The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1922-09-14
Beaufort is Paid
Beautiful Tnbute
(By N. l.. Willet.)

AS to the date OF the 1OuQQdLlOn OIL
Port Royal by permanent settlers.
Chalmers in his history of South Car
olina tells us that settlement was
made prior to 1874. In that year,
with Sir John Yeamans as leader, the
Province of South Carolina, which
up to that time had a military gov
ernment, was divided into four coun-
ties, Berkeley, Colleton, Craven and
Carteret. Chalmers says that Cole
ton county included Port Royal and
the lands in it's vicinity to the dis
tance of thirty miles. There may
have been a colony or a part of a
colony at Port Royal at that time.
In the legislature establishing civil
regulations three laws were passed
that we're quite important. First,
to prevent persons leaving the colo
ny; second, to prevent all men from
disposing Of arms and ammunition
to the Indians, and third, for the reg
ular building of Charlestown. The
committee for framing these public
regulations had as it's chairman Ste
phen Bull.
May Have Remained.
1t is quite possible that part of
Sayle's settlement at Port Royal re-
mained behind and did not go to
Charlestown. At any rate, Chal-
mers tells US that the first attempt
by the English proprietors to settle
the Province of South Carolina was
at Port Royal, and we have already
seen that the first attempts OF the
French to settle in the United States
were also at Port Royal or Paris
Island. William Sayle was appointed
governor of this English colony at
Port Royal. He arrived with two
ships at Port Royal in 1870 and be-
gan settlement at Port Royal. IN
1871 the colony moved to the banks
of the Ashley. In 1879, because the
river was not deep enough, under the
government of Col. West, the colony
moved to Oyster Point, the conflu-
ence of the Ashley and Cooper riv-
ers, and here laid the foundation OF
Charlestown, incorporated in 1888
as the city of Charleston. 1t is quite
probable, therefore, that this English
settlement of Port Royal, which was
prior to 1874, antedated this founda-
ton of Charlsstown by perhaps ten
years.
Port Royal as Locality.
Port Royal is frequently mention
ed in early history, but probably not
so much as town but as a locality.
There is frequent mention of Port
ROYAL river, which was named by Ri
bault in 1852, and there was Port
ROYAL harbor. According to NC
Crady's history Of South Carolina
1870 to 1719, there was no town
called Port Royal. Indeed, towns IN
those days were not considered I'M
portant because from the inception
of the Carolina colony in 1865 and
for about 200 years government was
not by township or by county, but
was a centralized government at the
seat of the colony.
There was an attempted settle
ment by the Scotch, headed by Loro
Cardross at Port Royal, but these
people were butchered by the Span
iards in 1886, the town. at that time
being called Stuart Town. Sanford
in 1866, touched at Port Royal, find
ing on Paris Island large NUMBER
of most intelligent and friendly In
dams who titled large fields of corn
and peas and making two crops a
year. Sanford speaks of the fine soll'
the great woods and pasturage, and
of peaches, figs, and grapes, and he
speaks Of the country as all cut up
with islands, by rivers and that there
were no small islands-indeed there
were some, he says, with thousands
of acres containing rich lands and all
washed by rivers convenient for the
carving of cargoes-all of this re-
fers to the country around Port Roy
al Sanford also went to Calibouge
Sound. He speaks of the country
now known as Hilton Head and Bluh-
ton, of its extraordinary lands and OF
its woods and says as to this local
ity "there is nothing to be desired
except to be inhabited by thousands
Of English settlers"
Beaufort Town.
twenty-five years after the de-
struction of Stuart Town by the Span
iards, English merchants, feeling
.L ,oo5 ~ mort for large ships