Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Encyclopedia
Hilton Head Island or Hilton Head is a resort town
(located on an island of the same name) in Beaufort County
, South Carolina
, United States. It is 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Savannah, Georgia
, and 95 miles (152.9 km) south of Charleston
. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton. In 1663, Captain Hilton identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which he named "Hilton's Head" after himself. The island features 12 miles (19.3 km) of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean
and is a popular vacation destination. In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors pumped more than $1.5 billion into the local economy. The year-round population was 37,099 at the 2010 census, although during the peak of summer vacation season the population can swell to 275,000. Over the past decade, the island's population growth rate was 32%.
The island has a rich history that started with seasonal occupation by native Americans thousands of years ago, and continued with European exploration and the Sea Island Cotton trade. It became an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports during the Civil War
. Once the island fell to Union troops, hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head, which is still home to many 'native islanders', many of whom are descendants of freed slaves known as the Gullah
(or Geechee) who have managed to hold onto much of their ethnic and cultural identity.
The Town of Hilton Head Island incorporated as a municipality in 1983 and is well known for its "eco-friendly" development. The town's Natural Resources Division enforces the Land Management Ordinance which minimizes the impact of development and governs the style of buildings and how they are situated amongst existing trees. As a result, Hilton Head Island enjoys an unusual amount of tree cover relative to the amount of development. Approximately 70% of the island, including most of the tourist areas, is located inside gated communities
. However, the town maintains several public beach access points, including one for the exclusive use of town residents, who have approved several multi-million dollar land-buying bond referendums to control commercial growth.
Hilton Head Island offers an unusual number of cultural opportunities for a community its size, including Broadway-quality plays at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, the 120-member full chorus of the Hilton Head Choral Society, the highly-rated Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the largest annual outdoor, tented wine tasting event on the east coast, and several other annual community festivals. It also hosts the Heritage Golf Classic, a stop on the PGA Tour
which is played on the Harbour Town Golf Links
in Sea Pines Resort.
and is protected by law.
Since the beginning of recorded history in the New World, the waters around Hilton Head Island have been known, occupied and fought for in turn by the English, Spanish, French, and Scots.
A Spanish expedition led by Francisco Cordillo explored the area in 1521, initiating European contact with local tribes.
In 1663, Captain William Hilton sailed on the Adenture from Barbados to explore lands granted by King Charles II of England
to the eight Lords Proprietor. In his travels, he identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound
. He named it "Hilton's Head" after himself. He stayed for several days, making note of the trees, crops, "sweet water" and "clear sweet air".
In 1698, Hilton Head Island was granted as part of a barony to John Bayley of Ballingclough, County of Tipperary, Kingdom of Ireland. Another John Bayley, son of the first, appointed Alexander Trench as the island's first retail agent. For a time, Hilton Head was known as Trench's Island. In 1729, Trench sold some land to John Gascoine which Gascoine named "John's Island" after himself. The land later came to be known as Jenkin's Island after another owner.
In 1788, a small Episcopal church called the Zion Chapel of Ease was constructed for plantation owners. The old cemetery, located near the corner of William Hilton Parkway and Mathews Drive (Folly Field), is all that remains. Charles Davant, a prominent island planter during the Revolutionary War, is buried there.He was shot by Captain Martinangel of Daufuskie Island in 1781. It is also home to the oldest intact structure on Hilton Head Island, the Baynard Mausoleum, which was built in 1846.
William Elliott II of Myrtle Bank Plantation grew the first crop of Sea Island Cotton in South Carolina on Hilton Head Island in 1790.
Fort Walker was a Confederate fort in what is now Port Royal Plantation. The fort was a station for Confederate troops, and its guns helped protect the 2 miles (3 km) wide entrance to Port Royal Sound, which is fed by two slow-moving and navigable rivers, the Broad River
and the Beaufort River. It was vital to the Sea Island Cotton trade and the southern economy. On October 29, 1861, the largest fleet ever assembled in North America moved south to seize it. In the Battle of Port Royal
, the fort came under attack by the U.S. Navy, and on November 7, 1861, it fell to over 12,000 Union troops. The fort would be renamed Fort Welles, in honor of Gideon Welles
, the Secretary of the Navy.
Hilton Head Island would have tremendous significance in the Civil War, becoming an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports, particularly Savannah and Charleston. The Union would also build a military hospital on Hilton Head Island with a 1200 feet (365.8 m) frontage and a floor area of 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²).
Hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head Island, where they could buy land, go to school, live in government housing, and serve in what was called the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers (although in the beginning, many were "recruited" at the point of a bayonet). A community called Mitchelville
(in honor of General Ormsby M. Mitchel
) was constructed on the north end of the island to house them.
The Leamington Lighthouse was built in the 1870s on the southern edge of what is now Palmetto Dunes.
On August 27, 1893, the Sea Islands Hurricane
made landfall near Savannah, Georgia
, with a storm surge of 16 feet (5 m) and swept north across South Carolina, killing over a thousand and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
An experimental steam cannon
guarding Port Royal Sound was built around 1900 in what is now Port Royal Plantation. The cannon was fixed but its propulsion system allowed for long range shots for the time.
In 1931, Wall Street tycoon, physicist, and patron of scientific research, Alfred Lee Loomis
along with his brother-in-law and partner, Landon K. Thorne, purchased 17000 acres (69 km²) on the island (over 63% of the total land mass) for about $120,000 to be used as a private game reserve.
