners Barnwell Sams House #2 (201 Laurens Street, circa 1852, site #755); the Abraham Cockcroft House (920 Bay Street, circa 1857, site #1040); the Dr. John A. Johnson House (804 Pinckney Street, circa 1850, site #760); the Edward Means House (604 Pinckney Street, circa 1853, site #769); the Milton Maxcy House ("Secession House," 113 Craven Street, circa 1815, remodelled circa 1845, site #1110); the Rhett House (1009 Craven Street, circa a 1820, site #1076); and the Lewis Reeve Sams House (601 Bay Street, circa 1852. site #870). The Dr. Joseph Johnson House (411 Craven Street, circa 1865, site #796) is often referred to in published accounts as being Gothic Revival or Italian Renaissance. The survey also recorded three Greek Revival institutional buildings: the Beaufort College (803 Carteret Street, 1853. site #841); the Baptist Church of Beaufort (600 Charles Street, 1844, site #1073); and the Grand Army of the Republic Hall (706 Newcastle Street, circa 1896, site #1102). The former are large-scale buildings with pedimented porticos, the latter is a small-scale frame building.

Italianate: Only two houses in the district were recorded as being Italianate. The Edgar Fripp House (1 Laurens Street, circa 1853, site #751) lost much of its Italianate form to the 1893 hurricane, leaving the Paul Hamilton House ("The Oaks," 100 Laurens Street, circa 1855, site #752) as the only substantially intact example. Both houses are located in the Point neighborhood.

Other Pre-Civil War Architecture: A limited number of other pre-Civil War buildings survive that do not fall within the previously described stylistic categories. These include small raised one-and-one-half story frame cottages, an example being 807 North Street (circa 1835, site #952). Other fragments of Beaufort's pre-Civil War built environment include a small grouping of tabby ruins and landscape features. Among them are a tabby wall behind 807-811 Bay Street (site #972); the tabby sea walls that extend along much of the southern waterfronts of the Bluff and the Point neighborhoods; and the stairs to the former Talbird House at the northwest corner of Hancock and Hamilton Streets (site #762).

Victorian Styles: Beaufort's Victorian buildings typically exhibit a mix of the features common to the period styles reflected, including: asymmetrical plans, gingerbread trim and other decorative millwork, the use of towers or turrets and the use of varied window and door configurations. Examples are scattered throughout the district and are typically interspersed among examples of other periods. One notable grouping does remain along the 500 and 600 blocks of Craven Street (sites #824-826, 828-832, and 860-861) and includes 406 East Street (site #823). Twelve houses survive in in the collection, with slightly larger and grander examples dating from circa 1893 located on the north side of the 600 block of Craven Street.5 The remaining houses are smaller in scale and simpler in detail with the exception of 507 Craven Street (site #826) which exhibits a slightly more elaborate decorative scheme than the others.6

The Queen Anne style is represented by Emil E. Lengnick House (1411 North Street, circa 1907, site #1219) and the Kinghorn House (502 Washington Street, circa 1890, moved from Carteret Street, site #800). Italianate style houses include: the James Rhett House (303 Federal Street, circa 1884, site #776) and the George Edward Doane House ("Pretty Penny," 502 Prince Street, circa 1885, site #817). Other buildings in the district that exhibit Victorian style characteristics include the Gustave Sanders House (507 North Street, circa 1875, site #820); two matching houses at 807 and 809 Bladen Street (sites #1234 and 1235); several two story gable front houses, including 502 Scott's Street (circa 1875, site #952), 705 and 709 Charles Street (both circa 1880, sites #1011 and 1012), and 1407 Duke Street circa 1870, (site #1207); and several small one-story folk Victorian dwellings, including 804 Washington Street (circa 1900, site # 935), 508 Scott's Street (circa 1885, site #949), and 1008 Scott's Street (circa 1890, site #924).

