Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Hilton Head Island Official seal of Hilton Head Island Nickname(s): Hilton Head and HHI Location of Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County and South Carolina Location of Hilton Head Island in Beaufort County and South Carolina Hilton Head Island is positioned in South Carolina Hilton Head Island - Hilton Head Island Hilton Head Island, sometimes referred to as simply Hilton Head, is a Lowcountry resort town positioned on an island of the same name in Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. It is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 95 miles (153 km) southwest of Charleston.

The island is titled after Captain William Hilton, who in 1663 identified a headland near the entrance to Port Royal Sound, which he titled "Hilton's Head" after himself.

In 2004, an estimated 2.25 million visitors pumped more than $1.5 billion into the small-town economy. The year-round populace was 37,099 at the 2010 census, although amid the peak of summer vacation season the populace can swell to 150,000. Over the past decade, the island's populace growth rate was 32%. Hilton Head Island is a major city inside the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort urbane area, which had an estimated populace of 207,413 in 2015.

The island has a rich history that started with cyclic occupation by Native Americans thousands of years ago, and continued with European exploration and the Sea Island Cotton trade.

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 on to 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 evolution and governs the style of buildings and how they are situated amongst existing trees. As a result, Hilton Head Island appreciates an unusual amount of tree cover relative to the amount of development. Approximately 70% of the island, including most of the tourist areas, is positioned inside gated communities. However, the town maintains a several enhance beach access points, including one for the exclusive use of town residents, who have allowed a several multimillion-dollar land-buying bond popular votes to control commercial growth. Hilton Head Island offers an unusual number of cultural opportunities for a improve its size, including plays at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, the 120-member full chorus of the Hilton Head Choral Society, the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, an annual outdoor, tented wine tasting event on the east coast, and a several other annual improve festivals.

Two other shell rings on Hilton Head were finished when the shells were removed and used to make tabby for roads and buildings.

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. He titled it "Hilton's Head" after himself. He stayed for a several days, making note of the trees, crops, "sweet water", and "clear sweet air". Dock assembled by Union troops on Hilton Head Island, April 1862 In 1698, Hilton Head Island was granted as part of a barony to John Bayley of Ballingclough, County of Tipperary, Kingdom of Ireland.

For a time, Hilton Head was known as Trench's Island.

In the mid-1740s, the South Carolina provincial half-galley Beaufort was stationed in a cove at the southern tip of Hilton Head to guard against intrusions by the Spanish of St.

Davant was shot by Captain Martinangel of Daufuskie Island in 1781. This locale is also home to the earliest endured structure on Hilton Head Island, the Baynard Mausoleum, which was assembled in 1846.

William Elliott II of Myrtle Bank Plantation interval the first crop of Sea Island Cotton in South Carolina on Hilton Head Island in 1790.

Hilton Head Island had tremendous significance in the Civil War and became an meaningful base of operations for the Union blockade of the Southern ports, especially Savannah and Charleston.

The Union also assembled a military hospital on Hilton Head Island with a 1,200-foot (370 m) frontage and a floor region of 60,000 square feet (6,000 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 improve called Mitchelville (in honor of General Ormsby M.

Thorne, purchased 17,000 acres (69 km2) on the island (over 63% of the total territory mass) for about $120,000 to be used as a private game reserve. On the Atlantic coast of the island, large concrete gun platforms were assembled to defend against a possible invasion by the Axis powers of World War II.

The Mounted Beach Patrol and Dog Training Center on Hilton Head Island trained U.S.

In the early 1950s, three lumber mills contributed to the logging of 19,000 acres (77 km2) of the island. The island populace was only 300 residents. Prior to 1956, access to Hilton Head was limited to private boats and a state-operated ferry.

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 assembled and manned a pontoon bridge while the bridge was being repaired.

The beginning of Hilton Head as a resort started in 1956 with Charles E.

Soon, other developments followed, such as Hilton Head Plantation, Palmetto Dunes Plantation, Shipyard Plantation, and Port Royal Plantation, imitating Sea Pines' architecture and landscape.

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 evolution of a BASF chemical complex on the shores of Victoria Bluff (now Colleton River Plantation).

After the Four Seasons Resort (now Hilton Head Resort) was assembled along William Hilton Parkway, a popular vote of incorporation was passed in May 1983.

Hilton Head Island had turn into a town. Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort opened in 1996, and the Cross Island Parkway opened in January 1997.

Fort Howell, Cherry Hill School, Daufuskie Island Historic District, Fish Haul Archaeological Site (38 - BU805), Green's Shell Enclosure, Hilton Head Range Rear Light, Sea Pines, Skull Creek, SS William Lawrence Shipwreck Site, and Stoney-Baynard Plantation are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Satellite image of Hilton Head Island, accessed from NASA's World Wind project, January 31, 2007 Hilton Head Island is a shoe-shaped island that lies 20 miles (32 km) by air northeast of Savannah, Georgia, and 90 miles (140 km) south of Charleston.

Hilton Head Island is sometimes referred to as the second biggest barrier island on the Eastern Seaboard after Long Island (which is not actually a barrier island but two glacial moraines). Technically, however, Hilton Head Island is only a 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.

Hilton Head Plantation The Hilton Head Island region is home to a vast array of wildlife, including alligators, deer, loggerhead sea turtles, manatees, hundreds of species of birds, and dolphins.

From May 1 to October 31 each year. The waters around Hilton Head Island are one of the several 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. Particularly prominent in the ocean waters encircling Hilton Head Island, the stingray serves as a fascination and painful natural encounter for many beach goers.

While these injuries are extremely painful, they are not usually life-threatening as long as they are properly attended to by a medical professional. One complaint shared by many Hilton Head Island tourists is that the lifeguards maintain a poor alert fitness for notifying swimmers when various stingrays have been sighted inside a specific stretch of the shore.