On the Atlantic coast of the island are large concrete gun platforms that were built to defend against a possible invasion by the Axis powers of World War II. Platforms like these can be found all along the eastern seaboard. The Mounted Beach Patrol and Dog Training Center on Hilton Head Island trained U.S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol personnel to use horses and dogs to protect the southeastern coastline of the U.S.
In the early 1950s, three lumber mills contributed to the logging of 19000 acres (77 km²) of the island. The island population was only 300 residents. Prior to 1956, access to Hilton Head was limited to private boats and a state-operated ferry. The island's economy centered on shipbuilding, cotton, lumbering, and fishing.
The James F. Byrnes Bridge was built in 1956. It was a two-lane toll swing bridge constructed at a cost of $1.5 million that opened the island to automobile traffic from the mainland. The swing bridge was hit by a barge in 1974 which shut down all vehicle traffic to the island until the Army Corps of Engineers built and manned a pontoon bridge while the bridge was being repaired. The swing bridge was replaced by the current four-lane bridge in 1982.
The beginning of Hilton Head as a resort started in 1956 with Charles E. Fraser
developing Sea Pines Resort. Soon, other developments followed, such as Hilton Head Plantation, Palmetto Dunes Plantation, Shipyard Plantation, and Port Royal Plantation, imitating Sea Pines' architecture and landscape. Sea Pines however continued to stand out by creating a unique locality within the plantation called Harbour Town, anchored by a recognizable lighthouse. Fraser was a committed environmentalist who changed the whole configuration of the marina at Harbour Town to save an ancient live oak. It came to be known as the Liberty Oak, known to generations of children who watched singer and song writer Gregg Russell perform under the tree for over 25 years. Fraser was buried next to the tree when he died in 2002.
The Heritage Golf Classic was first played in Sea Pines Resort in 1969, and has been a regular stop on the PGA Tour
ever since.
Also in 1969, the Hilton Head Island Community Association successfully fought off the development of a BASF
chemical complex on the shores of Victoria Bluff (now Colleton River Plantation). Soon after, the association and other concerned citizens "south of the Broad" fought the development of off-shore oil platforms by Brown & Root (a division of Halliburton
) and ten-story tall liquefied natural gas shipping spheres by Chicago Bridge & Iron. These events helped to polarize the community, and the Chamber of Commerce started drumming up support for the town to incorporate as a municipality. After the Four Seasons Resort (now Hilton Head Resort) was built along William Hilton Parkway, a referendum of incorporation was passed in May 1983. Hilton Head Island had become a town.
The Land Management Ordinance was passed by the Town Council in 1987. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort
opened in 1996. The Cross Island Parkway opened in January 1997. An indoor smoking ban
in bars, restaurants, and public places took effect on May 1, 2007.
form of government. The Town Manager is the chief executive officer
and head of the administrative branch and is responsible to the municipal council for the proper administration of all the affairs of the town. The Town Council
exercises all powers not specifically delegated to the Town Manager. The Mayor
has the same powers, duties, and responsibilities as a member of Town Council. In addition, the Mayor establishes the agenda for Town Council meetings, calls special meetings, executes contracts, deeds, resolutions, and proclamations not designated to the Town Manager, and represents the town at ceremonial functions.
Town departments include Building & Fire Codes, Business License, Code Enforcement, Finance, Fire & Rescue, Human Resources, Legal, Municipal Court, Planning, and Public Projects & Facilities.
The town had a budget of $74,753,260 for fiscal year 2006/2007. It consists of three separate fiscal accounting funds: the General Fund, the Capital Projects Fund, and the Debt Service Fund. The General Fund is the operating fund for the town and accounts for all financial resources of the town except the Capital Projects Fund and the Debt Service Fund. The Capital Projects Fund is used to acquire land and facilities, and improve public facilities, including roads, bike paths, fire stations, vehicle replacement, drainage improvements, and park development. The Debt Service Fund accounts for the accumulation of resources and the payment of debt.
On Tuesday, June 5, 2007, the Town Council approved a $93,154,110 budget for fiscal year 2007/2008 on the first reading with a vote of 6-0. The most recent budget, for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $74,299,720
Office holders as of January 2011:
Council mission statement:
, and 90 miles (144.8 km) south of Charleston, South Carolina
. The exact coordinates are 32°10′44"N 80°44′35"W (32.178828, -80.742947).
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 55.5 square miles (143.7 km²). Of that, 42.1 square miles (109 km²) is land, and 13.5 square miles (35 km²) or 24.28% is water.
(which is not actually a barrier island but two glacial moraines). Technically, Hilton Head Island is only half barrier island. The north end of the island is a sea island
dating to the Pleistocene epoch, and the south end is a barrier island that appeared as recently as the Holocene epoch. Broad Creek, which is actually a land-locked tidal marsh, separates the two halves of the island.
The terrain
of a barrier island
is determined by a dynamic beach system with offshore bars, pounding surf
, and shifting beach
es; as well as grassy dune
s behind the beach, maritime forest
s with wetland
s in the interiors, and salt or tidal marsh
es on the lee
side, facing the mainland. A typical barrier island has a headland, a beach and surf zone, and a sand spit.
The Hilton Head Island area is home to a vast array of wildlife, including alligator
s, deer
, Loggerhead Sea Turtle
s, manatee, hundreds of species of birds, and dolphins
.
The Coastal Discovery Museum, in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, patrols the beaches from May through October as part of the Sea Turtle Protection Project. The purpose of the project is to inventory and monitor nesting locations, and if necessary, move them to more suitable locations. During the summer months, the museum sponsors the Turtle Talk & Walk, which is a special tour designed to educate the public about this endangered species. To protect Loggerhead Sea Turtles, a town ordinance stipulates that artificial lighting must be shielded so that it cannot be seen from the beach, or it must be turned off by 10:00 p.m. from May 1 to October 31 each year.