Victorian institutional buildings include Grace Bethel A.M.E. Church (502 Charles Street, circa 1870, site #1074); Berean Presbyterian Church (602 Carteret Street, circa 1900, site #900); and the Beaufort Female Benevolent Society (308 Scott's Street, 1895, site #960). The Bay Street retail district includes several Victorian commercial buildings. Examples include the Keyserling Building (807 Bay Street, circa 1885, site #971); 901 Bay Street (circa 1890, site #1030); the altered Lipsitz Building (825 Bay Street, site #974); and a row of three similar buildings at 902, 904 and 910 Bay Street (1874 to 1884, sites #1037-1039).

Revival Styles: Twenty-two buildings were noted in the 1998 survey as being examples of late-nineteenth to early-twentieth century revival styles. These styles typically incorporated elements of earlier period architecture. Examples are located throughout the district. The First African Baptist Church (601 New Street, site #814) is a vernacular Gothic Revival style building. Also in the style is the synagogue for Congregation Beth Israel (402 Scott's Street, 1907, site #907). The Gothic Revival style is represented by Tabernacle Baptist Church (911 Craven Street, 1840s, remodelled circa 1893, site #1026) and the Beaufort Arsenal (713 Craven Street, 1852, site #906). Colonial Revival buildings include the E. A. Scheper House (1411 Bay Street, circa 1895, remodelled in 1938, site #1224); the Osterhout House (305 Carteret Street, circa 1910, site #863); the Wallace House (611 Bay Street, 1908, site #872); 1401 North Street (circa 1902, site #1216); and the Murphy House (circa 1910, 411 King Street, site #793). The survey recorded several Neoclassical buildings, including three residences, four governmental buildings and a commercial building. Among them are: the William Joseph Thomas House (607 Bay Street, 1909, site #817); 1305 Bay Street (1910, site #1199); the William Keyserling House (1705 Bay Street, 1910, site #1266); the Beaufort Municipal Meat Market (706 Craven Street, circa 1912, site #908); the Beaufort City Hall (702 Craven Street, circa 1912, site #910); the Post Office and Custom House (now City Hall, 302 Carteret Street, 1917, site #911); the Carnegie Library (710 Craven Street, 1917, site #905); and the Beaufort Bank (928 Bay Street, 1916, site #1041).

Craftsman: Nineteen Craftsman style bungalows were recorded in the survey and they are scattered throughout the district. Built between 1880 and 1935, these buildings are typically small in scale, one or one-and-a-half stories in height and often have front-facing gable roofs with shed or hipped porches. Examples include: the Esther Foy Jenkins House (702 Hamilton Street, 1928, site #787), 1307 North Street (circa 1925, site #1188), 1311 North Street (circa 1930, site #1189), and 608 Hamilton Street (circa 1928, site # 791).

Modern Styles: Four examples of modern styles, with streamlined designs and details, were recorded. The Beaufort Elementary School (901 Carteret Street, circa 1930, site #840) is transitional in style. Three buildings were identified in the survey as being of the Art Deco or Art Moderne styles: the Beaufort County Courthouse (now the Beaufort District Federal Courthouse, 1501 Bay Street, 1883-1884, remodeled 1936, site #1245); the Beaufort County Jail (1409 King Street, 1938, site #1214); and the Home Building (1001 Carteret Street, circa 1940, site #839).

Folk Types

The district includes numerous buildings that are representative of folk building patterns rather than architectural styles. Almost all of the buildings within the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood fit within this classification as do the majority of buildings in the Old Common neighborhood. Additional examples are scattered within the Bluff and the Point neighborhoods. Folk architecture within the district falls within the following principal types.