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.

Popular sport fish in the Hilton Head Island region include the red drum (or spot tail bass), spotted sea trout, sheepshead, cobia, tarpon, and various shark species. Hilton Head Island has a humid subtropical climate.

Climate data for Hilton Head Island, South Carolina Location of the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort Metropolitan Travel Destination in South Carolina Although the town is situated in most of the territory area of the island, it is not coterminous with it; there is a small part near the chief access road from the mainland, William Hilton Parkway, which is not incorporated into the town.

Hilton Head (the island) therefore has a slightly higher populace (48,407 in Enumeration 2000, defined as the Hilton Head Island Urban Cluster) and a larger territory area (42.65 sq mi or 110.5 km2) than the town.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Beaufort Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Beaufort and Jasper counties, had a 2012 estimated year-round populace of 193,882. According to Hilton Head Island's 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are: 3 Hilton Head Medical Center 547 6 Cypress of Hilton Head 360 9 Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa 245 10 Town of Hilton Head 243 The Hilton Head Choral Society, full chorus The "Hilton Head Choral Society", established in 1975, is a non-profit organization "open to improve members who love to sing and appreciate 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, and gospel and musical theatre.

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 chief 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 athwart the county with their love for music.

The "Arts Council of Beaufort County" (ACBC)'s mission is to promote and foster the arts of Beaufort County, including Hilton Head Island.

The "Main Street Youth Theatre", positioned on the north end of the island on Main Street, is a non-profit improve theatre dedicated to enriching the lives of the island's youth by providing a true theatrical experience.

"Lifelong Learning of Hilton Head Island" offers the adult improve of Hilton Head Island a compilation of educational and fun classes covering subjects from history, arts, yoga, and current affairs to outer space exploration and beyond.

"The Heritage Library of Hilton Head Island" is the repository for Hilton Head Island history and a premier lineage research and development office.

Gullah Celebration Although threatened by the rapid increase in tourism, Gullah 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. The event is directed by the Island Recreation Association, and all proceeds benefit the Island Recreation Scholarship Fund. Community Festival The annual Community Festival at Honey Horn Plantation features a "haunted trail" in the "haunted forest" presented by the Hilton Head Rotary Club and the Interact Clubs from Hilton Head Island High School and Hilton Head Preparatory School.

Motoring Festival and Concours d'Elegance World-class automobiles take center stage each November at the annual Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d'Elegance at the Honey Horn Plantation.

Hilton Head Park (Old Schoolhouse Park) Hilton Head Island in the summer of 2012 Live oaks with Spanish moss on Hilton Head Island 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-Manager 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.

Hilton Head Island Early Childhood Center (Pre K K) Hilton Head Island School for the Creative Arts (Grades 1 5) Hilton Head Island International Baccalaureate Elementary School (Grades 1 5) Hilton Head Island Middle School Hilton Head Island High School Hilton Head Preparatory School Hilton Head Christian Academy 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. There are seven fire stations on Hilton Head Island.

Bobby Cremins NCAA men's basketball coach, presently resides in Charleston, but maintains a home in Hilton Head . Trevor Hall reggae/folk modern singer-songwriter on Now 40, was raised in Hilton Head John Jakes author of historical fiction, resides in Hilton Head Lindsay former mayor of New York City, died in Hilton Head on December 19, 2000 Mark Messier NHL hockey player, part-time resident of Hilton Head Michael Rowe former NBA Team President, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Giants Stadium and Izod Center, current President and Chief Executive Officer of Positive Impact Sports and Entertainment, part-owner of Yankee Global Enterprises, part-time resident of Hilton Head Island. Duncan Sheik singer-songwriter of the 1997 Grammy-nominated song Barely Breathing, was raised in Hilton Head Vandervoort WWII hero, died in his home on Hilton Head in 1990 at the age of 75 Jayson Williams former NBA basketball player, owns a home on Hilton Head Griffin, the President of the United States maintains a home on Hilton Head Island.

In the 2012 movie Parental Guidance (starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, and Marisa Tomei), the parents visit Hilton Head Island for a conference.

In the science fiction charter Battle - Tech, the command posts of the interstellar telecommunications organization "Com - Star" are positioned on Hilton Head Island.

Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hilton Head Island "Employment Fast Facts," Hilton Head Island Bluffton Chamber of Commerce Accessed January 31, 2007.

"Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hilton Head Island town, South Carolina".

"Consolidated Municipal Budget Fiscal Year July 1, 2016 June 30, 2017," Town of Hilton Head Island, Accessed August 22, 2017.

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"Hilton Head: the canopy view," Archived 2015-10-16 at the Wayback Machine.

"Hilton Head, way ahead of its time," USA Today, September 1, 2006 Accessed February 14, 2007.

"Hilton Head Island an unquestionable golfing mecca," Archived 2007-12-24 at the Wayback Machine.

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"Island History," Archived 2011-04-24 at the Wayback Machine.

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(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

(1981) Hilton Head in the Civil War: Department of the South (20th Anniv.

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"A Town is Born," Celebrate Hilton Head, February 2008.

Donnelly, Tim "Hilton Head approves smoking ban," The Island Packet, February 21, 2007 Accessed February 21, 2007.

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"Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, United States of America".

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"They're baack: Every year, you can count on Ohio golfers heading to Hilton Head in droves".

"Acclaimed Hilton Head author gets S.C.

"Tourism Enriches an Island Resort, But Hilton Head Blacks Feel Left Out".

"And the Hilton Head Grammy winner is ....".

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Categories:
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina - Gullah - Hilton Head Island Beaufort micropolitan region - Towns in Beaufort County, South Carolina - Seaside resorts in the United States - Towns in South Carolina - Populated coastal places in South Caro