The waters around Hilton Head Island are one of the few places on Earth where dolphins routinely use a technique called "strand feeding" whereby schools of fish are herded up onto mud banks, and the dolphins lie on their side while they feed before sliding back down into the water.
The saltmarsh estuaries of Hilton Head Island are the feeding grounds, breeding grounds, and nurseries for many saltwater species of game fish, sport fish, and marine mammals. The dense plankton population gives the coastal water its "murky" brown-green coloration.
Plankton support marine life including oysters, shrimp and other invertebrates, and bait-fish species including Menhaden
and Mullet
, which in turn support larger fish and mammal species that populate the local waterways. Popular sport fish in the Hilton Head Island area include the Red Drum
(or Spot Tail Bass), Spotted Sea Trout, Sheepshead
, Cobia
, Tarpon
, and various shark species.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 33,862 people, 14,408 households, and 9,898 families residing in the town, on a land area of 42.06 square miles (108.9 km²). The population density
was 805.1 people per square mile (310.8/km²). There were 24,647 housing units at an average density of 586.0 per square mile (226.3/km²).
Although the town occupies most of the land area of the island, it is not coterminous with it; there is a small part near the main access road from the mainland, William Hilton Parkway, which is not incorporated into the town. Hilton Head (the island) therefore has a slightly higher population (48,407 in Census 2000, defined as the Hilton Head Island Urban Cluster) and a larger land area (42.65 sq mi or 110.45 km²) than the town. The Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Area
, which includes Beaufort
and Jasper counties, had a 2005 estimated year-round population of 159,247.
The racial makeup of the town was 85.33% White, 8.26% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.48% from other races
, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.48% of the population.
There were 14,408 households out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples
living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the town the population was spread out with 17.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,438, and the median income for a family was $71,211. Males had a median income of $37,262 versus $30,271 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $36,621. About 4.7% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.
Hilton Head Island is part of the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Statistical Area which includes Beaufort and Jasper counties and has a total estimated 2005 population of 159,247 (U.S. Census Bureau). According to the more detailed data available in the 2000 census, the population included in this micropolitan area (which actually was designated after the census itself) was 64% urban and 36% rural. It includes the urban clusters of Beaufort (2000 pop.: 46,128), Hilton Head Island (47,821), Bluffton (17,546), and Ridgeland (3,616). The urban clusters of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton will probably be merged by the 2010 Census.
and emergency medical services
(EMS) at the advanced life support
level. Special operations capabilities include HAZMAT, urban search and rescue
(USAR), confined space rescue
, trench rescue
, and rope rescue
. The department is accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
There are seven fire stations on Hilton Head Island, providing professional fire protection and emergency medical care.
Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue also works with Bluffton Township Fire Department as a sponsoring agency for two of South Carolina's designated special teams: one of the state's Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Teams and one of the four Regional Urban Search and Rescue Response Teams.
Police
services are contracted through Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The island is equipped with an enhanced 9-1-1
system.
In the book By Order of the President
, by W. E. B. Griffin
, the President of the United States maintains a home on Hilton Head Island. This is where Charlie Castillo meets the President for the first time.
Resort town
A resort town, sometimes called a resort city or resort destination, is a town or area where tourism or vacationing is a primary component of the local culture and economy...
(located on an island of the same name) in Beaufort County
Beaufort County, South Carolina
-National protected areas:*Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge *Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 206 people per...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, United States. It is 20 miles (32.2 km) north of Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and 95 miles (152.9 km) south of Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The island gets its name from Captain William Hilton. In 1663, Captain Hilton identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which he named "Hilton's Head" after himself. The island features 12 miles (19.3 km) of beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and is a popular vacation destination. In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors pumped more than $1.5 billion into the local economy. The year-round population was 37,099 at the 2010 census, although during the peak of summer vacation season the population can swell to 275,000. Over the past decade, the island's population growth rate was 32%.
The island has a rich history that started with seasonal occupation by native Americans thousands of years ago, and continued with European exploration and the Sea Island Cotton trade. It became an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Once the island fell to Union troops, hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head, which is still home to many 'native islanders', many of whom are descendants of freed slaves known as the Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
(or Geechee) who have managed to hold onto much of their ethnic and cultural identity.
The Town of Hilton Head Island incorporated as a municipality in 1983 and is well known for its "eco-friendly" development. The town's Natural Resources Division enforces the Land Management Ordinance which minimizes the impact of development and governs the style of buildings and how they are situated amongst existing trees. As a result, Hilton Head Island enjoys an unusual amount of tree cover relative to the amount of development. Approximately 70% of the island, including most of the tourist areas, is located inside gated communities
Gated community
In its modern form, a gated community is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly-controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. Gated communities usually consist of small residential...
. However, the town maintains several public beach access points, including one for the exclusive use of town residents, who have approved several multi-million dollar land-buying bond referendums to control commercial growth.
Hilton Head Island offers an unusual number of cultural opportunities for a community its size, including Broadway-quality plays at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, the 120-member full chorus of the Hilton Head Choral Society, the highly-rated Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, the largest annual outdoor, tented wine tasting event on the east coast, and several other annual community festivals. It also hosts the Heritage Golf Classic, a stop on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
which is played on the Harbour Town Golf Links
Harbour Town Golf Links
The Harbour Town Golf Links is a golf course that hosts The Heritage golf tournament on the PGA Tour, usually held in April. The course is located in the Sea Pines Plantation of Hilton Head Island, in Beaufort County of South Carolina. Golf Magazine has rated the course #1 in the state of South...
in Sea Pines Resort.