Hall and Parlor Houses. As their name implies, these houses are distinguished by their floorplan, which typically consists of two rooms separated by a central hallway. Many of these houses also have original or later wings to the rear that may take the form of an "L," a "I" or a "U." The survey recorded ninety-one contributing buildings of this style located primarily in the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood, but with other examples in each of the remaining neighborhoods. Among the Beaufort examples of this form are several that are similar to the "Freedman's Cottages" documented in the rural areas of South Carolina's coastal region, including: 1313 Congress Street (circa 1870, site #1158); 1212 Greene Street (circa 1900, site #1131); and 1408 Greene Street (circa 1870, site #1199). Other typical hall and parlor houses include: 801 Duke Street (circa 1880, site #936); 1008 Scott's Street (circa 1880, site #924); and 606 North Street (circa 1870, site #857).

Gable Fronts. Gable fronts are recognized by the fact that their roof gables face the street. Many examples are found within the Northwest Quadrant, although others remain in each of the other neighborhoods as well. The survey recorded seventy contributing one and two story examples. Typical of the two story gable fronts are: 809 Duke Street (circa 1880, site #938) and 805 West Street (circa 1870, site #939). One story examples include 306 Scott's Street (circa 1935, site #961); 111 Washington Street (circa 1920, site #1093); and 1315 Prince Street (circa 1890, site #1184).

Massed Plan. Still relatively simple in character, these houses are recognized by their rectangular shape, two or more room depth and open interior plans. They often have side gabled or hipped roofs. Twenty-seven contributing massed plan houses were recorded in the survey with the majority of examples located in the Northeast Quadrant and others scattered among the other neighborhoods. Examples include: 1005 Newcastle Street (circa 1915, site #1054); 1303 Washington Street (circa 1900, site #1167); and 1103 Greene Street (circa 1880, site #1086).

Shotgun. Shotgun houses are recognized by their orientation towards the street and they are typically one room wide, two or more rooms deep and typically have front-facing gable or hipped roofs and front porches. Four examples were cited in the survey: 1205 Congress Street (circa 1930, site #1117); 706 Church Street (circa 1910, site #1138); and the twin houses at 1010 and 1012 Charles Street (circa 1935, sites #1046 and 1047).

I-House. I-houses are similar to hall-and-parlor houses in that their principal block is only one room deep and often three rooms wide with a central hallway. Twenty-two contributing examples were recorded by the survey including: 1001 Greene Street (circa 1910, site #1049); 1105 Washington Street (circa 1900, site #1091); and 1203 Prince Street (circa 1900, site #1139).

Gable Front & Wing. Gable front and wing houses feature a front-facing gable portion and a side-gabled wing that connect to form an ell-shaped plan. The survey recorded nine contributing examples in the Northwest Quadrant, Point and Bluff neighborhoods, including: 609 Prince Street (circa 1920, site #847); 804 Washington Street (circa 1900, site #935); and the two mirrored houses at 1509 and 1511 Elton Lane (circa 1940, sites #1242 and #1243).

Pyramidal. Pyramidal houses are typically square or almost square in plan and featured four-sided hipped or pyramidal roofs. Nine examples contributing were recorded in the district, all of them in the Northwest Quadrant neighborhood. An example is found at 810 Harrington Street (circa 1930, site #1172).

Materials

The majority of buildings within the district, 399 of the contributing buildings representing almost eighty-four percent of the total, are of frame construction. Forty-one, or slightly less than nine percent, are of brick and eight are of tabby. These percentages vary between the pre and post Civil War eras. Prior to the war the percentage of frame buildings constructed drops to seventy-five percent and afterward it rises to eighty-five percent. Masonry construction drops from just under thirteen percent before the war to just over eight percent afterward and all of the district's tabby buildings were built before the war. Foundations are typically either tabby or brick, with the tabby examples dating from before the Civil War.