Early history
An ancient shell ring can be seen near the east entrance to the Sea Pines Forest Preserve. The ring, one of only 20 in existence, is 150 feet (46 m) in diameter and is believed to be over 15,000 years old. Archeologists believe that the ring was a refuse heap, created by Indians that lived in the interior of the ring, which was kept clear and used as a common area. Two other shell rings on Hilton Head were destroyed when the shells were removed and used to make tabby for roads and buildings. The Shell Ring is listed in the National Register of Historic PlacesNational Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and is protected by law.
Since the beginning of recorded history in the New World, the waters around Hilton Head Island have been known, occupied and fought for in turn by the English, Spanish, French, and Scots.
A Spanish expedition led by Francisco Cordillo explored the area in 1521, initiating European contact with local tribes.
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
to the eight Lords Proprietor. In his travels, he identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound
Port Royal Sound is a coastal sound, or inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the Sea Islands region, in Beaufort County in the U.S. state of South Carolina...
. He named it "Hilton's Head" after himself. He stayed for several days, making note of the trees, crops, "sweet water" and "clear sweet air".
In 1698, Hilton Head Island was granted as part of a barony to John Bayley of Ballingclough, County of Tipperary, Kingdom of Ireland. Another John Bayley, son of the first, appointed Alexander Trench as the island's first retail agent. For a time, Hilton Head was known as Trench's Island. In 1729, Trench sold some land to John Gascoine which Gascoine named "John's Island" after himself. The land later came to be known as Jenkin's Island after another owner.
In 1788, a small Episcopal church called the Zion Chapel of Ease was constructed for plantation owners. The old cemetery, located near the corner of William Hilton Parkway and Mathews Drive (Folly Field), is all that remains. Charles Davant, a prominent island planter during the Revolutionary War, is buried there.He was shot by Captain Martinangel of Daufuskie Island in 1781. It is also home to the oldest intact structure on Hilton Head Island, the Baynard Mausoleum, which was built in 1846.
William Elliott II of Myrtle Bank Plantation grew the first crop of Sea Island Cotton in South Carolina on Hilton Head Island in 1790.
Fort Walker was a Confederate fort in what is now Port Royal Plantation. The fort was a station for Confederate troops, and its guns helped protect the 2 miles (3 km) wide entrance to Port Royal Sound, which is fed by two slow-moving and navigable rivers, the Broad River
Broad River (South Carolina)
The Broad River is a tidal channel, in Beaufort and Jasper County, South Carolina. The channel flows between mainland on the west and Port Royal and Parris Islands on the east. The Coosawhatchie River flows into the Broad River at the head. It joins Coosaw River channel Northeast and continues...
and the Beaufort River. It was vital to the Sea Island Cotton trade and the southern economy. On October 29, 1861, the largest fleet ever assembled in North America moved south to seize it. In the Battle of Port Royal
Battle of Port Royal
The Battle of Port Royal was one of the earliest amphibious operations of the American Civil War, in which a United States Navy fleet and United States Army expeditionary force captured Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, on November 7, 1861...
, the fort came under attack by the U.S. Navy, and on November 7, 1861, it fell to over 12,000 Union troops. The fort would be renamed Fort Welles, in honor of Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles
Gideon Welles was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869. His buildup of the Navy to successfully execute blockades of Southern ports was a key component of Northern victory of the Civil War...
, the Secretary of the Navy.
Hilton Head Island would have tremendous significance in the Civil War, becoming an important base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports, particularly Savannah and Charleston. The Union would also build a military hospital on Hilton Head Island with a 1200 feet (365.8 m) frontage and a floor area of 60000 square feet (5,574.2 m²).
Hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head Island, where they could buy land, go to school, live in government housing, and serve in what was called the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers (although in the beginning, many were "recruited" at the point of a bayonet). A community called Mitchelville
Mitchelville
Mitchelville was a town built during the American Civil War for escaped slaves, located on what is now Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. It was named for one of the local Union Army generals, Ormsby M. Mitchel...
(in honor of General Ormsby M. Mitchel
Ormsby M. Mitchel
Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel was an American astronomer and major general in the American Civil War....
) was constructed on the north end of the island to house them.
The Leamington Lighthouse was built in the 1870s on the southern edge of what is now Palmetto Dunes.
On August 27, 1893, the Sea Islands Hurricane
1893 Sea Islands Hurricane
On August 27, 1893 a major hurricane which came to be known as the Sea Islands Hurricane struck the United States near Savannah, Georgia. It was one of two deadly hurricanes during the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season; the storm killed an estimated 1,000–2,000 people, mostly from storm surge...
made landfall near Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, with a storm surge of 16 feet (5 m) and swept north across South Carolina, killing over a thousand and leaving tens of thousands homeless.
20th century
Steam cannon
A steam cannon is a cannon that launches a projectile using only heat and water. The first steam cannon was designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse. Leonardo da Vinci was also known to have designed one ....
guarding Port Royal Sound was built around 1900 in what is now Port Royal Plantation. The cannon was fixed but its propulsion system allowed for long range shots for the time.
In 1931, Wall Street tycoon, physicist, and patron of scientific research, Alfred Lee Loomis
Alfred Lee Loomis
Alfred Lee Loomis was an American attorney, investment banker, philanthropist, scientist/physicist, pioneer in military radar usages, inventor of the LORAN or Long Range Navigation System, and lifelong patron of scientific research...
along with his brother-in-law and partner, Landon K. Thorne, purchased 17000 acres (69 km²) on the island (over 63% of the total land mass) for about $120,000 to be used as a private game reserve.
On the Atlantic coast of the island are large concrete gun platforms that were built to defend against a possible invasion by the Axis powers of World War II. Platforms like these can be found all along the eastern seaboard. The Mounted Beach Patrol and Dog Training Center on Hilton Head Island trained U.S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol personnel to use horses and dogs to protect the southeastern coastline of the U.S.
In the early 1950s, three lumber mills contributed to the logging of 19000 acres (77 km²) of the island. The island population was only 300 residents. Prior to 1956, access to Hilton Head was limited to private boats and a state-operated ferry. The island's economy centered on shipbuilding, cotton, lumbering, and fishing.
The James F. Byrnes Bridge was built in 1956. It was a two-lane toll swing bridge constructed at a cost of $1.5 million that opened the island to automobile traffic from the mainland. The swing bridge was hit by a barge in 1974 which shut down all vehicle traffic to the island until the Army Corps of Engineers built and manned a pontoon bridge while the bridge was being repaired. The swing bridge was replaced by the current four-lane bridge in 1982.
Charles E. Fraser
Charles E. Fraser was a real estate developer whose vision helped transform South Carolina's Hilton Head Island from a sparsely populated sea island into a world-class resort. He graduated from the University of Georgia and Yale Law School...
developing Sea Pines Resort. Soon, other developments followed, such as Hilton Head Plantation, Palmetto Dunes Plantation, Shipyard Plantation, and Port Royal Plantation, imitating Sea Pines' architecture and landscape. Sea Pines however continued to stand out by creating a unique locality within the plantation called Harbour Town, anchored by a recognizable lighthouse. Fraser was a committed environmentalist who changed the whole configuration of the marina at Harbour Town to save an ancient live oak. It came to be known as the Liberty Oak, known to generations of children who watched singer and song writer Gregg Russell perform under the tree for over 25 years. Fraser was buried next to the tree when he died in 2002.
The Heritage Golf Classic was first played in Sea Pines Resort in 1969, and has been a regular stop on the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
ever since.
Also in 1969, the Hilton Head Island Community Association successfully fought off the development of a BASF
BASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
chemical complex on the shores of Victoria Bluff (now Colleton River Plantation). Soon after, the association and other concerned citizens "south of the Broad" fought the development of off-shore oil platforms by Brown & Root (a division of Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
) and ten-story tall liquefied natural gas shipping spheres by Chicago Bridge & Iron. These events helped to polarize the community, and the Chamber of Commerce started drumming up support for the town to incorporate as a municipality. After the Four Seasons Resort (now Hilton Head Resort) was built along William Hilton Parkway, a referendum of incorporation was passed in May 1983. Hilton Head Island had become a town.
The Land Management Ordinance was passed by the Town Council in 1987. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort
Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort is a Disney Vacation Club Resort located in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Designed by Cooper, Robertson & Partners, it opened on March 1, 1996....
opened in 1996. The Cross Island Parkway opened in January 1997. An indoor smoking ban
Smoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
in bars, restaurants, and public places took effect on May 1, 2007.
Government
The Town of Hilton Head Island incorporated as a municipality in 1983 and has jurisdiction over the entire island except Mariner's Cove, Blue Heron Point, and Windmill Harbor. The Town of Hilton Head Island has a Council-ManagerCouncil-manager government
The council–manager government form is one of two predominant forms of municipal government in the United States; the other common form of local government is the mayor-council government form, which characteristically occurs in large cities...
form of government. The Town Manager is the chief executive officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
and head of the administrative branch and is responsible to the municipal council for the proper administration of all the affairs of the town. The Town Council
Town council
A town council is a democratically elected form of government for small municipalities or civil parishes. A council may serve as both the representative and executive branch....
exercises all powers not specifically delegated to the Town Manager. The Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
has the same powers, duties, and responsibilities as a member of Town Council. In addition, the Mayor establishes the agenda for Town Council meetings, calls special meetings, executes contracts, deeds, resolutions, and proclamations not designated to the Town Manager, and represents the town at ceremonial functions.
Town departments include Building & Fire Codes, Business License, Code Enforcement, Finance, Fire & Rescue, Human Resources, Legal, Municipal Court, Planning, and Public Projects & Facilities.
The town had a budget of $74,753,260 for fiscal year 2006/2007. It consists of three separate fiscal accounting funds: the General Fund, the Capital Projects Fund, and the Debt Service Fund. The General Fund is the operating fund for the town and accounts for all financial resources of the town except the Capital Projects Fund and the Debt Service Fund. The Capital Projects Fund is used to acquire land and facilities, and improve public facilities, including roads, bike paths, fire stations, vehicle replacement, drainage improvements, and park development. The Debt Service Fund accounts for the accumulation of resources and the payment of debt.
On Tuesday, June 5, 2007, the Town Council approved a $93,154,110 budget for fiscal year 2007/2008 on the first reading with a vote of 6-0. The most recent budget, for the 2010/2011 fiscal year is $74,299,720
Office holders as of January 2011:
|
|
Council mission statement:
Topography
Hilton Head Island is a shoe-shaped island that lies just north of Savannah, GeorgiaSavannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, and 90 miles (144.8 km) south of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. The exact coordinates are 32°10′44"N 80°44′35"W (32.178828, -80.742947).