Condition

The overall condition of buildings within the district generally varies by neighborhood. Buildings within the Point, Downtown, and the Bluff are typically in good condition, with numerous individual buildings having been restored or well maintained within each area. Of the buildings on the Point, only two were recorded in the 1998 survey as being in "fair" condition. Both have since been rehabilitated. Only one building in Downtown was rated in "deteriorated" condition. This particular site, the Captain Francis Saltus House, has been a preservation challenge for many years due to structural considerations involving its tabby construction. The one small house in the Bluff neighborhood rated as a "ruin" was being rehabilitated in April 1999. Only one additional building was rated "deteriorated" in the area and two others were rated "fair." The condition of buildings within the Old Common neighborhood varies more widely, with examples of both well restored and maintained properties often located next to others in deteriorating or even ruinous condition.

Ten sites were recorded as "deteriorated" or "ruin" (8%) and thirty-two as "fair "(26%). The Northwest Quadrant neighborhood suffers from the highest level of deterioration. Of the area's contributing resources, five percent were rated "deteriorated" and none were termed "ruin." Almost thirty percent were described as "fair." These latter numbers are somewhat misleading, as the number of vacant and abandoned buildings in the neighborhood is relatively high compared with the remainder of the district. In addition, the Northwest Quadrant has suffered a much greater rate of demolition and inappropriate alteration than have other neighborhoods over the past thirty years.

Landscapes

Natural vegetation is dominated by the numerous moss-draped live oaks that are found throughout the peninsula interspersed with numerous palmettoes. Traditionally street trees appear to have included a variety of species, including most notably oaks, and to have been either naturally occurring or randomly planted by individual property owners. Documented historic exceptions to this pattern include the palmetto allees planted by the city along the 700 block of Craven Street and the 1700 block of Bay Street.

Houses are typically set on large lots, providing landscaped open spaces and resulting in a relatively open development pattern. Exceptions include the relatively densely developed downtown commercial core and scattered groupings of closely-spaced dwellings. Formal landscapes surrounding individual buildings tend to be modern, although vestiges of earlier formal landscaping survives and has been incorporated into modern landscaping schemes at several sites. Historic landscaped park sites are located along the south frontage of the Beaufort River and in the Point neighborhood.

Integrity

Beaufort's National Historic Landmark Districts retains integrity. Despite alterations and losses that have occurred to individual buildings since the district was originally listed in 1969, the overall character of the district continues to reflect both its antebellum plantation-related history and its significant post-Civil War development.

The overall ration of contributing to noncontributing resources is 57.6 per cent. When reviewing potential new historic district listings, the National Park Service typically requires that at least fifty percent of the resources be contributing. As the following ratios indicate, additional change within the Beaufort Historic District, both in terms of additional losses and new construction, needs to be carefully managed in the future.

[See PDF for table: "Ratio of Contributing to Noncontributing Resources (2000)"]

Despite the city's longstanding commitment to historic preservation, a great deal of change has occurred within the past twenty years. This change is clearly indicated through a comparison of the surviving survey forms prepared during the 1968 Feiss-Wright survey and the survey completed in 1998. Districtwide, approximately one-third of all resources recorded in the 1968 study have either been lost or altered to a degree where they no longer contribute to the district. Historic Beaufort Foundation retains 357 Feiss-Wright survey forms. Of these 250 correspond to sites recorded in the 1998 survey; ninety-two are no longer standing; two were altered to the extent that they were not recorded in the 1998 survey; three could not be identified; six were not eligible for survey either in 1968 or 1998; and three were located outside the historic district. Of the 250 that correspond to the 1998 survey, twenty-eight were surveyed in 1998 but determined to be noncontributing. Of the latter, nineteen clearly would have been contributing to the district had they not been extensively altered between 1968 and 1998. Photographs remain for most of the ninety-two destroyed buildings and indicate that all would have been contributing if they had survived until 1998. Based on the above information, a total of 335 buildings recorded in the Feiss-Wright survey would have been contributing in 1998 (222 surviving contributing buildings, plus ninety-two lost buildings, plus twenty-one altered buildings). Of this total, 27.5 percent have been demolished and 33.7 percent have either been altered or demolished.