According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 55.5 square miles (143.7 km²). Of that, 42.1 square miles (109 km²) is land, and 13.5 square miles (35 km²) or 24.28% is water.
Barrier island
Hilton Head Island is often referred to as the second largest barrier island on the eastern seaboard after Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
(which is not actually a barrier island but two glacial moraines). Technically, Hilton Head Island is only half barrier island. The north end of the island is a sea island
Sea Islands
The Sea Islands are a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the United States. They number over 100, and are located between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns Rivers along the coast of the U.S...
dating to the Pleistocene epoch, and the south end is a barrier island that appeared as recently as the Holocene epoch. Broad Creek, which is actually a land-locked tidal marsh, separates the two halves of the island.
The terrain
Terrain
Terrain, or land relief, is the vertical and horizontal dimension of land surface. When relief is described underwater, the term bathymetry is used...
of a barrier island
Barrier island
Barrier islands, a coastal landform and a type of barrier system, are relatively narrow strips of sand that parallel the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a few islands to more than a dozen...
is determined by a dynamic beach system with offshore bars, pounding surf
Breaking wave
In fluid dynamics, a breaking wave is a wave whose amplitude reaches a critical level at which some process can suddenly start to occur that causes large amounts of wave energy to be transformed into turbulent kinetic energy...
, and shifting beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es; as well as grassy dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s behind the beach, maritime forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s with wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s in the interiors, and salt or tidal marsh
Tidal marsh
A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean . According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are...
es on the lee
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
side, facing the mainland. A typical barrier island has a headland, a beach and surf zone, and a sand spit.
Climate
Arts Center of Coastal Carolina
Formerly the Self Family Arts Center, the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina is a showcase for professional performing and visual arts, as well as cultural festivals and educational outreach. The Arts Center also offers community education, including Visual and Performing Arts Camps, Theater Camp, and other workshops and classes.Coastal Discovery Museum
The Coastal Discovery Museum, located at 100 William Hilton Parkway, offers a variety of programs, activities, and indoor and outdoor exhibits year-round to over 125,000 visitors. They include the Sea Island Classroom, the History Time-line Exhibit, and the Museum Store, plus 11 different tours and cruises around the island. The Coastal Discovery Museum also leases the 68 acres (275,186.5 m²) Honey Horn Plantation from the Town of Hilton Head Island, which it uses to educate residents and visitors about the history, culture and natural environment of the Lowcountry and Hilton Head Island. The Coastal Discovery Museum is open Monday - Saturday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.Hilton Head Choral Society
The Hilton Head Choral Society, founded in 1975, is a non-profit organization "open to community members who love to sing and enjoy good fellowship." The choirs of the Hilton Head Choral Society are known for their diverse musical repertoire including classical masterworks, pops concerts and lighter fare, patriotic and Americana, gospel and musical theatre, a 20-voice chamber choir and a youth choir. The 120-member full chorus presents four major programs per season: A Fall Pops Concert, The Christmas Concert, The Musical Masterworks Concert and a pair of Memorial Day concerts celebrating the art of American choral singing and a patriotic tribute.Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra
The Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra was started 25 years ago by a handful of musicians and classical music aficionados who dreamed of bringing "big city" culture to Hilton Head. Since then, they have transformed from a small group of classical music lovers to a highly rated symphony orchestra. Their main performance hall is the First Presbyterian Church on William Hilton Parkway, next to Fire Station 3. A branch formed from the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra is the Hilton Head Youth Orchestra, helping young musicians across the county with their love for music.Arts Council of Beaufort County
ACBC's mission is to promote and foster the arts of Beaufort County, South Carolina, including Hilton Head Island. ACBC's vision is to position and maintain Beaufort County as a vibrant arts community and destination through active marketing, service to current arts organizations and artists and advocacy for the arts. ACBC programs include Quarterly Community Arts Grants, the Ever Expanding Arts Calendar, Get Your Art Out emerging artist initiative, the print publication ArtNews, and Arts of the Roundtables, which are free quarterly seminars exploring the business of art.Main Street Youth Theatre
The Main Street Youth Theatre, located on the north end of the island on Main Street, is a non-profit community theatre dedicated to enriching the lives of the island's youth by providing a true theatrical experience. Each year, MSYT performs 4-5 Broadway quality shows that run about 2 months at a time. During the tourist season, MSYT is a major tourist attraction and is also a local hot spot year round. The organization also provides acting, dance, and vocal instruction after school and during the summer.Annual events
- Gullah Celebration - Although threatened by the rapid increase in tourism, GullahGullahThe Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
culture can be seen at the annual Hilton Head Island Gullah Celebration which is held at Shelter Cove Community Park in February. In the summer, the acclaimed Hallelujah Singers present a Gullah concert series at Hilton Head's Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.
- WineFest - The 25th Annual WineFest was held in Shelter Cove Community Park on March 6, 2010. It is the largest outdoor, tented wine tasting on the East Coast, featuring over 1,500 domestic and international wines.
- St. Patrick's Day Parade - The 24th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade was held on March 11, 2007. Joe Fraser, brother of Charles Fraser and former senior vice president of Sea Pines Plantation Co. was the grand marshal. Over 20,000 people attended the parade, prompting Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner and other officials to question whether the parade might have outgrown its route along Pope Avenue.
- WingFest - The 12th Annual Hargray WingFest was held at Shelter Cove Community Park on March 21, 2007. The event is operated by the Island Recreation Association, and all proceeds benefit the Island Recreation Scholarship Fund.