[See PDF for table: "Contributing Resources Lost 1968-1998"]

The comparison of the 1968 and 1998 surveys shows a substantial loss of buildings occurred between 1968 and 1998. Most notable among the losses have been the relatively large number of modest post-Civil War dwellings within the Old Common and Northwest Quadrant neighborhoods.

While the statistical losses in the Downtown area are high, it should be noted that relatively few buildings were recorded in this area in the Feiss-Wright survey.

In addition to these losses, there have been a number of new buildings constructed within the district since 1968. While most of this new construction has been compatible with the overall scale, massing and materials of the district, there has been some incompatible new development.

Immediate or long-term threats to the district.

In the spring of 1998, the National Park Service indicated an intent to designate Beaufort's historic district as a Priority 2 Endangered and Threatened National Historic Landmark. In evaluating the possible reasons for the Park Service's decision, the Historic Beaufort Foundation completed an assessment of the various risks facing the city's historic district and compared the results of the 1998 survey with earlier surveys completed in 1968 and 1973. What became immediately apparent was that while the community has been very successful in many aspects of its preservation agenda, significant threats to the district remain and a substantial loss of historic fabric has occurred since 1968.

Based on the documentation of the district available at this time, the following risks have been identified:

1. Rising property values. Beaufort has experienced a remarkable renaissance over the past decade. While the economic benefits of this upturn have had many positive impacts, there is increasing pressure to enlarge and/or aggrandize existing buildings and to build new buildings on vacant properties. Without an accurate understanding of the historic character of the district, it is difficult for the city's Board of Architectural Review to adequately assess the impact of such projects. In addition, because of the relatively small size of the district, it is essential to identify the point at which such new development may compromise the integrity of the district.

2. Inappropriate alteration, abandonment, and demolition. One of the most striking findings of the 1998 survey resulted from its comparison with the Feiss-Wright survey of 1968 and the John Milner Associates design study of 1979. This comparison identified that there have been significant losses, in the form of both demolitions and alterations of historic buildings, since the first survey of the city was completed in 1968. While the community has generally stemmed the loss of its most significant individual buildings, the incremental erosion of essential character-defining elements of the NHL district is having a measurable cumulative long-term effect. Nowhere is this loss more apparent than in the city's largest traditionally African-American neighborhood, the Northwest Quadrant.

3. Lack of Recognition for Archaeological Resources. The existing nomination and its amendment make no reference to archaeological resources that may be present within the district. With new construction and additions to existing buildings occurring frequently, archaeological resources are not being considered in either the municipal or private sector planning processes.

Archaeology

Beaufort's archaeological resources have not been extensively documented. However, given the city's long and diverse history, there are likely significant archaeological deposits in all portions of the Beaufort Historic District.

Site formation at urban sites tends to be complex since the sites consist of artifact deposition, artifact redistribution or removal of artifacts from the record altogether.7 This process can go on several times and will be most complex in older cities such as Beaufort. In some settings, such as historic Charleston, archaeological deposits may extend to depths of five feet or more.8 Even where scouring and erosion are present, deposits of several feet have been encountered.9

Just as building types have changed throughout Beaufort's history, so too have building techniques. Frame buildings with piers were replaced by brick or tabby buildings with shallow foundations. One or two story buildings were replaced by multistory structures with sophisticated foundations. Demolition no longer involved manually removing buildings, but often also involved the use of heavy equipment to grub out foundations. As more "modern" buildings were built in the central core of the city, greater damage was done to Beaufort's archaeological resources.

Up to the last quarter of the twentieth century construction and demolition techniques were not particularly aggressive, leaving most archaeological deposits intact and available for interpretation. It is only in post-1960 building events where we begin to see extensive grubbing and grading, which have effectively removed or mixed deposits. It is also important to emphasize that while archaeological deposits will almost always be associated with those lots and parcels with historic structures, the absence of a historic building does not mean that no archaeological deposits will be found, especially if the extant structure predates about 1960.