- HarbourFest - HarbourFest, now in its 19th season, ran every Tuesday night from June 5 - August 21 at Shelter Cove Marina, featuring arts & crafts, live entertainment, and fireworks at sunset. There is a special HarbourFest celebration on July 4. In addition, "Summertime at Shelter Cove" features five nights of family entertainment by Shannon Tanner, who plays two shows per night, 6:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Monday - Friday.
- Heritage Golf Classic - This is one of the busiest times of the year in HHI. A lot of famous people can be seen at the heritage. The 41st Annual Heritage Classic golf tournament took place April 14–20, 2010, at Harbour Town Golf LinksHarbour Town Golf LinksThe Harbour Town Golf Links is a golf course that hosts The Heritage golf tournament on the PGA Tour, usually held in April. The course is located in the Sea Pines Plantation of Hilton Head Island, in Beaufort County of South Carolina. Golf Magazine has rated the course #1 in the state of South...
in Sea Pines Resort.
- Rib Burnoff & Barbecue Fest - The 10th Annual Rib Burnoff & Barbecue Fest was held May 19, 2007 at Honey Horn Plantation.
- Celebrity Golf Tournament - The 27th Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament was held August 31 - September 2, 2007, at the Golf Club at Indigo Run, the Robert Trent Jones course in Palmetto Dunes, and Harbour Town Golf Links. To date the tournament has contributed over $2,785,000 to 18 children's charities.
- FoodFest - FoodFest 2007 took place September 13–16, 2007. FoodFest celebrates the talent of the local hospitality industry and provides attendees with several spectator events including: The Best Bartender Drink Making Contest, The Hospitable Waiter’s Race, and The Tailgate Gourmet Challenge.
- Chili Cookoff - The 23rd Annual Chili Cookoff was held Saturday, October 6, 2007, at 12:00 p.m. at Honey Horn Plantation.
- Community Festival - The 7th Annual Community Festival took place Friday, October 19–20, 2007, from 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. at Honey Horn Plantation. It featured a "haunted trail" in the "haunted forest" presented by the Hilton Head Rotary Club and the Interact Clubs from Hilton Head High School and Hilton Head Prep.
- Concours d'EleganceConcours d'EleganceA Concours d'Elegance dates back to 17th Century French aristocracy, who paraded horse-drawn carriages in the parks of Paris during Summer weekends and holidays...
& Motoring Festival - The 6th Annual Concours d'Elegance & Motoring Festival, featuring world-class vintage and antique autos, Italian sports cars and American muscle cars from all over the country was held November 1–4, 2007, at Honey Horn Plantation.
- The Dove Street Festival of Lights - Started in 1990, takes place each December. More than 50 homes on Dove street decorate with holiday lights and the Glee Club of the Miami University of Ohio serenades residents with holiday songs. Town volunteers collect donations of money, food and toys at the festival that are given to The Deep Well Project, a local charity.
Wildlife
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s, deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
, Loggerhead Sea Turtle
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle , or loggerhead, is an oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around long when fully grown, although larger specimens of up to have been discovered...
s, manatee, hundreds of species of birds, and dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
.
The Coastal Discovery Museum, in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, patrols the beaches from May through October as part of the Sea Turtle Protection Project. The purpose of the project is to inventory and monitor nesting locations, and if necessary, move them to more suitable locations. During the summer months, the museum sponsors the Turtle Talk & Walk, which is a special tour designed to educate the public about this endangered species. To protect Loggerhead Sea Turtles, a town ordinance stipulates that artificial lighting must be shielded so that it cannot be seen from the beach, or it must be turned off by 10:00 p.m. from May 1 to October 31 each year.
The waters around Hilton Head Island are one of the few places on Earth where dolphins routinely use a technique called "strand feeding" whereby schools of fish are herded up onto mud banks, and the dolphins lie on their side while they feed before sliding back down into the water.
The saltmarsh estuaries of Hilton Head Island are the feeding grounds, breeding grounds, and nurseries for many saltwater species of game fish, sport fish, and marine mammals. The dense plankton population gives the coastal water its "murky" brown-green coloration.
Menhaden
Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...
and Mullet
Mullet (fish)
The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
, which in turn support larger fish and mammal species that populate the local waterways. Popular sport fish in the Hilton Head Island area include the Red Drum
Red Drum
The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops...
(or Spot Tail Bass), Spotted Sea Trout, Sheepshead
Sheepshead (fish)
The sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus, is a marine fish that grows to 30 in , but commonly reaches 10 to 20 in. It is deep and compressed in body shape, with 5 to 6 dark bars on the side of the body over a gray background. It has sharp dorsal spines. Its diet consists of oysters, clams, and...
, Cobia
Cobia
Cobia —also known as black kingfish, black salmon, ling, lemonfish, crabeaters, aruan tasek, etc.—are perciform marine fish, the sole representative of their family, the Rachycentridae.-Description:...
, Tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
, and various shark species.
Demographics
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 33,862 people, 14,408 households, and 9,898 families residing in the town, on a land area of 42.06 square miles (108.9 km²). The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 805.1 people per square mile (310.8/km²). There were 24,647 housing units at an average density of 586.0 per square mile (226.3/km²).
Although the town occupies most of the land area of the island, it is not coterminous with it; there is a small part near the main access road from the mainland, William Hilton Parkway, which is not incorporated into the town. Hilton Head (the island) therefore has a slightly higher population (48,407 in Census 2000, defined as the Hilton Head Island Urban Cluster) and a larger land area (42.65 sq mi or 110.45 km²) than the town. The Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Area
Hilton Head Island-Beaufort micropolitan area
The Hilton Head Island–Beaufort Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in South Carolina, anchored by the town of Hilton Head Island and the city of Beaufort....
, which includes Beaufort
Beaufort County, South Carolina
-National protected areas:*Ernest F. Hollings ACE Basin National Wildlife Refuge *Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 155,215 people, 45,532 households, and 33,056 families residing in the county. The population density was 206 people per...
and Jasper counties, had a 2005 estimated year-round population of 159,247.
The racial makeup of the town was 85.33% White, 8.26% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.48% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.21% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.48% of the population.
There were 14,408 households out of which 20.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the town the population was spread out with 17.3% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 24.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $60,438, and the median income for a family was $71,211. Males had a median income of $37,262 versus $30,271 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the town was $36,621. About 4.7% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.4% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.
Hilton Head Island is part of the Hilton Head Island-Beaufort Micropolitan Statistical Area which includes Beaufort and Jasper counties and has a total estimated 2005 population of 159,247 (U.S. Census Bureau). According to the more detailed data available in the 2000 census, the population included in this micropolitan area (which actually was designated after the census itself) was 64% urban and 36% rural. It includes the urban clusters of Beaufort (2000 pop.: 46,128), Hilton Head Island (47,821), Bluffton (17,546), and Ridgeland (3,616). The urban clusters of Hilton Head Island and Bluffton will probably be merged by the 2010 Census.
Emergency services
Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue began operations July 1, 1993 as a consolidation of the former Sea Pines Forest Beach Fire Department, the Hilton Head Island Fire District, and the Hilton Head Island Rescue Squad. It is a career department that provides fire suppressionFire fighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing fires. A firefighter fights fires to prevent loss of life, and/or destruction of property and the environment...
and emergency medical services
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
(EMS) at the advanced life support
Advanced Life Support
Advanced Life Support is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend Basic Life Support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation .-Components of ALS:These include:...
level. Special operations capabilities include HAZMAT, urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue
Urban search and rescue involves the location, extrication, and initial medical stabilization of victims trapped in confined spaces due to natural disasters, structural collapse, transportation accidents, mines and collapsed trenches.USAR teams in different countries may be organised in a...
(USAR), confined space rescue
Confined space rescue
Confined space rescue is a subset of technical rescue operations that involves the rescue and recovery of victims trapped in a confined space or in a place only accessible through confined spaces, such as underground vaults, storage silos, storage tanks, or sewers.Confined space rescues can be...
, trench rescue
Trench rescue
Trench rescue is a specialized form of rescue, a subset of confined space rescue. Trench rescue involves shoring up the sides of a trench, and digging a trapped worker out of a collapsed ditch. Trench rescue is one of the most dangerous rescue operations to complete....
, and rope rescue
Rope rescue
Rope rescue is a subset of technical rescue that involves the use of static nylon kernmantle ropes, anchoring and belaying devices, friction rappel devices, various devices to utilize mechanical advantage for hauling systems, and other specialized equipment to reach victims and safely recover...
. The department is accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
There are seven fire stations on Hilton Head Island, providing professional fire protection and emergency medical care.
- Station 1: 70 Cordillo Parkway - (in Shipyard Plantation near the Pope Avenue entrance)
- Station 2: 65 Lighthouse Road - (in Sea Pines Resort between Frazer Circle and Harbour Town)
- Station 3: 534 William Hilton Parkway - (across from Port Royal Plantation next to First Presbyterian Church)
- Station 4: 400 Squire Pope Road - (near the back gate of Hilton Head Plantation)
- Station 5: 20 Whooping Crane Way - (near the front gate of Hilton Head Plantation)
- Station 6: 16 Queen's Folly Road - (in the front of Palmetto Dunes under the water tower)
- Station 7: 1001 Marshland Road - (by the toll booths of the Cross Island Parkway)
- Fire & Rescue Headquarters: 40 Summit Drive - (general aviation entrance to the airport off Dillon Road, next to the convenience center)
Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue also works with Bluffton Township Fire Department as a sponsoring agency for two of South Carolina's designated special teams: one of the state's Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Teams and one of the four Regional Urban Search and Rescue Response Teams.
Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
services are contracted through Beaufort County Sheriff's Office. The island is equipped with an enhanced 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...
system.
Gated communities
|
Public beach access
- Alder Lane Beach Access - 22 metered spaces
- Burkes Beach Access - 13 metered spaces
- Coligny Beach Park - parking is free - some parking reserved for annual beach passes from 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Driessen Beach Park - 207 long term parking spaces - some parking reserved for annual beach passes from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
- Fish Haul Park - parking is free
- Folly Field Beach Park - 51 metered spaces
- Islanders Beach Park - annual beach pass parking only
- Mitchelville Beach Park - parking is free
Island parks
|
|
Schools
Public schools
|
Private schools
|
Notable residents
|}In Popular Culture
In Big Trouble in Little Langley, an episode of American Dad!, Francine's birth parents Nick and Cassandra Dawson live there.In the book By Order of the President
The Presidential Agent series
The Presidential Agent series was written by military author, W. E. B. Griffin. The series consists so far of five novels, By Order of the President, The Hostage, The Hunters, The Shooters, and, Black Ops. Like the rest of his novels, Griffin uses military time, along with the address of the place,...
, by W. E. B. Griffin
W. E. B. Griffin
W. E. B. Griffin is a writer of military and detective fiction with 38 novels in six series published under that name. He has also published under several pseudonyms....
, the President of the United States maintains a home on Hilton Head Island. This is where Charlie Castillo meets the President for the first time.